St. Tammany farmer., 1922-06-24


A gun barked. The little man d,f
not even know 1t. He and the TIM,
went down together, rolled over
clawed furiously at each other. anf
got to their feet simultaneously. Rn,
the cowpuncher held the gun now
The crook glared at him for q moment
and bolted for the safety OF th.
bushes in wild flight.
johnnie fired once, then forgot al
about the private little war he had
started. For his arms were full Of ,
sobbing Kitty. who clung' to him while
she wept and talked and exclaimed al
in breath.
Il knew you'd come, Johnnie.
knew you would-you or CLAY. They
left me here with him while thew 90,
away from the police. Oh. Tye
been so scared. l didn't know
thought"
as all right $ all right, li'r girl
Don't you cry, Kitty. Me m CLAY
won't let 'em hurt you none. We snre
won't"
She nestled closer, and Johnnte's
heart lost beat He had become
aware Of dull pain in the shoulder
and Of something wet tricklinq down
his shoulder. But what Is one little
bullet in your geography when the
sweetest girl In the world 10 In. your
arms1
Il amt nothin' but hammered
down III haysed OF a cowpuncher," he
told her, his voice trembling, "an'
you're awful pretty an'-an'-"
A flag Of color 1uttered to her soft
cheeks The silken lashes fell shyly.
II think you're ane and dandy, the
bravest man that ever was"
do you-fgure you could? IL
Il don't reckon you could ever
He stopped, abashed. To him this
creature Of soft curves was Of heaven
sent charm. All the beauty and vital
ity Of her youth called to him. It
seemed to Johnnie that God spoke
through her. Which is another way
Of saying that he was in love with her.
She made a rustling little stir in his
arms and lifted a flushed face very
tender and appealing. In the darkness
her lips slowly turned to his.
Johnnie chose that inopportune na0-
ment to get sick at the stomach.
Tim goin' to faint" he an
nounced, and did.
When he returned to his love-story
Johnnie's head was In Kitty's lap and
a mounted policeman was in the FORE
ground Of the SCENE. His face was
wet from the mist OF fine rain falling.
Don't move. Some one went for a
car" she whispered, bending over him
SO that flying tendrils of her hair
brushed his cheek. "Are you-badly
hurt7"
He snorted I'm a false alarm.
Nothin' a-tall. He jes' creased me-"
you're SO brave" she cried, ad-
miringly.
He had never been told this before.
He suspected 1t was not true, but to
hear her say 1t was mama to his hun
CRY soul.
The cab stopped at the house Of a
doctor and the shoulder was dressed.
The doctor made one pardonable mis-
take.
Get your wife to give you this
sleeping powder If you find you can't
Sleep" he said. u
"Y'betcha," answered Johnnie cheer.
fully.
Kitty looked at him reproachfully
and blushed. She scolded him about It
after they reached the apartment
where they lived.
Her new fance defended himself
Hes only day OF two prema-chure,
honey. It wasn't hardly worth while
he claimed.
"A day or two. Oh, Johnniel"
"Sure. I amt gonna wait. Wha's
the matter with tomorrow
Il haven't any clothes made" she
evaded, and added by way Of diver
sion. II always liked that kinda gold
en- down on your cheeks"
1.-THE stores are full Of 'em. An we
Amt talkin' about my whiskers- not
right now.'
you're a nice old thing" she whis-
pered, flashing into unexpected dim
pies, and she rewarded him for his
niceness in way he thought alto
gether desirable.
A crisp, strong step sounded out
side. The door opened and Clay came
into the room.
He looked at Kitty. THANK heaven,
you're safe," he said.
'Johnnie rescued me-" she cried.
HE got shot-in the shoulder"
The men looked at each other.
bad. Johnnie7'
Nope A plumb III scratch. Whap
the matter with you"
A CLEAN OF h,lmor fitted into the
eyes Of the cattleman. Il ran INTO
door,"
"say, Clay" Johnnie burst out, I
oetcha can't guess"
His friend laughed In amDiable de-
rislon. ''Oh, you kids in the woods. !
knew 1t soon as opened the door.
He walked up to the girl and took
her hand. "You got good man, Kitty.
I'm wishin' you all the Joy IN the
world"
Her eyes flashed softly. Don't !
Know I've got good man, and I'm
going to be happier than I deserve.
Tim Mu1doon. In his shirt-sleeves,