Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1919-04-25

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been left no illusions. Her blue eyes
flashed hate.
II did not know II until We got
here. There was message from Mac
Lean at the desk, waiting"
MacLean was not there. eithefl
I'VE are all ready" she cried.
Mrs. Hatfield and Mr.. Richard cannot
come" Not for worlds would she give
In to her desire to call the whole
grim affair OF: let them think she
was disappointed. not she. Though
the world blew away. she would 20.
She found herself distributing slips
Of mangied quotations. The white
slips went to the women: the green
bits Of pasteboard to the men. She
held q certain green card in her
glove: Leads on to fortune" Rick
ard might come dashing In at the last
moment, the ideal mans way; spe-
cial. perhaps; 1t did not seem credible
that he would deliberately stay away
without sending her word
In q burst Of laughter. the com
pany discovered then that the guest
Of honor was aiao absent. Mrs.
Hardin hurried them out to the walt
ing buggies.
Drearily. they drove down the ny-
Ing street. The wind was at their
backs, but It tore at their hats, pulled
at their tempers. Their eyes were
full Of street dust.
A fash Of light az they were leav-
Ing town frightened the thick dust
clouds. what was thatr' cried Gerty.
She was ready for any calamity now.
mot llghtningf" Again. the queer
light flashed across the obscured sky.
Tom reused himself to growl that he
hadn't seen anything. And the dreary
farce went on.
lines partner was young Sutcliffe.
the English xanjero. He was In the
quicksand Of q comparison between
English and American women, Innes
mischievously cooking him into deeper
waters. when there was a blockade
Of buggies ahead Of them.
'The A b @ ranch" cried Innes.
peering through the veil Of dust at
the queer unreal outlines Of fences
and trees. Its our first STOP"
"Oh, / say. that's too bad" began
Sutcliffe. lines was already on the
road. her skirts whipped by the wind
into clinging drapery.
Gerty's party found itself disorgan-
lied. Partners were trying to find
or lose each other. Get In here !"
hines heard the voice Of Estrada be-
hind her. He had a top buggy. She
hailed a refuge.
"Splendid!" she cried. what q
relief" Climbing In, she said: u
hope this isn't upsetting Gerty's ar
rangement."
Arrangement! Look at them r
The women were Fastening out Of the
dust swirl into any haven that OF.
fered. With little screams Of dismay,
they ran like rabbits to cover.
Gerty found herself with Blinn. Al
the next stop there was q block Of
buggies. mo use changing again =
She acknowledged herself beaten
Lets 90 on. What are they stopping
forr' Dismal farce II all wasl
She was pushing back her disheart'
ened curis when the beat Of horses
hoofs back Of them brought the blood
back into her vind-chilled cheeks
sRickardI" she thought. HE mus
have come In speciali" The gloom
suddenly disgorgsd NaeLean.
"Har1inl Where u her
whats upr yelled Blinn. II Il
the riverf' MacLean'S face answered
him. His ranch secured again-~0o4
Almighty"
'The riverr" screamed the women
The men were surrounding AacLean
whose horse was prancing a. II viii
the Importance Of having carried I
Revere. THE leveer" called Mac
Lean. 'Where's Hardinr' He spurret
his mare toward Hardin. who wal
blacker than Napoleon at Austerlitz
you're needed. They're all need
Fed" The other voices broke In. thu
men pressing up. This threatened
them all. Blinn's ranch lay in tn
ravaged sixth district. Nothing woul,
save him. Youngberg belonged t
water company number one; thei
bitches would 60. Hollister and VII
son of the Palo Verde saw ruin aheat
of them. Each man was visualixinl
the mad onward sweep Of that de
stroying power. Like ghosts. tn
women huddled in the dust-blowI
road.
"Where II It nowr demanded Blinn
"It's here, right on us. You're al
needed at the levee." bawled Mac
Lean.
The leveel There was q dash 70
buggies. q scraping Of wheels, tn
whinnying of frightened horses. Som
one recalled the flashes Of light the,
had seen on leaving town. "Wha
were those lights-signalsT
"From the water-tower.'" MacLean'
voice split the wind. The wires ar
all down between the Crossing and tn
towns. Coronel was on the tower-h
got the signal from the Heading-he'
been there each night for a week
This was q great night-for his chie1
Rickardl
Gerty Hardin caught the thrill q
his hero-worship. How splendid, no,
triumphant!
- <ocra horuolf IN bor hro<her,