The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1923-11-08
THE RED
LOCK
Continued from Page Eight

Permit me TO say he observed IN
his jerky fashion, that was as grave
a mistake as you could possibly have
made"
"Mebbe So the old man answered
But the devil 'imself couldn't "a
COPIED with that boy"
The old man beat the tines of his
fork on the table; gazed absently at a
candle, reached over and snuffed it."
Amt it strange" he went on, chow
the past fangs the present-the past
with its sins and %blunders and imper-
fections? Now there's Texie, Graded
in the same arms and nursed at the
same breast, n she's as different
f'om Ken as sunshine is different f'om
the wo'st storm that ever wrecked the
woods
The preacher put his napkin by.
"Heredity plays many a queer trick"
he said in a tone of ~inality.
In the silence that followed the old
banker took the bunch of still u n
opened letters from his pocket, laid it
on the table and began to sort them.
The. preacher looked around the room
and, noticing the night III the windows,
rose.
IF you will please excuse me, you
remember | promised to run over to
the parsonage for a few minutes, and
Mrs. Mason probably retires early"
The others rose and gathered about
him in polite protest, but the preacher
insisted. Mrs. Curry picked up a
candle and led the way into the sitting
room, While Texie brought his tall hat
from a rack in the corner. He stood
gazing about, peering through the
open door to the right into the room
where the banker kept his safe and
papers; into the bedroom at the left
where the old man slept; past the fire
place and through the open door to the
parlor, as if impressed - possibly
amused-by the novelty of a Flat
woods home.
His eyes, searching the walls, came
at last to the portrait of a woman,
framed in gilt and hung above the
fireplace.
LIE SlIl lOiiDWtu HIS gaze.
my mother. she said softly. "Seven
years ago she left us; the very year
Ken went off t college"
"She had a serene face" said the
preacher as he turned away. The
crossed the floor, picked up a
key from the mantel and unlocked the
door leading from the porch to the
Il lowed I'd better show y'u where
y'ur room is b'fore y'u go, SOS y'u'l
know how t git in if we're in bed
y'u come back. We Flatwoods
turn in purity early"
He took the candle that Mrs. Curry
was carrying and led the preacher in
across the parlor to the spare bedroom
opening from it on the east, whore the
.wo satchels and umbrella had already
carried.
Il low this might be called a preach
room, purt' nigh. Amt nothin'
tut preachers slep' in it hardly sence
t was built"
The old man chuckled as he led the
way back to the porch, closed the par
or door, locked it and handed the key
o the preacher. The latter stopped a
on the step and fumbled his
all hat.
"Miss-Golin, won't you please ac-
ompany me as far as your-ah-
Whispering spring and show me how
} get a drink
The darkness hid the flush of color F.,
nat played up into the girls face. !
he glanced at the woodsmap turned !
the preacher and followed him 4,
own the steps. :
The big woodsman stood looking
fter them. stirred by an unfamiliar !
notion tc see Texie walk away into ;
Ie dark with another man. |
At the spring the preacher suddenly |
'asped the girls hand in both his own y
Id held it with the same feryid eager u