Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1920-04-30


pardonable pride in II, although the
task OF keeping these walls from be
ing married by the furniture knockinI
against them requires the utmos
care"
Bryce turned and his brown eye
blazed into the Coloneps. "where die
you succeed I'm finding such a marvel
ous treeT' he queried pointedly. -
know OF but one tree ia Humboldt
county that could have produced sucl
beautiful burl."
For about a second Colonel Penning
ton met Bryce's glance unwaveringly
then he read something in his guest'i
eyes, and his glance shifted, whit
over his benign countenance n 6usl
spread quickly. Bryce noted 1t, ant
his quickly reused suspicious were a.,
quickly kindled into certainty. "Wher,
did you find that treeT he repeated
innocently.
"Rondeau, my woods-boss, knew J
was on the lookout for something
special-somethlng nobody else coulC
get; so he kept his eyes Open"
"Indeedl There was Just trace
of irony In Bryce's tones as he drew
Shirley's chair and held II for her
"You are fortunate to have such Q
woods-boss In your employ. Sucf
loyal fellows are usually too good tc
be true, and quite frequently they put
their blankets on their backs and gel
out Of the country when you least ex
pect 1t. ! dare say II would be q
shock to you II Rondeau did that"
There was no mistaking the yelled
threat behind that apparently innocent
observation, and the Colonel, being
n man Of more than ordinary astute
ness, realized that at last he must
place his cards on the table. yes
he said. II would be rather disappoint.
ed. However, j pay Rondeau rather
. more than II is customary to pay
woods-bosses; SO. l imagine he'll stay
unless, OF course, somebody takes O
notion TO run him out Of the country.
And when that happens, want to be
on hand TO view the spectacle"
Bryce sprinkled modicum of salt
In his soup. 'T'm going up into Town.
ship nine tomorrow afternoon" he
remarked casually. 81 think l shall
go over to your camp and pay the In
comparable Jules a brief visit"
Again the Colonel assimilated the
hint. but preferred to dissemble. "Oh,
you can't steal him from me, Cardl-
gam" he laughed. II warn you In ad-
vance-so spare yourself the effort"
"I'll try anything once" Bryce re
torted with equal good nature. How
ever, l don't want to steal him from
you. i want to ascertain from him
where he procured this burl."
"He wouldn't tell you"
"He might. Tn a persuasive little
cuss when l choose to exert myself"
"Rondeau is not communicative. lie
requires lots Of persuading."
what delicious soupi" Bryce muir.
INJURED blandly. Miss Sumner, may
have a crackerT"
The dinner passed pleasantly; the
challenge and defiance between guest
and host had been so skillfully and
gracefully exchanged that Shirley
hadn't the slightest suspicion that
these two well-groomed men had, UNI
der her very nose, as II were, agreed
to be enemies and then, for the time
being turned their attention to other
and more trifllng matters. A sprightly
three-cornered conversation continued
for an hour. Then the Colonel, secret.
ly enraged al the calm. hooking, con
templative glances which Bryce ever
and anon bestowed upon him. and un.
able longer to convince himself that
he was too apprehensive-that this
cool young man knew nothing ana
would do nothing even II he knew
somethlpg-rose, pleaded the necessity
for looking over some papers, and babe
Bryce goodnight. Foollshly he
proffered Bryce limp hand; and a
demon of devlltry taking possession OF
the latter, he squeezed II with simple,
hearty earnestness, the while he said
Colonel Pennington. l hope / do
not have to assure you that my visit
here this evening has not only been
delightful but-er-instructlve Good
night, sir. and pleasant dreams"
With difficulty the Colonel suppress
ed groan. However, he was not the
sort of man who suffers in silence
for minute later the butler, leaning
over the banlsters as his master climb
ed the stairs to his library, heard the
latter curse With an eloquence that
was singularly appealing.