Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1920-12-30

a horrible mess, to be sure, yes the
place itself was not so bad; she had
lived in far worse; and once put IN
some degree of order and cleanliness
it might prove fairly comfortable IN
deed. she surveyed the scene. as re-
vealed by the yellow flame OF the
lamp, her heart beating faster. This
was to be her home. She had come
here as mistress. 1t mattered not so
much what it was now, but what she
should make of it. Her slender form
straightened with new determination.
There was yet another door, and she
looked out through it into a small
lean-to, the lamp held high over her
head. This was evidently the kitchen,
containing, as it did, a small cook
stove, a sort of roughly built closet,
and sink, the latter stacked with I'M
washed dishes. An armful of split
wood lay on the floor, and a half ] a
of bacon hung to a nail.
Olga gave vent to another laugh,
but this time there was no hint Of hys-
terra in it. She had found herself.
Dressed still in the long buster, she
set down the lamp on a small table,
and dropping upon her knees, swiftly
kindled q fire in the stove. AS the
wood began to crackle c%heerfully, she
searched the closet for materials, re
joicing to discover some dishes yet
unused, together with remnants of
food sufficient for her purpose. There
was sugar, condensed milk. a few
knarly potatoes, a small sack Of flour,
and a half can of coffee. She dumped
these out on the table, and began hum
ming a tune, as she added the slab OF
bacon to these treasures. She was too
busy by now to give another thought
to the dirt and disorder about her.
Shelby was kept outside considera-
bly, longer than he had anticipated.
The buckskin, in spite Of a sixty-mile
Journey, retained vi%ciousness enough
to kick the lantern out of the Kids
hand and smash it into smithereens,
thus compelling the two to work in
darkness. Macklin, unacquainted with
the surroundings, was Of little use.
and most of the work had to be done
by Shelby in person. When it was all
over with both men were sweating
%profusely. tired and angry, the Kid
cursing everything from the creation
of the world. Shelby, suddenly re-
m%embering the girl left alone in the
house all this time lost the last grip
on his temper.
"Shut up!" he barked savagely.
I've had just enough of that. What
did you expect anyways-a reception
committee an a banquet? Come on
in, now; we'll hustle up some grub.
Here. you might as we'll tote a few Of
those things along with you"
Both men loaded up with packages
from the blackboard. the Kid still
swearing under his breath, but Shelby
grimly silent. Fe was remembering
what that interior looked like, and
wondering how she was taking such a
homecoming. He could not but con-
trast the dirt and disorder to which
he had brought her with the immacu-
late cleanliness of the shack where
she lived in Ponca. The memory
made him half afraid to go in and
face her eyes. He lifted the latch
hesitatingly. the bundles on the other
arm piled to his chin, and stepped
across the threshold. Then he stopped
suddenly, with his mouth wide open,
the Kid pushing in behind him, even
more heavily laden. She stood in the
middle of the floor, with cheeks
flushed, and eyes smiling.
"You boys can pile that stuff on the
table, she announced brightly. 1--WE
scraped those papers up in one corner,
so there's plenty Of room. Never mind
about bringing the rest in now; sup
per's ready"
Shelby put his bundles down with
out a word. his eyes quick to perceive
the chairs cleared of their debris, the
floor swept. the ashes back in the
stove. He could hardly comprehend
the miracle.
She led the way gayly, leaving her
broom in a corner and carrying the
lamp. The lean-to Kitchen had been
TRANSPORTED, and actually presented a
homeiike appearance. The dirty dishes
were showed out of sight, the floor
swept, the fire in the stove blazed
cheerfully, and the table was covered
with the essentials Of a truly appetiz-
ing meal. She set the lamp down in
the center, fully rewarded by the ex-
preston on the faces Of the two.
sYou boys wash up there in the
sink" she commanded "use that piece
of sacking for a towel; it vas all I
could find. Then We'll get busy"
If Shelby was to live a thousand
years he would never lose memory of
that meal. The grateful warmth of
the stove, the %neatness of the table.
the good fellowship with which she
served, all coupled with the wonder
full surprise, left upon him an i'm
preston new afterward to be blotted
out. She talked about what she was
going to do; about what he had pur-
chased in town; about anything which
came into her mind that she could
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