The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1924-02-15

- 'h'J A'NA ND -
mir. Peters" she cried, you are
quite mistaken :"
II beg your pardon" said John Pc
ters. with not a little asperity. Moth
ing OF the kind!"
You are"
Il assure you I am not. Qulckness
in the draw is essential"
You have been mislnfOrmed."
well | had ii direct from the man
at the Rupert street range said Mr..
Peters stinly. "And if you had ever
seen n picture called Two-Gun Thomas
"Mr. Petersr' cried Billie desper-
2tely. He was making her head
swim with his meaningless rawlings.
"Mr. Peters, hear me! am not mar
ried to a man at Ealing Vest"
Mr.. Peters betrayed no excitement
at the information. This girl seemed
for some reason to consider her situa-
lion an extraordinary one, but many
women, he was aware, were in a SINH
lar position. In fact, he could not at
the moment think of any Of his femi-
nine a~cqualntances who were married
70 men at Ealing West.
"Indeed?' he said politely.
Wont you believe me?" exclaimed
Billie wildly.
"Why, certainly, certainly" said
John Peters.
THANK Cod" said Billie. I'm not
ever engaged! It's all been a terrible
mistaken j.
When two people in a small room
are speaking on two distinct and diff
ferent subjects and neither knows
what on earth the other is driving at,
there Is bound to be a certain amount
OF mental confusion: but at this point
John Peters, though still not wholly
equal to the intellectual pressure of
the conversation, began to see a faint
simmer of light behind the clouds.
In a nebulous kind of way he began
to understand that the girl had come
TO consult the firm about a breach-of-
promise action. Some unknown man
at Ealing West had been trihing with
her heart-hardened lawyers clerk
as he was, that poignant cry, I'm not
engaged" had touched Mr.. Peters
and she wished to start proceedings.
Mr.. Peters felt almost in his depth
again. He put the revolver in his
pocket, and drew out a notebook.
IL should be glad to hear the facts"
he ssid with professional courtesy.
I'm the absence Of the Guv'nor . :"
II have told you the facts!"
This man at Ealing West" said Mr.,
Peters, moistening the point of his
pencil, "he wrote you letters propos-
ing MARRIAGE"
mo, no, no."
AT any rate" said Mr.. Peters, dis
appointed but hopeful, she made love
TO you before witnesses?'
Never! Never! There is no man
at Ealing West! There never was a
man at Ealing West!'
1t was at this point that John Pc
ters began for the first time to enter
tain serious doubts of the girls mental
balance. The most elementary az
quaintance with the latest census was
enough to tell him that there were any
number of men mt Ealing West. The
place was full of them. Would q sane
woman have made an assertion to the
contrary? He thought not, and he
was glad that he had the revolver with
him. She had done nothing as yet ac-
lively violent, but 1t was nice to feel
prepared. He took 1t out and laid
ii nonchalantiy in his lap.
The sight Of the weapon acted on
Billie electrically. She flung out her
hands. in a gesture Of passionate APP
peal. and played her last card.
II love you" she cried. She wished
she could have remembered his first
name. 1t would have rounded off the
sentence neatly. In such a moment
she could hardly call him Mr.. Peters
"Ycu are the only man l love-"
MY gracious goodness !" calculated
Mr.. Peters. and nearly fell over back
wards. To a naturally shy man this
sudden and wholly unexpected decla-
ration was disconcerting: and the
clerk was, moreover. engaged. He
blushed violently. And yet. ever In
that moment Of CONSERVATION, he
could 40 check a certain thrill. No
man ever thinks he Is as homely as
he really is, but John Peters had al
ways come fairly near to a correct esti-
mate of his charms, and 1t had always
seemed to him that, In inducing his
fiancee TO accept him, he had gone
some. He now began to wonder If he
were not really rather Of u devil Of a
chap after all. There must, he felt,
be precious few lei going about
capable Of inspiring devotion like this
on the strength Of about six and a half
minutes casual conversation.
Oalmer thoughts succeeded this little
flicker Of complacency. The girl was
mad. That was the fact of the matter.
He got up and began to edge toward
the door. Mr.. Samuel would be re-
turning shortly. and he ought to be
warned.
$50 that's all right. isn't it?" said