The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-03-28

tlut ". ~ NoAilh'''
for stirring up talk that might make
trouble; averred she didn't believe
half the stories she heard; asserted
that these men lived quietly at ala
basas. minding their own affairs. AND
they're kind to poor folks, o sure
grimnced the obdurate ne, with other
peoples money
De Spain. disconnected, turning
again into Main street, continued on TO
the Thief River stage barn. After LOOK
ing the horses over and inspecting the
wagons with II new but mild curiosity,
awakened by Jcffries' proposal, De
Spain walked back toward the station.
He had virtually decided not to take
the lob. Medicine Bend was his home
He know every man, woman II chllo
in the town. Before the tragic death
of his father. his mother had lived
there, and De Spain had grown up in
the town and gone to school there. lie
was n railroad man, anyWay-a modest
trainmaSter-and not eager for stage
line management.
AS ne passed Grant street again he
encountered Il party on horseback
heading for the river bridge. Three
of the men were riding abreast and q
little ahead. OF these. the middle
hprScWau was Il spare man OF frankly
d%isreputable air His face was drawn
up into Il onp-sided smile. Satt Nor
cans smile was habitual and lcsSened
his stern aspect. At his right rode his
cousin. Duke Morgan, older. shorter
and stOuter. His square. heaVY-jaWed,
Smooth-Shaven face was lighted by
hard, keen eyes, ana finished by an un-
compromising chin. Duke was the real
head of the elan. of which there were
numerous branches in the Superstition
mountains, all looking with friendli-
ness or rnmity To the Morgans of Nor
gan's gap.
The yelloW-hair2d mar riding on the
left, with a red face and red-lidded,
squirting eyes, showed none of the
blood of his companions. But David
SaSSoon, the CalabaSas gambler, QuOn-
dam cowboy, and chronic braWler,
stood in some way close To the differ
ent MOrgans. and was reputed to have
got each of them, ut different times.
out of more than one troublesome af
fair. either by sheer force of arms, OF
through his reSOurceful cunning.
These men were followed by ii young
er man riding with Il very young wom'
I'M. De Spain knew nOne of the front
rank men, but he knew well Nan Nor
gan and her dancing partner. Gales
face lighted as he set eyes m De Spain,
md he spoke quickly to Nan: There's
your handsome Medicine Bend gun
man."
Nan, CHANGING toward De Spain,
seemed aware that he heard. She
looked away. De Spain frightened up
with a rage. The blood rushed to his
face, the sarcasm struck in. If the
birthmark could have dnepened with
humiliation it would have done so ut
the instant of the cold inspection of
the girls pretty eyes. Gale, calling
ahead to the others, invited their at
tention to the man on the street cor
ner. De Spain only stood still, re-
turning their inspection as i|nSolently
as silence could. Each face was faith
fully photographed and filed in his
memory, and his steady gaze followed
them until they rode down the hill and
clattered jauntily out on the sWaying
suspension bridge that still crosses the
Rat river at Grant street, and con
nccts the whole south cOuntry-the
Spanish sinks, the Thief River gold
fields, the s~aw-toothed Superstition
range, Morgan's gap. and Music moun
tain with Sleepy Cat and the railroad.
De Spain, walking down Grant
street, watched the party disappear
among the hills across the river. The
encounter had stirred him. He already
hated the Morgans, at least all except
the blue-eyed girl, and she, it was not
difficult to divine from her expression,
was, at least, disdainful of her morn
ing rival.
Reaching the station platform while
still busy with his thoughts, De Spain
encountered Jeffries and Lefever.
"Jeffries, I'll take that Thief River
stage job" announced De Spain bluntly
"What's the reason that fellow
changed his mind?" demanded J~effries,
when Lefever joined him later in his
office.
Don't ask me-" frOwned Lefever
perplexed. Don't ask me. Henry is
odd in some ways. You can't tel
what's going on inside that fellows
head by looking at ne outside of it.
Jeffries grunted colby at this bit OF
wisdom. "Ill tell you what l should
think-if / had to think: Henry dc
Spain has never found out rightly who
was responsible for the death or MS
father. He expects to do 1t, SOM
time; and long ago some of these same
Morgans lived on the Peace river abov
his fathers ranch"