The Benson signal. [volume] (Benson, Cochise County, Ariz.) 1915-1921, 1918-10-12

ows in four hours n half. My wife'1l
be plumb tckled to have yuh. They
amt much more'n half a dozen white
women in ten miles uh the Meadows.
We keep boardin' house. Hope you'll
like the country"
That was lengthy speech for Tim
Briggs, as Hazel discovered when she
rolled out Of Soda Creek behind the
team uh bays" His 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 tall flagpole. "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 a spot. But
1t was largely because Of the surround.
ings, essentially primitive, the clean
air, guiltless Of smoke faint, the arc.
matte odors from the forest that
ranged for unending 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 ioef
ing on the porch of the Briggs domi-
cile, within which Mrs. Briggs, a fat
good-natured person Of forty, toiled at
her cooking for the "boarders," and
kept a brood of five tumultuous young.
sters In order-the combined tasks
leaving her scant time to entertain
her newly arrived guest
Cariboo Meadows, as q town, was
simply double row Of buildings fac.
ing each other across wagon road
Two stores. blacksmith shop, feed
stable, certain other nondescript
buildings, and few dwellings, mostly
Of logs, was all. Probably not more
than a total of fifty souls made per-
manent residence there. Directly op.
posite Briggs boarding house stood
building labeled "Regent Hotel" Ha.
Eel 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. Ap
parently he made no reply; at least
he did not trouble to look up. But
she saw his shoulders lift in shrug,
Then he who had passed turned
square about and spoke again, this
time lifting his voice trifle. The
young fellow sitting on the box in
stantly became galvanized into action
He flung out an oath that carried
across the street and made Hazeli
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 q sudden twist. She heard the
thump of the body on the logs. Fol
an instant she thought him about ia
jump with his booted feet on the pros
trate form, and involuntarily she held