The Holbrook news., 1921-05-06

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 all
 togther 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
 tihed young lady, he had found her
 filled with merriment over the affair
 and quite indifferent as to its outcome.
 She was different from anything he
 had previously conceived. He had
 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 a joke. He was
 the victim, rather than she, evidently,
 in her estimation; and he had actually 1 felt like a raw boy in her presence,
 unable to think of 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 i 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 strode up the path, oblivious to all else but his gloomy i thoughts.
 There were numerous people on the ! ,s,, e-N,. 1v-fn afr1ol groups were before the dance hall and McCarthys 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 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.
 HI. Red if here ain't 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.
 'I don't hold that to be any of your business" he replied coldly.
 "Weli, by thunder, it 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. It 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-lI I 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 grimly.
 Don't go too far, Cowan," he warn ed sternIy q got some reputation as a fightin' man myself an I don't take everything peaceably. Now, listen to me, you drunken brute, and keep civil tongue in your head. I have seen the girl, but we didn't talk none about marriage and, what's more, I wouldn't touch that money, not a cent of it. even if I was to marry her-she ain't that kind, ner I ain't.'
 "Gosh, you must think I'm a sucker, | Tom Shelby. What the h-l 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 | ain't 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- servation. money or no money. Yer can't string mel'
 "You say she's homely?"
 ''I sure do, an as damn mean as she looks, I reckon"
 Shelbys face was like flint and his right fist crashed square into Cowan's | sneering lips. The fellow went top bling 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. It was soon over with. Shelby giving his opponent no chance to break away. his blows with a frank expression of feeling.
 You measly houndl Coin to marry her for money, am I? Maybe you'd like to say that ag'in, G-n you That's bout the size O your soul, Cowan. Take ttat. you whelp! You won't be so d-n beautiful yourself when I get through. There nowi Per haps you'll lay quiet awhilel"
 He got to his feet and glared about into the ring of interested faces de fantly.
 "Any more of yer want to say what he did?" he demanded. Here. you, Kelly; you laughed when that dirty pup said she was homely as a hedge fencel Come here, you red-headed terrier and he gripped him by the throat shaking the fellow helplessly back and forth in his mad rage. "Pm goin' ter marry that girl, if she'll nave me. an there ain't nobody goin' to slam the looks O my wife. either. You get that, you coyote? What do yer think of it now-hey? Spit it out; what do you think of her now?"
 Kelly had to spit it out; it was all he could do with those fingers grip ping him.
 >"Let go-d-n it-let gol HI! She's-she's the handsomest woman I ever saw; you-you let go O mel"
 Shelby flung him to one side in utter disgust, hurling an oath after him as