The Washington herald., 1921-04-03
A Stirring Tale Of Romance and Adventure
in the Great Southwest

SoutIllDest.
Word of this got about. Of course, and mas
culine eyes studied him more alertly. The
women who knew Princiep' thought about
him a good deal.
But Princiep', though he played At the
game of love 4 s3od deal, rode about on Ell
Toro, and came and went to and from his dis
tant rancho undisturbed by his notoriety.
At the little sunbaled town a good many
tourists got of the daily trains and walked
across the hot sand to the square faced hotel
that fanked the plaza on the north. for the
air Of the region was sweet as angels breath
and keen as the swords that Princiep' had
broken on his knee
It was wonderful air for lungs that anhed
for breath IN other places, fun Of the benen-
cent healing Of Nature. Many Of these
tourists stayed and sat on the long porch Of
the hotel In the marvellous twilights. looking
south to the neither rim Of the world where
the sand and cacu made q never-tobe-for-
gotten picture. They were recompense for
the blistering days inside the d6be walls,
those twilights with their purple and gold.
their rose and amethyst colors that fen upon
the desert with magic.
Among this lonely brotherhood Of exi,ss
there sat on the hotel porch one summer
dusk as sad and lonely q specimen Of the clan
fv,
though withal q lovely one. Feminine In
every line and fair In an ways from her pale
cheeks and heavy golden brown hair to ths
spirit that shone from hsr soft blue eyes.
she seemed moro than ordinarily pathetic -
she sat alone by one of the rude pillars that
upheld the upper gallery.
In these remote places where the unfor-
tunate go there exists kindly triendlines,
. bon camaraderie. as It were, that makes IN
PRODUCTION unnecessary and CHEEKY oonversa-
ton possible At once. But somehow no one
spoke to the brown haired girl, for there vas
about her an aloofness that forbade intru.
sion. She had been five days At the hotel-
i've long. hushed. sun-hot days-and no one
had addressed her save the proprietor and
his wife. She kept her room during the day
and came out with the rest In the cool of
the evenings, but her eyes were such deep.
clear pools Of tragic loneliness that more
than one glanced at her with pity. Her name
on the register was Miss LIdth Hope, and
she hailed from Cincinnati. o.
But Liith Hope, in her loneliness and her
seeming OF sadness. was to Be a complete and
unconscious conquerer-for on that NTH eve
ming when she stared unseeingly at the dead
monotony of everlasting sand, unawake a
yet to its mystery and its charm, with her
little chin In her hand and her soft fips hah
curved to weeping which her strong heart
would not permit-who should ride in along
the sorry street but Princiep Anorez on El
Toro! ...
Princiep' the happy, the carefree-Prin-
ciep'. who glanced at the groups on the hotel
porch with lively interest-and let FL Toro
curvet prouaiy-and whose eyes fell lastly
on the small and lovely figure by the east
pillar.
Lilith Hope raised her blue eyes, half
aswim with the troublesome tears, and met
man In the picturesque riders habfliments-
and the unconscious victory was accom-
pished. For Princiep', who had played at
love 50 long and 30 lightly withal so tenderiy
and uprishtly as one may play that game.
looked once and was done for.
He saw the pathos in the controlled face,
the stubborn tears that would gather. and
his own expressive orbs said to her As plainly
as that speech Of which he had 80 little
need, 90, stranger heart, I sorrow because
you are sad" or something very much to
that effect And at that plain and simple
message from a total stranger who looked
like Frenchman. Spaniard. and an Ameri.
can all rolled into one, the tears welled up
and ran frankly down her cheeks. The girl
was ashamed and quickly turned her head
and the man rode on But his sane head was
turning like a pinwheel about the centrifu-
gal point Of that sweet face.
Twenty-four hours later he was saying to
the proprietor Of the square-faced hotel, Ths
room I always take. Dick-an' for . week
this time"
So it came about that one more lounser
watched the twilights from the porch,
youth in fine raiment, whose extraordinary
masculine charm came upperinost with q
vengeance. But Princiep', who had ever
been the very knight Of gallantry, became
tongue-tied abashed. When his longing eyer
met those clear blue ones he felt like snow
melting in the sun. He smoked many Gig
arets and wished miserably that he knew the