The Little River news., 1920-09-01
SYNOPSIS


 tune n Death Valley, Calf, boards a train for tha East He befriends a young lady annoyed by a masher, thoroughly trouneing the pest
 CHAPTER II-At Denver Webster re- celNes letter from Billy Geary, his clos est friend GearN urges him to come to Sobraute, Central America, to finance and develop mining claim. He decides to go,
 CHAPTER III. = Dolores Ruey, the young woman Webster befriended, and who has made a deep impression on him, as he has on her, is also on the way to Sobrante.
 CHAPTER Iv.-At Buenaventura, capi- tai of Sobrante, Billy Geary, i'll and pen niless Is living on the charity of Mother Jenks," keeper of dramshop She re- ceives a cablegram from Dolores, telling of her coming.
 CHAPTER V-Dolores' father, Ricardo Ruey, president of Sobrante, had been killed in a revolution led by Sarros the present executive, Dolores, a child of eight, was smuggled out of the country by Mother Jenks and supported by her in the United States. The old woman, ashamed of her occupation and habits of hfe, fears to meet Dolores; and sends Geary to the boat to say she has gone to the United States.
 CHAPTER vI.-Webster, on his way to
  is in a hospital at New Orleans two weeks. Geary bunges his mission. Dolo- res easily seeing through his story. She greets Mother Jenks as her friend and benefaetor Geary falls desperately in love with the girl
 'Oh, thirty-nine or forty on actual count. but one of the kind that will live to be a thousand and then have to be killed with an axe. He's com, ing to Sobrante ro' help me put over a mining deal"
 "HoW interesting Mr. Geary! No wonder you were disappointed.
 The last sentence was a shaft delib- erately launched; to Dolores delight it made a keyhole in Billy Geary's heart.
 Don't get me wrong, Miss Ruey," he hastened to assure her. 'T have a good mine but I'd trade it for a hand shake from Jack The good Lord only published one edition of Jack, and limited the edition to one volume then the plates were melted for the junk we call the human race. Two weeks ago, when I was sick and pen niless and despairing, the possessor of a concession on a fortune but with out centavo in my pockets to buy banana, when I was a veritable beach comher and existing on the charity of Mother Jenks, managed finally to communicate with old Jack and told him where l was and what had. There's his answer. Miss Ruey. and I'm not ashamed to say that when got it cried like kid" And Billy handed her John Stuart Webster's re- markable cablegram, the receipt of which had, for Billy Geary, trans formed night into day, purgatory into paradise. Dolores read it.
 No wonder you love him." she de clared, and added artlessly: His wife must simply adore him"
 He has no wife to bother his life, so he paddles his own canoe," Billy recited, T don't believe the old sour dough has ever been in love with any thing more charming than the goddess of fortune. He's wOmanproof."
 About Mrs. Jenks," Dolores contin- ued, abruptly changing the subject. "How nice to reflect that after she had trusted you and believed in you when you were penniless, you were enabled to justify her faith"
 "You betl" Billy declared. "I feel that can never possibly hope to catch even with the old Samaritan, although I did try to show her how much I appreciated her"
 "I dare say you went right out and bought her an impossible hat" Dolores challenged roguishly.
 No, l didn't, for a very sufficient reason. Down here the ladies do not wear hats. But I'll tell you what I did buy her, Miss Ruey-and oh, by George Pm glad now I did it. She'll wear them tomorrow when l bring her to see you. I bought her a new black silk dress and an old-lace collar, and a gold breast pin and a tortoise shell hair comb and hired an open carriage and took her for an evening ride on the Malecon to listen to the band con- cert
 'Did she like that?"
 "She ate it up," Billy declared with conviction. "I think it was her first adventure in democracy"
 Billy's pulse was still far from nor nal when he reached El Buen Amigo, for he was infused with strange, new-found warmth that burned like malarial fever, but wasn't. He wasted no preliminaries on Mother Jenks, but bluntly acquainted her with the facts in the case.
 Mother Jenks eyed him moment wildly. Cords truthi" she gasped; she reached for her fayorite elixir, but Billy got the bottle first.
 Nothing doing," he warned this strange publican. Mother, you're funking lt--and what would your ] sainted Emery say to that? Do you want that angel to kiss you and get a whiff of this brandy?"