The Lamar register., 1917-03-28
CHAPTER l.
rontier Day.

Lefever sat SideWtse on the edge
OfS the table. His subdued whistle,
which seemed meditative, irrltated De
Spain more or less, despite his en-
deavor not to be irritated. 1t was like
the low singing of teakettle, which,
however unobtrusive, indicates steam
within. In fact, John Lefever, who
was built not unlike Il kettle, never
whistled except when there was some
pressure on his sensibilities.
The warm sun came streaming
through the windows of the private Of
flee of the division superintendent mt
Sleepy Cat. n railroad town lying al
most within gunshot of the great con
tinental divide. De Spain, tilted back
In the superintendents chair sat near
Lefever-Jeffries had the mountain di-
vision then-his feet crossed on the
walnut rim OF the shabby, cloth
topped table. His chin lay on his soft
open collar and tie, his sunburnt lips
were shut tight, and his nervous brown
eyes were staring at the dull finish
barrel Of Il new rifle, that lay across
Lefever's lap. At intervals LefeNer
took the rifle up and. whistling softly.
examined with care fracture of the
lever, the broken thumbpiece of which
lay on the table between the two men.
From the Main street side of the
large room came the hooting and clat.
tering of a Frontier day celebration
and these noises seemed not to allay
the discomfort apparent on the faces
of the two men.
Hang II, John" blurted out De
Spain peevishly, what possessed you
TO send for me to do the shooting, any
wayl"
His companion answered gently
Lefever's patience was noted even
among contained men-'Henry," he re
monstrated, II sent for you because /
thought you could shoot"
De Spain's expression did not change
under the reproach. His features We're
so regular as to contribute to this un-
disturbed expression, and his face
would not ordinarily attract attention
but for his extremely bright and alive
eyes-the frequent mark Of an out-Of-
door mountain life-and especially for
red birthmark, low on his left cheek,
disappearing under the turn of the jaw.
II was merely a strawberry, so called,
and after knowing him, one forgot
about the birthmark In the man that
carried it. Lefevers reproach was
naturally provocative. 81 hope now"
retorted De Spain, but without any
show Of resentment, you understand
| can't"
NO" persisted Lefever. good-na-
turedly. II only realize, Henry. that
this wasn't your day for the job"
The door Of the outer office opened,
and Jeffries, the superintendent,
walked into the room he had just come
from Medicine Bend in his cur. The
two men rose to greet him. He asked
about the noise In the street
That noise, William, comes from all
Calabasas and all Morgan's gap" ex
planned Lefever. still fondllng the
rifle. THE Morgans are celebrating
our defeat. They put 1t all over u.s.
We were challenged yesterday" he
continued in response to the abrupt
questions Of Jeffrtes "The Morgans
offered to shoot US Offhand, two hun
dred yards, bull's-eye count. l thought
we could trim them by running in
real gunman, so l wired to Medicine
Bend for Henry. Henry comes up last
night with brand-new rifle. This is
the gun. The lever" he added with
patient expledve, broke. Henry got
to shooting too fast"
THAT wasn't what beat me-" ex-
claimed De Spain curtly. And taking
up the offending rifle, he walked out
Of the room.
What do you think, WllliamT LIE
fever grumbled on. "The Mprgans ran
In a girl to shoot against us-Nan
Morgan, old Duke Morgan's little niece.
And l never before in my life saw
Henry so fused. The little Music
Mountain skirt simply put 1t all over
him. She had five bull's-eyes to Hen
ry's three when the lever snapped. He
forfeited"
Some shooting" commented JEFF
fries, rapidly signing letters.
I'VE expected some when Henry un-
slung his gun" Lefever went on with
out respecting Jeffries' preoccupation.
"As 1t is, those fellows have cleaned up
every doller loose In Sleepy Cat, and
then some. Money! They could start
bank this minute"
Sounds Of revelry continued to pour
in through the street window. The
Morgans were celebrating uncommon
II T.t.s