Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1920-12-23
CHAPTER W.

. .Exaai. S!!AT En I've
tGs -iJoSsait
he stared back at the closed door,
still dazed but capable of swearing at
himself for being such a blame fool.
He felt a vague suspicion that he had
acted foolishly and that the girl was
amused at his awkward embarrass-
'ment. The interview had proven al
together different from what he had
anticipated; the tears he had come to
wipe away were conspicuous by their
absence, and instead of bringing COM
fort and courage to an extremely NOR
tilted young lady, he had found her
dlled with merriment over the affair
and quite Indifferent as to it's outcome.
She was different from anything he
had previously conceived. He had
confidently expected to encounter a ra-
ther ordinary young wonian of the COM
monplace frontier type-the kind he
had known for years.
! She had proven herself nothing like
what he had conceived. She had been
smiling and self-possessed, hooking
him with her good humor and treating
the whole affair as q ja,ke. He was
the victim. rather than she, evidently,
in her estimation and he had actually
felt like a raw boy in her presence,
unable to think of q wQrd to say or
what to do with either hands or feet.
How Immediately clean she was and
ready of speech. He saw again the
picture Of her. sitting there facing him,
her eyes meeting him frankly. Yes,
she had made a fool of him. all right.
land he turned and strobe up the path,
= oblivious to all else but his gloomy
thoughts.
There were numerous people on the
smain street. although the principal
" groups were before the dance hall and
McCarthy's saloon. Shelby stopped in
the glare of the former to consider
what he had better do. his mind vibrat-
ing between Joining the others at the
G bar or seeking his bed at the hotel.
He was still undecided when two men
; suddenly bumped into him and he rec
~ognized Cowan and "'Red' Kelly, both
: drunk enough to be ugly and insult
ing. The first stared into his face
with a sheer.
eli. Red if here, amt the bride
groom" he exclaimed i%nsolently. "Say,
where you been all this timer"
Shelby drew back slightly. but held
his temper, his brain instantly clearing.
Il don't hold that to be any of your
business" he replied coldly.
f.. tSNn1l s.. INV h,,rlo 81 3. s.: :.~. r.
4 m You butted into this game with
: out no warrant, an yer playin' us
fer a parcel of fools. Fer one, /
don't stand fer it. 1t was a put-up
job. You an her are in cahoots for
that money. She didn't never look at
n O US. Your pretendin' to be sur
prised was too darn thin. HI! bet
yer just come owe from bein' with her
: an laughin' at us-yer d-n skunk"
Shelby's face hardened and his teeth
set grimly.
Don't go too far, Cowan,' he warn
ed sternly. II got some reputation as
a fghtin' man myself an | don't take !
everything peaceably. Now. listen to
: me. you drunken brute, and keep a.
CIVIL louSuc VI yOuf uedu. i nave seen
the girl, but we didn't talk none about
/. marriage and, what's more, / wouldn't
touch that money. not a cent of it,
even if / was to marry her-she amt
that kind. ner | amt
Gosh, you must think I'm a sucker,
Tom Shelby. What the hi you got
to git married on? I'll bet yer never
seed two thousand before in ALI your
life. Tell that to tile marfnes--there
amt nobody goin' to marry her ex-
-cept for the cash.
What do you mean?'
why. she's homely as a hedge fence.
Red was just sayin' that If she'd a
picked him. he'd have jumped the re-
seryation. money or no money. Yer
can't string mel"
You say she's homely?"
II sure do, an as damn mean MS she
looks, ! reckon"
Shelby's face was like 4inl and his
right fist crashed square mia cowan's
sneerIne lips, The fellow ven, TOP.
fpIing ovef and iWf,re he even, knew
what had tiupp"nm. the ram sn. was
upon hila, holding him Hal 10 The