The Arizona copper camp., 1918-01-12

of some excuse for her presence there.
It was going to be awkward, her COM
ing there on his heels, one might say.
Billy Louise began to wish she had
not come She began to feel quite GER
tain that Ward would be surprised and
disgusted when he found her there and
would look at her with that faint curl
of the lip and that fainter lift of the
nostril above it, which made her go
hot all over with the scorn in them.
She had seen him look that way once
or twice, and in spite of herself she be-
gan to picture his face with that ex-
preston.
Billy Louise was on the point of rid
ing away a good deal more hastily
than she had come in the hope that
Ward would not discover her there.
Then her own stubbornness came up
permost, and she told herself that she
had perfect right to ride wherever
she pleased and that if Ward didn't
like it he could do the other thing.
She went to the door and stood look
ing out for a minute, wondering where
he was.
There was little window behind
the bunk and beside that shelf filed
with books and smoking material and
matches. She knew by the very ar
rangement of that shelf and window
that Ward liked to lie there on: the
bunk and read while the light lasted.
At the head Of the bed hung flour
sack half full of some hard, lumpy
stuff which Billy Louise had not no
ticed before. She felt the bag tenta-
lively, could not guess its contents and
finally took it down and united it.
Within were irregular scraps and
strips of stuff hard as bone, puzzle
still to- one unfamiliar with the from
tier. Billy Louise pulled out little
piece, nibbled corner and pronounced:
"M-mm! Jerkyr I'm going to swipe
some of that" which she proceeded to
do to the extent Of filing her pocket,
for to those who have learned to like
It jerked venison is quite as desirable
as milk chocolate or any other nibbly
hdbit.
The opposite wall had sacks of -four
| stacked against it and boxes of staple
canned goods, such as corn and toma-
toes and milk and peaches. A box Of
canned peaches stood at the head Of
the bed and upon that case of toma-
toes. Ward used them for table and
set the lantern there when he wanted
to read in bed "He's got pretty good
supply of grub" was the verdict of
Billy Louise, sizing up the assortment
while she nibbled at the piece Of jerky.
81 wonder where he is anyway" And
moment later: "He oughtn't to hang
his best clothes up like that. They'll
be all wrinkled when he wants to put
them on"
She went over and disposed Of the
best clothes to her liking and shook out
the dust. She had to own to herself
that for a. bachelor Ward was very Or
derly, though he did let his trousers
hang down over the -four sacks in
way to. whiten their hens. She hung
them in a different place.
But where was Ward? Billy Louise
bethought her that Blue deserved
something to eat after that hard ride
and led him down to the stable. There
was no sign of Rather, and Billy
Louise wondered anew at Wards alb
sence 1t did not seem consistent with
his haste to leave the Wolverine and
his frequent assertion that he must get
to work. From the stable door she
could look over practically the whole
creek bottom within his fence, and she
could see the broad sweep of the hills
on either SIDE On her way back to
the cabin she tried to track Rather,
but there were several stock trails
leading in different directions, and the
soil was too dry to leave any distin-
gushing marks.
She waited for an hour or two, sit
ting in the doorway, nibbling jerky and
trying to read magazine. Then she
found stub OF pencil, tore out an adj
vertising page which had wide mar