The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1918-01-26

upon her face. She was leading an
old lady. gray-haired, austere-faced,
somber and sad. His motherl She
was feeble, but she walked erect. She
was pale, shaking, yet maintained her
dignity.
Then someone In white uttered a
low cry and knelt by Duane's bed.
His mother flung wide her arms with
a strange gesture.
"This mani They've not brought
back my boy. This mans his father !
Where is my SOM My son-oh, my
son !"
When Duane grew stronger 1t was
a pleasure to lie by the west window
and watch Uncle Jim white his stick
and listen to his talk. The old man
was broken now. He told many In
teresting things about people Duane
and married. failed, succeeded, gone
away, and died. But 1t was hard to
keep Uncle Jim off the subject of
guns, outlaws, fights. He could not
seem to divine how mention of these
things hurt Duane. Uncle Jim was
childish now, and he had a great pride
in his nephew. He wanted to hear
of all of Duane's exile. And IL there
was n thing more than another that
pleased him 1t was to talk about the
bullets which Duane carried In his
body. q
"Five bullets, amt it7" he asked,
for the hundredth time. "Five in that
last scrapl By guml And you had
six before?"
Eyes, uncle" replied Duane.
Five and six. That makes eleven.
BY gum! A mans a man, to carry
all that lead. But, Buck, you would
carry more. There's that niger Ed
wards, right here in Wellston. He's
got a ton of bullets in him. Doesn't
seem to mind them none. And there's
Cole Miller. I've seen him. Been a
bad man in his day. They say he
packs t~wenty-three bullets. But he's
bigger than you-got more flesh. . i.
Funny, wasn't 1t Buck, about the
doctor only bein' able to cut one bullet
out Of you-the one In your breast
bone? 1t was a forty-one caliber, an
unusual cartridge. l saw 1t, and |
wanted 1t, but Miss Longstreth
wouldn't part with 1t. Buck, there
was a bullet left in n Of Poggin's
guns, and that bullet was the same
kind as the one cut out of you. By
gumi Boy, it d have killed you If
it d stayed there"
at would indeed, uncle" replied
Duane, and the old, haunting, somber
mood returned.
But Duane was not often at the
mercy of childish old hero-worshiping
Uncle Jim. Miss Longstreth was the
only person who seemed to divine
Duane's gloomy mood, and when she
was with him she warded off all sug-
gestion.
One afternoon while she was there
at the west window, a message came
for him. They read it together.
You have saved the ranger service to
the Lone Star State.
Ray knelt beside him at the window,
and he believed she meant to speak
then of the thing they had Stunned.
Her face was still white, but sweeter
now, warm with rich life beneath the
marble; and her dark eyes were still
intent, still haunted by shadows, but
no longer tragic.
I'm glad for MacNelly's sake as
we'll as the states" said Duane.
She made no reply to that and
seemed to be thinking deeply. Duane
shrank a little.
"The pain-is 1t any worse today?"
she asked, instantly.
"No; it's the same. 1t will always
be the same. I'm full of lead, you
know. But / don't mind a little pain"
"Then-it's the old mood-the
fearT" she whispered. Tell me-"
"Yes. 1t haunts me. I'll be well
soon-able to go out. Then that
hat hell will come back !"
mo. no." she said with emotion.
"Some drunken cowboy, some fool
with a gun, will hunt me out in every
town, wherever 1 60" he went On,
miserably. "Buck Duane! To kill
Buck Duanel"
flush! Don't speak sc. Listen.
You remember that day in Val Verde,
when / came TO you-pleaded with you
not to meet Poggin? Oh, that was a
terrible hour for me. But it showed
me the truth. 1 saw the struggle be-
tween your passion to kill and your
love for me. l could have saved you
then had l known what / know now.
Now l understand that-that thing
which haunts you. But you'll never
have to kill another man, thank God I"
Like a drowning mar he would have
grasped at straws, but he could not
voice his passionate query.
She put tender arms round his neck.
Because you'll have me with you al
ways" she replied. Because always
1 shall be between you and that