The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-08-22
CHATTER xxx.
Ths ~r.th

WIZ ne desperation - = soy hoTI
@! 6esya5r SAs 3LlS Ac- burning Shees
hvs.u-eca.r aca.aS: IS cheek. She
rz.ze3 4 SS5s * - ~ce-c-C>teI bTo"'
at sxw4a.e1 eyo> be- avns held
kL- r.G3y. &s Na-.& 1ot move no
speak I'll Sc uao-1 .e. him Trans
formed. tbs mountain slTl who gave
herself 50 shyly. forgot everything. Her
words crowded or his ears. She re
peated his name n 81 ecstasy OF vel
come, drew down his lips, laughed, re
toiced, knew no shamefacedneSS and
no restraint-she was n freed from
the stroke Of a descending knife. A
moment before she had faced death
alone; It was still death she faced
she realized this-but it was death, at
least, together, and her joy and tears
rose from her heart in II stream.
De Spain comforted her, quieted her,
cut away one of the coats from his
horse, slipped 1t owe her shoulders, In
cased her in the heavy fur, and turned
his eyes to Duke.
The old mans set, square face sur
rendered nothing of implacabllity to
the dangers confronting him. De
Spain looked for none Of that. he had
known the Morgan record o long, and
faced the Morgan men too often, to
fancy they would finch at the drum
beat Of death.
The two men, In the deadly, driving
snow, eyed each other. Out Of the old
mans deep-set eyes burned the resist
ance Of a hundred storms faced before.
But he was caught now like a wolf In
q trap, and he knew he had little to
hope for, little to fear. AS De Spain
regarded him, something like pity may
have mixed with his hatred. The old
outlaw was thinly clad. His open
throat was beaten with snow, and,
standing beside the wagon, he held the
team reins in q bare hand. De Spain
cut the other coat from his saddle and
held 1t out. Duke pretended not to
see, and. when not longer equal to
keeping up the p%retense. shook his
head.
"Take It," said De Spain CURLY.
"No."
stake 1t, l say. You and l will settle
our affairs when we get Nan out of
this" he insisted.
"De Spain! I" Dukes voice, as was
It's wont, cracked like a pistol. II al
say all I've got to say to you right
here"
"No."
EYES," cried the old man.
listen, Henry" pleaded Nan, seek
ing shelter from the furious blast
within his arm. "just for a moment.
listen !"
"Not now, I tell you" cried De
Spain.
"He was coming, Henry, all the way
and he Is sick-just to say 1t to you.
Let him say 1t here, now"
"Go on!" cried De Spain roughly.
"Say It."
"Pm not afraid Of you, De Spain I"
shouted the old man, his neck barred to
the flying Ice. "Don't think 1t! You're
q better man than I am, better than l
ever was-don't think I don't know
that. But I'm not afraid of e'er q
man / faced, De Spain; they'll tell
you that when I'm dead. All the
trouble that ever come tween you and
me come by an accldent-come before
you was born, and come through Dave
Sassoon, and he's held 1t over me ever
since you come up into this country.
I was a young fellow. SassOon worked
for my father. The cattle and sheep
war was on, north Of Medicine Bend.
The Peace river sheepmen raided u
place--your father was with them. He
never did us nc harm, but my brother,
Bay Morgan was shot In that raid by
q man name Of Jennings. I started
out to get the a that shot him. Sas-
soon trailed him to the Bar NJ, the old
De Spain ranch, working for your ia
Their"
The words fell fast and In a fury.
They came as II they had been choked
back till they strangled. "Sassoon
took me over there. Toward night we
got In sight Of the ranchhouse. We
saw a man down at the corral. That's
jennings Sassoon says. / never laid
eyes on him before-I never laid eyes
on your father before. Both Of us
fired. Next day we heard your father
was killed, and Jennings had left the
country. SassoOn or l, one Of us, killed
your father, De Spain. II 1t was I,
! did 1t never knowing who he was,
never meaning to touch him. l was
after the man that killed my brother,
Sassoon didn't are which II was, never
did, then nor never. But he held II
over me to make trouble sometime
'twixt You and me. ! was a young fel.
low. I thought I was ~revenging INV
brother. And II your father was
killed by q patched bullet, his blood Is
not on me, De Spain, and never was
Sassoon always shot a patched bullet
I never shot one in my life. And I'd
never told you this Of my own self
Nan said II was the whole truth from
me - you. or her life. She's a. much
mine a she II yours. ! nursed her
i t00k care of her when there werens