Gunnison news-champion., 1921-01-21
VTTI nero, are you =

.#ff.- AN.'A t.-AA
She made herself say these words
calmly. looking him frankly IN the
face. yet as he went outside. closing
ths Gn0r behind him. seemingly quite
satisfied with her readiness 10 abide
the situation she bowed her head on
the dirty table. and her body shook
with -0Hs which could 90 longer Do"
rag--1.rcd So This vas what size hid
-araa 'o-rlIs' She had Kept hcrssI'
-r a1r try -I'l drr1wz. and tbs VIs
3d.. r,.r..ra-ua She ufrrd her face
r.rl I,narG about M" tear stlN mist
-- rr hsr eyes. then Sd" suddenly
r..sH.H md stood Up with cheeks
=.pa.re and lips firmly set II vas
% horrible mc-s 20 he SIRE. yet the
rrarr Itself was not so bad: SIZE had
lived tn far worse: and once put 10
some degree Of order and cleanliness
II might prove fairly comfortable In.
deed. She surveyed the scene. as re
yoaIcd by the yellow Game of the
lng1p. her heart beating faster This
was n be her home She had come
here Hs mistress. II un''rred not 50
much bha, Il was now. hui what she
should make 0t II. Her slender form
stra alghfpncd With new determination.
There was yet another door. and she
looked out through Il Into a small
ieun-'o. the lamp held high over her
head. This was evidently the kitchen.
containing as II DID. q small cook
stove. Srrr Of roughly built closet.
and slnE. ~" latter stacked with I'm
vnsloI dishes An nrmfuI OF split
wood lay on the door. and hHlf slab
OF bacon hung 70 n nail.
Ol-a give vent To another laugh.
but this time there was no hint Of hys-
'erla ln II. She had found herself.
prcs sod stll In the long tuSter, she
sci down the lamp on a small table.
and dropping upon her knees. swiftly
ElndIDd q fire In the stove. As the
wood began to craCkle chcerfully, she
searched the closet for materials. re
J0IcIus to discover some dishes yet
unused together with remnants Of
food sufficient for her purpose. There
WIS sugur. condensed milk. n few
kuarly potatoes a small sack Of -four,
md half can Of coffee. She dumped
. these out on the table. md begnn hum
ming a tune as she added the slab OF
bacon to these treasures. She wRs too
busy by now to give another thought
- the dirt and disorder about her.
shelby was kept outside C1usihera-
bly longer than he had anticipated.
The htSEskin. In spite Of a slXty-miie
-
to kick the lantern out OF the Kids
hand and smash II into smithereens.
thus compelling the two TO work In
darkness. MacklIn. unncquRinted with
the surroundings, was OF little use.
and most Of the work had to be done
by Shelby in person When II was all
over with both men were sweating
pr0fusely, tired and angry. the Kid
cursing everything from the creation
! OF the world Shelby, suddenly re-
membcring the girl left alone in the
| house all this time. lost the last grip
| on hs temper.
shut upl" he barked savageiy.
| I've had just enough OF that What
! did you expect anywny--n reception
/ committee an banquet Come on
| In. now: wen hustle up some grub
Here. yor might us well tote a few OF
those things along with you"
Both men loaded up with pr1kages
| from the blackboard. the Kid still
swearing under his breath. but Shelby
grImly silent. he was remembering
what that interior looked like. and
wondering how she was taking such a
homecoming. He could not but con-
tras, che 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 stun on the
table" she announced brightly. "rve
scraped those papers up In one corner
SO there's plenty Of room. Never mind
abou, bringing the rest In now; sup
pers ready
! Shelby put his bundles down with
out word. his eyes quick to perceive
the chairs cleared Of their debris. the
door swept. the ashes back In the
stove. He could hardly comprehend
the miracle.
She led the way gayly. leaving her
broom In 4 corner. and carrying the
lamp. The lean-to kitchen had been
0ansfgured and actually presented .
nomeIike appearance The dirty dishes
were showed out Of sight the door
swept. the dre IN The Stove bla1ed