, 1924-11-05
By VIM. Macleod Raine
Copyright by @. W. Dillingham; Co.

gave counsel. Don't make 1t too easy
for him, but don't jerk. Keep his
nose up If you can"
The trout fought gamely and strong
ly. but the young woman stuck to her
work and would not give him any rest.
Jack watched her carefully. He saw
that she was firing. but he did not
offer any help, for he knew that she
was a sportsman. She would want to
win alone or not Mt all.
Yet he moved closer. The water
WIS up to her hips, and no river In
the Rockies has a swifter current
than the Tunnison. The bottom, too,
Is covered with smooth slippery tones
and powders, so that a mistep might
send her plunging down. Deprived of
the use of her landing pole, she could
make less resistance to the tug of the
stream. and the four or five pounds of
dynamic energy at the end of her line
would give her all she could do to
TAX care of for the next few minutes.
Her pole was braced against her body,
which made Keeling difficult. The man
beside her observed that except for a
tendency to raise the pole too much
she was playing her trout like a vet.
eran.
The thing that he had anticipated
happened. Her foot slipped from Its
Insecure rock hold and she stumbled.
His arm was round her waist in an In
slant.
steady Take your time"
Thanks. I'm all right now"
His right arm still girdled her slight
figure. The trout was firing. Inch
by inch she brought him nearer. Pres
emily she painted. my landing net"
1t was caught in the creel. Kllmeny
unfastened the net and brought 1t
round where 1t would be ready for In
slant use.
"Tell me what I must do now"
Hes hooked pretty fast. Take
your time about getting him into your
net, and be careful then. These big
fellows are likely to squlrm away"
1t was a ticklish moment when she
let go Of the rod with her left hand
to slip the net under the trout, but
she negotiated 1t In safety.
isn't he a whopper?" she cried in
oCiA6ht. liz WOu l kO lulO Iue CTeel
at ALL"
"Then let me have him. The glory
is yours. I'll be your gillie to carry
the game bag"
He got his fingers through Its gill
before he took the hook from the
mouth of the fish. Carrying the trout
In one hand and his pole in the other,
he waded slowly through the swift
water to the shore.
The girls vibrant voice came to him
as she splashed at his heels toward
the bank. Hes such a ripping good
one. I'm SO pleased. How much do
you think he will weighf'
MY guess Is six pounds. He's the
biggest taken this year so far. I con-
g%ratulate you. Miss Dwight"
81 would never have got him II you
hadn't been there to help me with ad-
vice. But l really did 1t all myself,
didn't 1? If you had touched the rod
before ! had him netted I'd never have
forgiven you," she confessed, eyes
glowing with the Joy Of her achieve
ment.
"It's no Joke to land one of these big
fellows. l saw you were tired. But
It's the sporting thing to play your
own fish"
Her dark eyes flashed a questioning
glance at him. She had been brought
up In n society where class lines were
closely drawn. but her experience
gave her no data for Judging this
young mans social standing. Casual
Inquiries of old Ballard. the caretaker
at the Lodge. had brought her the In.
formation that the party Of fishermen
were miners from the hills. This one
went by the name of Crumbs and
sometimes Jack. What puzzled Miss
Dwight was the difficulty OF ~reconcll-
Ing him with himself. Sometimes he
used the speech and the slow drawl
of the plainsman, and again he spoke
with the correctness OF one who has
known good society. In spite Of his
careless garb he had the look of class.
A young woman OF impulse, she
yielded to an audaclous one now. "rm
glad you let me do the sporting thing.
Mr.-Crumbs."
His gentle laughter welIed out.
where did you get thatf"
isn't II your Manner she asked,
with a lift OF the dark eyebrows.
He hesitated. barely an instant. or
course she knew perfectly well that
II was not his name. But II suited
him not to give one more definite.
II reckon It's a name good enough
to bring me to dinner by" he drawled,
smiling.
He was back again In the western
idiom and manner. She wondered
why. The change had come when she
had spoken his name. A certain war;.
ness had settled over his face like a
mask. She could see that he was pur.
posely tnklng refuge In the class dis.
tinctlons thnt presumably separated