Evening star., 1923-11-18
BY LUCIAN CARY.

road, leading horse. 1t was Jimmy.
And the horses legs were bandaged.
II must be the mare She looked
closer. 1t was Jimmy leading the
mare home.
What had happened? What did he
know? What should she say?
r 4
| \ T II E A ran downstairs and
[ \ opened the drafts of the kitchen
range. He would be hungry. she
heard him opening the barn door
There was long silence while the
water came to a boil. She knew
what Jimmy was doing as well as
if she could see him through the
wall of the barn. He was taking off
+, the bandages, and scraping the mare
down, and putting a light blanket
| on her. and bedding her down with
| clean straw, and giving her oats.
Althea set the breakfast table
/ hurriedly-got out eggs and ham and
jam and cream. She had not finished
J when Jimmy walked into the kitchen.
What" he said, up already?'
Il woke early she said. And
saw you coming down the road
| just now"
Gosh, Pm hungry" he said. Took
me pretty near all night to walk it,
/ The mare was tired, too"
! She stared at him fearfully. He
looked tired; but there was a CLINT
| in his eye-some sign of triumph.
Althea got the breakfast on the
| table, exactly the same breakfast as
she had given the dashng stranger
less than twenty-four hours before.
j Jimmy sat down and ate. She sat
opposite him. But she could not eat.
He was somehow different. Was the,
change In him, or in her feeling about
him?
At last he leaned back and lit.
cigarette.
How did he get the mare?"
Jimmy asked
II sold her to him." Althea said.
She held her breath with fear of
what he would say next.
What" he cried.
For eight hundred dollars" Althea
said
She went to the cupboard and got
the bills, eight of them, from the
pitcher on the top shelf, and laiG
them on the table in front Of him.
Jimmy grinned, his grin broadened
into a laugh. he laughed heartily.
Althea looked at him in wonder and
in fear.
Gosh" said Jimmy, that's rich"
But 1 don't understand" Althea
said.
Jimmy rose to his feet.
~
| to him some way" he said. and tucked
the bills into his pocket. You see
! thought, of course. he had stolen the
mare. I was stuck in the mud UP
here near Sharon, and he came along
and / held him up. He said the mare
was his, and I said she was mine. /
had a gun-so / got the mare" He
paused to grin again.
NO wonder he was mad" Jimmy
said to himself. He took his wallet
out Of his coat pocket.
But here's what I've got to tell
you, Althea," he said. He looked at
her graveIy. you've stuck for five
years now in this place and you
haven't said much-but l know how
hard it's been to wait. And it must
nothing would ever happen"
He paused to look at her. She
could not meet his eyes.
Well" he continued, something
has happened. I got there first to-
day"
He took out four legal documents
| oil leases.
There" he said, tapping them.
There is s5O,ooo-maybe more. but
| anyway $50, 900 We can go somewhere.
We can go anywhere you like"
She looked at him for moment as
IL she did not understand the meaning
Of his words. She had a binding
sense that she did not know him at
all, that she had never known him.
But she wanted to know him. She
wanted to know him more than any,
thing else in the world.
"Oh. Jim," she said, and put both
arms around his neck.
1t was the first time she had ever
called him Jim.
Copyright, 1922