The Raymer enterprise., 1921-06-23

-~o 49, 49, -
Ponca. Calkins had to be put out Of
the way"
"You-mean Macklinr
"Yes; only. as ! say. that ID prob
ably not the fellows name-he Is Cor.
nelius Churchill's son." :.
"Where-where did you learn all
thls?"
"Macklin told the story. when he
wns drunk, to another rascal. / crept
up to campfire one night and heard
the latter relate the tale"
Where was thlsT
"On Dragon creek"
"Yes-but whenT
Might before last; while I was
seeking to trail You"
She had never released her grasp Of
his hand; now It tightened.
might before last: you-you never
knew It beforer'
Certainly not"
you didn't marry me be-because
! had all this money!
Shelby laughed lightly.
Lord. no: I never suspected you
had FIVE cents"
"And-and," she went on earnestly,
"you-you followed after me, hurt as
you was, never knowing about all this
-just-because It was mer
That's sure right; leastwise until
struck this outfit over on Dragon
creek. and I can't say that cared a
d-n about the money at all; only II
gave me a notion Of what was up. I'd
come just the same: you can bet your
life on that"
"Oh, am glad you said sol And
you-you actually don't care for the
money!
"Care for it! Little girl, amt
given II . thought. I'm here for
/ youi"
Mel You care for mer'
swell, I reckon I must. Long as
you're my wife. I'm your husband,
amt r.
Yes" she said. rather wearily. Il
understand"
Her glance was toward the open
door into the other room. and she
seemed anxious to change the topic.
"What-what happened out there
last night1 Do you knowl There was
fighting. and q shot fred. l am sure I
heard a cry. a. though some one was
hurt, and then after that everything
was silent"
There was q light" he answered.
''and IT cost the lives Of two men
one white. the other Indian. l found
them sripped In each others arms
there on the floor, both deadw
Both deadl Two Of them out
there. How horrible! Who are theyr'
Zone must have been your guard"
"Yes, the Indian; but the otherr'
"A rufiian named Slagin; he was
one Of the fellows I overheard talk.
Ing about your case. he must have
known that Macklin left you here
alone last night. and came to see you
for some purpose. he must have en-
countered the Indian Unexpectedly.
and the two went into the death grap-
ple"
"And-both were killed.
"Yes; the red was shot. and the
white choked to death. 1t was a game
fight all right. couldn't pry the fel-
lows apart"
"And they are there nowr'
"Not In sight-no; I rolled the
bodies back under a bench out Of
sight, and threw an old blanket over
them. Now see here. Olga" he went
on earnestly. we've got to get out Of
here before anyone comes. ! know q
place where we can hide. and q trail
that leads up from this Hole; but the
first thing to do is to get safely away
before Macklin gets back. You will
90 with mer'
"Of course; but do You dare make
che attempt by daylightf
II don't dare anything else. Every
minute we waste here adds to our
danger. You have nothing to take
with your
She shook her head; then suddenly
she lifted her eyes again. and looked
him directly In the face.
"Tom Shelby" she asked impetuous-
ly, "is what you said actually true
that you are Just doing this because
you have got to. being my husband"
He stared at her. surprised, and
confused by so direct question.
Sure: that's what I ought to do.
amt It! But maybe you don't exactly
sabe what I mean. IL reckon I've
got to thinkIn' lot about you lately;
since that galoot took you away I
mean; and-and well. I'm id glad
you are my WIFE" he broke forth des-
perately. THAT'S honest how l feel
about It."
The clear eyes watching him smiled.
and she stretched out her hand.
"You are sure then II Is not just a
duty. You really want me to 20 with
you?"
II amt much good telling these
things, but that's what l want.
reckon there amt no world big enough
to keep me from huntin' you up-God
did you hear that?"
1t was the harsh voice Of a man