The Raymer enterprise., 1921-04-21

tdlkln Ter Ine OOmlnl0 yer0 ABOUT net.
Tom. what is she agoin' ter dot An
what he'd this town ought ter do fer
herr"
what do you meanl They done
enough, amt they. with that swell
funeral an FIVE hundred bucks on top
Of 1T What more would she expectf'
"She don't expect nuthin.. That
ain't her style. got an idee she
won't even accept this bunch O. coin.
She's the ornariest heifer l ever saw.
But that's got no bearin' on Us. She's
an orphan. left yere In Ponca with
NO visible means Of support. She's
a decent girl; nobody ever said nuth.
In against her, and the way 1t looks
ter me we got a moral duty ter per
form. Amt that It. Reverendi"
"That 10 the thought I endeavored
to convey" returned the visitor from
Buffalo Gap seriously. "You heard
me. I presume, young manf"
"Only the last few sentences" ad.
mitted Shelby. " don't belong here,
but just happened to drift In today"
Toms ranchin' over on the Cotton.
wood" interrupted Mccarthy. "but
he's mighty straight guy. an I'D
like ter have him express his feelin'a
on this yere Idee O yours, Reverend.
It's rather new one on me-"
The preacher Strengthened up and
cleared his throat.
"Well, here's the case of a young
girl. seventeen or eighteen years old,
who has had no experience whatever
In life, suddenly left an orphan In this
town. without any money or friends.
so to speak. Where can she got What
can she dol There isn't a place she
could earn living here. excepting
the dance hall; there isn't a place In
this town she could call home. That
Ii what I tried to make clear to Mr..
McCarthy-that the men Of this town
ought to give her chance. Mac here's
married man; got a wife and two
daughters of his own back East and
he cottoned to my idea right away"
But what Is your Idea?"
Marriage. sir-marriage: honorable
matrimony. ! even offer my services
freely. The girl should be given q
husband and 4 home; this would as
sure her future and relieve Ponca Of
every obligation. Do You see the
pOintr'
"Yes," admitted Shelby. yet rather
dazed at the project, "but there would
seem to be certain obstacles In the
way Of such a scheme. No doubt you
have considered these. Who. for In.
stance, would marry herr
There Isn't likely to be any trouble
about that" confidently. "If she'd fix
up she'd be right good-looking girl ,
besides. she's got five hundred dollars
to start with and that's more money
than a lot Of these gazabos ever saw
In all their lives. I'll bet there's fifty
men In Ponca that would jump at the
chance"
"Rounders and tin-horns."
"Some Of them-sure. But there
would be some decent fellows among
them. That's about how we figured 1t.
Mccarthy
The sal0onkeeper nodded.
There's quite q few Of the right
kind round Ponca. Tom. who'd be
mighty glad to get decent woman
and settle down. could name half
dozen right now. What amt 30 sure
bout is the gurl."
"She might object1 OF course she
will, and why shouldn't she. You
want to know what I think Of the
scheme. Mac1 Well, It's fool idea
and It won't work-that's what think
Of It; It's idiotic."
The Buffalo Gap man leaned for.
ward. drawing In his paunch so as ia
view the speaker around Mccarthy.
The words of condemnation evidently
cut. for his face was flushed, although
be held his temper.
"That's what Mac here said at frst,
but now he believes 1t will work. and
80 do l." he explained grnvely. III
isn't at all likely the girl will object
to getting married. provided she hooks
up with q man she sort Of likes. Ths
only problem 10 to discover the right
fellow"
"And you think you can 80 out
In this town, rope an hog-te any
stray maverick you nnd on the range
an give him the brandin' iron. de
yerr