The Dolores star., 1918-03-22
cnAeraR XIV.


G.IV-
0iliy lss,ss ests Q ouspsssA
FRIGHTENED. worried. dek q
heart because her croWding doubts
and suspicions had suddealy =
veioped into black certainty Just Whsa
she had thought them dead forever,
Billy Louise rode up he MARROW,
rocky gorge. She had come b have o
vague comprehension Of he tsmptA-
ton Ward must have felt She had
come to accept pityingly the possibility
that the canker Of old influences had
eaten more deeply than appeared ON
the surface. she had 1T herDelf
stanchly beside him 90 his friend, who
would help him win back his self
respect. She felt sure that he must
suffer terribly with that keen, analyti.
cnl mind Of his. when he stopped to
wherewith to ease his Coincidence. She
knew his ideas Of right and wrong
were a. uncompromising ~ her own
aud II he stole cattle. he did II with
bis eyes wide open to the wrong he
was doing. And yet
that's bad enough. but to Try and
fasten evidence on someone else I"
Billy Louise gritted her teeth over the
treachery Of II. She believed he had
done that very thing. How could she
help TT She had seen the corral and
had seen Ward ride away from II In
the dusk Of the evening; or she be-
iieved she had seen him. which was
the same thing. And she knew what
Inv behind him. Was his version of
the past after all the correct onef
Might not the paragraph she had
burned been nothing more than the
truthf
Billy Louise fought for him; fought
with her stern, youthful Judgment
which was 10 incorporating. It takes
years Of close contact with life to
give one q sure understanding of hu-
man ws-N7ess and human endeavor.
At the I'D, when Blue would have
crossed and taken the trail home, Billy
Louise refined him impulsively the
other way. Until that instant abe had
DOT intended to seek Ward. but once
her fingers had twitched the reina
against Blues neck, she did not hesi-
tate: she did mot even argue with her
self. She just glanced mp at the sun.
saw that II was not yet noon-so much
may happen In two or three hoursl-
and sent Blue mp the hill at lope.
She did not know what she would
do or what she would shy when she
saw Ward.
The two mares fed dispiritedly at
the lowest corner Of the fleld, their
hair rough with exposure to the win
ter winds and the storms, their ribs
showing. With all the hay he had put
up. Ward might at least keep his
horses in better shape. Billy Louise
censured, n she passed them BY.
Farther along. Billy Louise heard q
welcoming nicker and turned her head.
sHere came Rather, thin-flanked and
tough-coated. trotting down shallow
gulley to meet Blue. The two horses
chummed together whenever Ward
was at the Wolverine. Billy Louise
pulled up and waited till Rather
reached her. He and Blue rubbed
noses. and Blue laid back his ears and
shook his head with teeth barred. In
playful pretense Of anger. Rather
kicked mp his heels ip disdain ut the
threat and trotted alongside them.
Billy Louise rode with puckered eye
brows. Ward might neglect his stock.
but he would never neglect Rather
like this. And he must be at home.
since here was his horse. Or else /. !.
She struck Blue suddenly with her
reln-ends and went gathering up the
trail where the snow lay in shaded,
crusty patches trimmed with dirt. The
trail was untracked save BY the loose
stock. Where was Wardf What had
happened to him7 She looked again
at Rather. There was no sign Of re-
cent saddle marks along his side, no
telltale imprint Of the cinch under his
belly. Where was Wardf
Blind. unreasoning terror filled Billy
Louise. She struck Blue again and
plunged into the icy creek crossing
near the stable. She stopped there
just long enough to see how empty
and desolate It was, and how the
horses and cattle had huddled against
its sheltering wall ou. Of the biting
winds: and how the door was shut
and fastened 30 that they could not
get In. She opened It and looked In.
and shut 1t again. Then she turned
and ran, white-faced. to the cabin.
pened. to wardf Thief or honest man.
treacherous or true-what had hap
pened to him1
Billy Louise saw the doorstep banked
over with old. crusted snow. Her