Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-11-06
Bv~JACKSON GREGORY
COPYRIGHT BY~
CHARLES ScRIBNER,s SONS

gflppoQ III Lee 3. Mdrc1d, mySllueu,
looked from one to the other.
''yod two know each other? Why,
isnT that"
She didn'. know just what 1t was,
so stepped, looking frankly as though
she'd like to have one of them finish
her sentence for her.
But" muttered Farris, IT thought
that you"
Never mind, Dick" said Lee quick
ly. And to Marcia's mystified express
sion: you'll pardon us a moment,
Miss Langworthy? want to talk a
little with Mr.. Farris."
His hand on the artists elbow, Bud
Lee forced him gently away. The two
disappeared into the little room off
the library where Jose was placing a
great bowl of punch on the table.
"Que hay, Bud,' grinned Jose.
"Your oil nose smell the booze d-n
queek, MOI"
He set down his bowl and went out.
Farris stared wonderingly at Lee.
bud, is it?" he grunted. Breaker
of horses, hired man at dollar a
day."
"Ninety dollars month, Dick" Lee
corrected him, with short laugh.
"Give a fellow his true worth, old
timer"
Farris frowned.
"What devils game is this?" ne de-
manded sharply. ''Isn't it enough that
you should drop out Of the world with
never word, but that you must show
up now breaking horses and letting
such chaps as Mrs. Simpsons Black
Spanish chum with you? Not cursed
word in five years, and I've lain awake
nights wondering. When you went to
smash"
when a Lee goes to smash said
Bud briefly, she goes to smash. That's
all there is to It,"
"But there was no sense, no use in
your dropping out Of sight that way"
"There was," said Lee CURLY, cor
/ shouldn't have done it. 1t wasn't
Just that / went broke; that was "a
result of my own incompetence in a
bit of speculation and didn't worry me
a great deal. But other things did
There were a couple of the fellows
that I thought were friends of mine.
[ found out that they had knitted me !;
had helped pluck me to feather their
own nests. It hurt, Dick; hurt like
hi Losing the big ranch in the
South was a jolt, I'll admit; seeing
those fellows take it over and split it
two ways between them, sort of
knocked the props out from under me.
/ believed in them, you see. After
, that l Just wanted to get away and
sort of think things over"
.sYou went to Europe?"
81 did not / don't know how that
report got out, but If people chose to
think I had gone to take hand in
the fighting over there, saw no need
to contradict a harmless rumor
took horse and beat it up into the
coast mountains. / tell you, Dick, I
wanted to think! And found out
before I was through thinking that 1
was sick Of the old life, that was
sick of people, the sort of people you
and l knew, that there was nothing
in the world but horses that / cared
the snap of my finger about, that the
only life worth living-for me-was a
life in the open. l drifted up this
way. I've been living my own life in
my own way for five years. I am
happier at it than l used to be. That's
all of the flat little story, Dick"
"You might have let me know, it
seems to me-" said Farris bit stiff1y.
$50 / might" answered Lee thought
fully. 81 was going to in the first
place. But you'll remember you were
off somewhere travelling when the
bubble broke. When Dick Farris trav-
els" and his grave smile came back
to him, "let no mad letter think that
it can track him down. Then hit nv
stride in this sort of life; grew away
from the old news; the years passed
as years do after a man is twenty
five; and / just didn't write. But I
didn't forget, Dickie, old man." he said
warmly, and his hand rested on Far
ris' shoulder. "You can put It in that
old black pipe of yours and smoke it,
that I didn't forget Some day /
planned to hit town again, heeled, you
know, and remind you of auld lang
syne."
'You arc a fool, David Burrill Lee, .
said Farris with conviction. Look
here: you can take new start, pull
yourself together, come back-where
you belong"
But Lee shook his head
'"That's like the old Dick Farris used
to know" he said gently. "But this is
where / belong, Dick. I don't want
to start over, I don't want to come
back to the sort of thing we knew.
is right here. And / don't see that
it would do any good for you to go
stirring up any memories about the
old Lee that was shot somewhere in
France"
When Farris had to go and claim
dance, Lee watched him with eyes
soft with affection. Then he, too, left
the room and went back to the outer
door, to his old spot. looking for Ju-
dith.
"The only thing 1 want is right
here" he repeated softly.
He watched Farris join Marcia and
Judith. He noted the eager excite
ment in Marcia's eyes, saw her turn
impulsively to Farris. The artist shook
his head and left them nStenSihlv 90