The Concordia sentinel., 1920-11-27

anticipated; the tears he had come 10
wipe away were conspicuous by their
absence. and instead Of bringing com
fort and courage to an extremely NOR
titled young lady, he had found her
filled with merrIment over the analr
and quite Indifferent as to Its outcome.
She was different from anything he
had previously conceived. He mao
confidently expected to encounter ra-
ther ordinary young woman 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, mocking
him with her good humor and treating
the whole affair as Joke. 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 word 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 fool Of him. all right,
and he turned and strobe up the path,
obliviOus to all else but his gloemy
thoughts.
There were numerous people on the
maia 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 de, his mind vibrat-
ing between joining Lhe others at the
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 sneer.
HI. Red II here amt the bride
groom" he exclaimed insOlently. "Say,
where you been all this timer
Shelby drew back slightly, but held
his temper, his brain instantly clearing.
al don't hold that to be my Of your
business" he replied coldly.
swell, by thunder, II is, just the
same. You butted into this game with
out no warrant, an yer playin' US
| fer a parcel of fools. Ter 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
one O. US. Your pretendin' to be sur
prised was too darn thin. H-iI bet
yer Just come over from bein' with her
an laughin' at us-yer d-n skunk !"
Shelby's face hardened and his teeth
set grimiy.
~Don't go too far, Cowan." he warn
ed sternly. 81 got some reputation as
a fghtin' man myself an don't take
everything peaceably. Now, listen 70
me, you drunken brute, and keep a
civil tongue In your head. ! have 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 l 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 all your
life. Tell that to the marines-there
amt nobody goin' to marry her ex-
cept for the cash."
"What do you mean?"
"Why. she's homely as hedge fence.
Red was Just sayin' that If she'd a
picked him. he'd have jumped the re-
servatiOn, money or no money. Yer
can't string me"
"You say she's homely?"
| "I sure do, an as damn mean as she
looks, l reckon"
Shelby's face was like flint and his
right fist crashed square into Cowan's
Sneering lips. The fellow went top
Ming over and before he even knew
what had happened the ranchman was
upon him, holding him fiat to the
earth and pommeling with both hands.
1t was soon over with. Shelby giving
his opponent no chance TO break away.
interspersing his blows with frank
expression of feeling.
"YOu measly hound! Coin to marry
her for money. am n Maybe you'd
like TO say that agin. t-n You !!
That's bout the size o. your soul.
C0wRn. Take tfat, you whelp! Yon
won't be so d--n beautiful yourself
when get through. There nowi Per-
haps you'll lay quiet awhile"
He got to his feet and glared about
into the ring Of interested faces de-
family.
ANY more Of yer want to say what
he did?" he demanded. Here. you,
Kelly; you laughed when tha, dirty
pup said she was h0mely as hedge
fence! Come here, you red-hended
terrier" and he gripped him by the
throat shaking the fellow helplessly
back and forth in his mad rage. I'm
goin' ter marry that girl. If she'll have
me, an there amt nobody gOin' to
slam the looks o my wife. either. You
get that. you coyote? What do yer
think of II nOw-hey? Spit II out +:
what do you think OF her nOwT"
Kelly had to spit II out; 1t was all
he could do with those fingers grip
/ ping him.
LET go-d-n it-let go! Hill
She's-she's the handsOmest woman
ever saw; you-you let go o. mel"
Shelby flung him to one side in utter
disgust. hurting an oath after him as
he reeled dizzily into the protection
nj the crowd. He cast his eyes once