The Washington herald., 1922-01-01
READING SIGN

rOsuktnpsd frsm precedinE pagal
knov. from little Don. I would give ysu
avery material comfort and all kindly consid.
sr.tion In my power. would protect you In
every way. And you would know the feel Of
sweeping distance. clean air and sunlight.
and the sweetneo Of purple eveninss-the
things believe you said must mean to you
Arizona I'm afraid that il all"
THAT L. much" The girl spoke with quiet
feeling. She looked on over the treetops and
color from aroused emotion tinged her cheeks.
Silence fell between them. but it w.s . pause
that held Lanham tense ss he watched her.
How strange" she said, speaking as In .
rsveris, how different from any way 1 had
thought Of It as coming She turned to face
Lanham and the light Of excitement was in
hsr eyes The way Of 'ArizonaT'
You must $50" he tnterposed-
II do See It INIT that am confused Or
sewtldered; It In the thrill Of having to decide
sns's action 4, big way, on what lies unseen
around Q great bend in the trail. To stake
sne's whole future on q single cast Of tuds.
nentr'
But I never meant-you do not have to
dscids~
mo, don't want It spoiled by waiting to
ponder over It Our trails crossed but once,
and now as they cross again you hail me and
beckon to follow on. Something in me cries
out to Just the way Of IT. didn't know any.
thing ever could be like that 1t may never
- .~~I, And that ypusf h> tb. -.v of NV
answer" The girls hands were clasped
tightly upon her knee. ard again she looked
OF over the treetops.
SIX years ago, when was twenty" she
continued. with one quick thrust Fate
struck at me to crumple up my happiness
took away a father. home, comfort, and .
carefree sense Of trust-And . man who had
talked 1--we, but who disappeared when it was
found there was no wealth. And now it il
mine to strike back and retake the gadness
Of living.
At twenty-siI with disallusionment be-
hind ons-weII. one IL content to find hap
piness In simpler realities. You bring those
to me. honestly. gsnerously-end love is nei-
ther offered nor asked. could feel honored
and safe in your care always. 50 let me have
my big moment of decision now" She
dropped her hand into LAnhan's and their
fingers closed together. viii 60 with you
around the bend" she said.
The handclasp between them had only the
solid quality OF binding an agreement, but It
was not until the girl released her fingers
that Lanham relaxed his hold upon her hand
and reused from unnotcing abstraction.
At the close Of the day Lanham brought
back confused impressions in which monkeys
and elephants and his boys laughter and the
girls flushed cheeks were interminged as In
. dream II seemed as though their talk on
the bench must be a dream also. and that he
must await some confirmation from her be-
fore accepting II as a reality.
At the apartment steps again at parting
Lanham watched the girl as she knelt before
little Don with her arms about him to say
Eoodnight-and then he knew.
You will have many things to do, Of
course How long-do you think?" he asked
her.
"A few clothes, some books to pack-a
week, ten days-what does It matter? Why
waltz" she asked.
And when shall we" Lanham fal.
tered and stopped. confused. But the girl
Answered lightly and steadily.
"on the day you may plan to leave At
least will hold to that much wornanIy re-
serve"
From the pastors study in inconspicu.
Gus little church they went directly to the
train; and in the early evening, three days
later. Lanham brought the blackboard around
to the adobe station for the drive to the
ranch.
Darkness fell before they reached the
ranch. and as they drew into the folds OF
some low hills they encountered a blackness
Of night that made Helen wonder at the calm
assurance with which Lanham sent the
horses on at an unchecked rapid pace. She
could hear the slap and creak Of harness
ahead OF her. but not a thing could she see
Of the team or the road Instincuvely she
covered low on the seat and clung closely To
the little Lad beside her. as though to ward of
. mysteriously palpabIe something that con.
tnuously threatened to close in and immerse
her.
Quietly Lanham's voice came out of the
dark to soothe her unspoken misgiving.
Another mile and you will see our nghI
at the Broken Trigger, but 1t will take US
more than half an hour to reach them. You
will find all of this yerv beautif,iI In ,b.