The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1917-04-14

TWO week to took It away from me.
BUT got Sassoon spotted. And where
90 you suppose Split-lips is this min
ute?"
"Morgan's gap"
Quite so-and been there all the
time. Now, Bob has the old warrant
Tor him-the question is, how to get
him out"
DE Spain reflected a moment before
replying: "John, I'd let him alone just
Tor the present." he said at length.
Lefever's eyes bulged. "Let Sassoon
alOne?"
Hell keep-for a while, anyway"
What do you mean?"
II don't want to stir things up too
strong over that way just at the min
ute. John.'
"Why not?'
De Spain shuffled a little. "Well,
Jeffries thinks we might let things rest
till Duke Morgan and the others get
over some of their soreness"
Lefever, astonished at the indiffer-
ence Of De Spain to the opportunity
OF nabbing Sassoon, while he could be
found, expostulated strongly. When
De Spain persisted, Lefever, huffed,
confided to Bob Scott that when the
general manager got ready he could
catch Sassoon himself.
De Spain wanted for Mans sake, rs
we'll as his own, to see what could be
done to pacify her uncle and his rela-
| tives so that a wedge might be driven
In between them and their notorious
henchman, and Sassoon brought to
book with their consent; on this point,
however, he was not quite bold-fAced
| enough to take his friends into his
confidence.
De Spain, as fiery a lover as he was
fighter, stayed none of his counting
because circumstances put Music
mountain between him and his mis-
tress. And Nan, after she had once
surrendered, was nothing behind in the
chances she unhesitatingly took to ar
range her meetings with De Spain. He
| found in her, once her girlish timidity
was overcome and woman's conf
dence had replaced it, a disregard of
consequences, so far as their own plans
were concerned, that sometimes took
away his breath.
The very day after she had got her
uncle home, with the aid of Satterlee
Morgan and an antiquated spring wag-
on, Nan rode, later in the afternoon,
over to Calabasas. The two that
would not be restrained had made
their appointment at the lower lava
beds halfway between the gap and
Calabasas. The sun was sinking be-
hind the mountain when De Spain gal.
loped out of the rocks as Nan turned
from the trail and rode toward the
black and weather-beaten meeting
place.
They could hardly slip from their
saddles fast enough to reach each 9th
er's arms-Nan, trim as model in
fresh khaki, trying with a handker.
chief hardly larger than a postage
stamp to wipe the fecks of dust from
her pink cheeks, while De Spain, be.
tween dabs, covered them with impor-
tunate greetings. Looking engrossed
into each others eyes, and both, in
their eagerness, talking at once, they
led their horses into hiding and sat
down to try to tell all that had hap
pened since their parting. Wars and
rumors Of wars, feuds and raidings.
fights and pursuits, were no more to
them than to babes in the woods. All
that mattered to them-sitting or
pacing together and absorbed, in the
path Of the long-cold volcanic stream
buried in the shifting sands of the
desert-was that they should clasp
each others clinging hands, listen each
to the others answering voice. look
uArestrained into each others eyes.
They met in both the lava beds
the upper lay between the gap and
town-more than once. And one day
came a scare. They were sitting on
a little ledge we'll up in the rocks
where De Spain could overlook the
trail east and west, and were talking
about bungalow some day to be in
Sleepy Cat, when they saw men riding
from the west toward Calabasas. There
were three in the party, one tagging
we'll behind. The two men leading.
Nan and De Spain made out to he
Gale Morgan and Page. They saw the
man coming on behind stop his horse
and lean forward, his head bent over
the trail. He was examining the sand
and halted quite a minute to study
something. Both knew what he was
studying-the footprints Of Mans
pony heading toward the lava. Nan
shrank back and with De Spain moved
a little to where they could watch the
Intruder without being seen. Nan
whispered first: "1t's Sassoon." De
Spain nodded. "What shall we do2'
breathed Man.
Nothing yet" returned her lover,
watching the horseman, whose eyes
were still fixed on the pony's trail,
but who was now less than a half