The Pulaskian., 1921-01-20
CHAPTER Vg-contInued.

-6-
 She made herself say these words calmly, looking him frankly in the face, yet as he went outside, closing the door behind him, seemingly quite satisfied with her readiness to abide the situation, she bowed her head on the dirty table, and her body shook with sobs which could no longer be restrained. So this was what she had come to-this She had kept herself up all day with dreams; and this was the realization She lifted her face and looked about, the tears still mist ing in her eyes then she suddenly laughed, and stood up with cheeks glowing, and lips firmly set It was a horrible mess, to be sure, yet the place itself was not so bad; she had lived in far worse; and once put ln some degree of order and cleanliness 1t might prove fairly comfortable in- deed. She surveyed the scene, as re- vealed by the yellow flame ot the lamp, her heart beating faster. This was to be her home. She had come here as mistress. It mattered not so much what 1t was now, but what she should make of 1t. Her slender form straightened with new determination. There was yet another door, and she looked out through 1t into a small lean-to. the lamp held high over her head. This was evidently the kitchen, containing, as 1t did, a small cook stove, sort of roughly built closet, and sink, the latter stacked with un- washed dishes. An armful of split wood lay on the floor, and a half slab of bacon hung to nail.
 Olga gave vent to another laugh, but this time there was no hint of hys- teria in 1t. She had found herself. Dressed still in the long duster, she set down the lamp on a small table, and dropping upon her knees, swiftly kindled a fire in the stove. AS the wood began to crackle cheerful1y, she searched the closet for materials, re- joicing to discover some dishes yet unused, together with remnants of food sufficient for her purpose. There was sugar, condensed milk, a few knarly potatoes, a small sack of flour, and half can of coffee. She dumped these out on the table, and began hum- ming a tune, as she added the slab of bacon to these treasures. She was too busy by now to give another thought to the dirt and disorder about her.
 Shelby was kept outside considera- bly, longer than he had anticipated. The buckskin, in spite of a sixty-mile journey, retained viciousness enough to kick the lantern out of the Kids hand and smash it into smithereens, thus compelling the two to work in darkness. Macklin, unacquainted with the surroundings, was of little use, and most of the work had to be done by Shelby in person. When it was all over with both men were sweating profusely, tired and angry, the Kid cursing everything from the creation of the world. Shelby, suddenly re- membering the girl left alone ip the house all this time, lost the last grip on his temper.
 'Shut upw he parked savagely. "Pve had just enough of that. What did you expect anyway-a reception committee an a banquet? Come on in. now; we'll hustle up some grub. Here, you might as we'll tote few of those things along with you"
 Both men loaded up with packages 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 homecoming. He could not but con- trast the 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 hesftatingly. 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.
 ''yo, boys can pile that stuff on the tahle." she announced IWightly. ''T'vc sEcrrrse- I45.t ;,aIcfa tx .L sLt GU. ..ss4.