Judsonia weekly advance., 1918-02-27

women in ten miles dh the Meadows. We keep boardin' house. Hope you'll like the country"
 That was lengthy speech for Jim Briggs, as Hazel discovered when she rolled out of Soda Creek behind the ''team uh bays" Ills conversation was decidedly monosyllabic. But he could drive, if he was no talker, and his team could travel. By eleven o'clock Hazel found herself at Cariboo Mead ows.
 "Schoolhouse's over yonder." Briggs pointed out the place-an unnecessary guidance, for Hazel had already marked the building set off by itself and fortified with a tall fiagpole. And here's where we live. Kinda out uh the world, but blame good place to | live"
 Hazel did like the place. Her first impression was thankfulness that her lot had been cast in such q spot. But it was largely because of the surround ings, essentially primitive, the clean air, guiltless of smoke taint the aro- matic odors from the forest that ranged for intending miles on every hand.
 So with the charm of the wild land fresh upon her, she took kindly to Cariboo Meadows.
 Her first afternoon she spent loaf ing on the porch of the Briggs domi- cile, within which Mrs. Briggs, fat, 1 of her cooking for the "boarders," anf kept a brood of five tumultuous your sters in ordor--=ttlA4ee --eomhined t leaving her scant time to entert.- her newly arrived guest.
 Cariboo Meadows, as a town, was simply double row of buildings fac ing each other across a wagon road. Two stores, blacksmith shop, feed stable, certain other nondescript buildings, and a few dwellings, mostly of logs, was all. Probably not moro than a total of fifty souls made per- manent residence there. Directly op- pOsite Briggs boarding house stood a building labeled Regent Hotel" Ha- gel could envisage it all with half turn of her head.
 From this hotel there presently is- sued young man dressed in the ordi- nary costume of the countrywide hat, flannel shirt, overalls, boots. He sat down on a box close by the hotel entrance. In a few minutes another came forth. He walked past the first a few steps, stopped, and said some thing. Hazel could not hear the words. The first man was filling his pipe. App parently he made no reply; at least, he did not trouble to look up. But she saw his shoulders lift in a shrug. Then he who had passed turned square about and spoke again. this time lifting his voice a trffie. Flss young fellow sitting on the box in- stantly became galvanized into action- He flung out an oath that carried across the street and made HaZefS ears burn. At the same time he leaped from his seat straight at the other man.
 Hazel saw it quite distinctly, saw him who jumped dodge vicious blow and close with the other; and saw, moreover, something which amazed her. For the young fellow swayed with his adversary second or two, then lifted him bodily off his feet al- most to the level of his head, and slammed him against the hotel wall with sudden twist. She heard the thump of the body on the logs. For an instant she thought him about to jump with his booted feet on the pros- trate form. and involuntarily she held her breath. But he stepped back, and when the other scrambled up, he side stepped the first rush. and knocked the man down again with blow of his fist. This time he stayed down. Then other men-three or four of them came out of the hotel, stood uncer- tainly few seconds, and Hazel heard the young fellow say:
 Better take that fool in and bring him to. If he's still hungry for trouble, I'll be right handy. I wonder how many more of you fellers I'll have to lick before you'll get wise enough not to start things you can't stopT
 They supported the unconscious man through the doorway; the young fel- low resumed his seat on the box, also his pipe filling.