The Dolores star., 1924-05-30


to manage. But who was
looking for husband? Not Zen. No,
no. certainly not Zen.
Then there was George Drazk,
whose devotions fiuctuated between
that Pete-horse" and the latest fe-
male to cross his orbit. At the thought
Of George Drazk Zen laughed outright.
She had played with him. She had
made monkey of him, and he de-
| served all he had got. 1t was not the
first occasion upon which Zen had let
herself drift with the tide. always
sure Of tustifying herself and dlscom-
fitting someone by the swift. strong
strokes with which, at the right mo-
| ment. she reached the shore. Zen
| liked to think of herself as careering
| through life in the same way as she
rode the half-broken horses of her IA
| Tiers range. How many such horse
| had thought that the 1.-THE body on his
back was something to race with. toy
with, and, when tired of that. fling
precipitately to earth, And not one
of those horses but had found that
while he might race and toy with his
that light body was master, and not
he. Yet Zen loved best the
horse that raced widest and was hard
est to bring into subJection.
| That was her philosophy of life so
far as girl of twenty may have
philosophy of life. 1t was to 20 on and
see what would happen. supported al
ways by a quiet confidence that in any
pinch she could take care of herself.
She had learned to ride and shoot, to
sleep out and cook in the open, to
ride the ranges after dark by instinct
and the stars-she had learned these
things while other girls of her nge
learned the rudlments of fancywork
and the scales of the piano.
Her father and mother knew her
disposition. loved it, and feared for it.
They knew that there was never a
rider so brave, so skillful, so strong.
but some outlaw would throw him at
last. So at fourteen they sent her
east to boarding school, In two
months she was back with letter of
| expulsion, and the boast of having
blacked the eyes of the principals
daughter.
"They couldn't teach me any more,
Mother" she said. "They admitted it.
So here l am"
Y.D. was plainly perplexed. Its
about time you was halter-broke," he
commented. who's goin' to do it?"
"1f a girl has learned to read and
think, what more can the schools do
for her?' she demanded.
And Y.D., never having been to
school, could not answer
The sun was Gaping the Rockies
with molten gold when the rancher
and his daughter swung down the foot
hill slopes to the camp on the South
turning from the upland meadows
could be seen from the hillside us they
descended.
Y.D.s sharp eyes measured the
scale of operations.
They're hlttin' the high Spots" he
said. approvlngly. THAT boy Transley
Is hum-dinger."
Zen made no reply
Il say he's hum-dinger," her IA
ther repeated.
The girl looked up with quick flush
of surprise. Y.D. was no puzzle to
her. and If he went out of his way
to commend Transley he had pur-
pose.
"Mr. Transley seems to have made
hit with you, Dad" she remarked,
evasively.
"Well. I do like to see a man who's
got the goods in him. l like man
that can get there, just as I like n
horse that can get there. I've often
wondered, Zen, what kind you'd take
up with, when 1t came to that, an
hoped he'd be live crittur. After
I'm dead an buried 1 don't want no
other dead one spendln' my simoleons."
How about Mr.. Linder," said Zen,
nalvely.
Her father looked up sharply. "Zen."
he said, you're not serious?'
Zen laughed. 81 don't figure you're
exactly serious. Dad, in your talk about
Transley. You're just feeling out.
Well-let me do n little feeling out.
How about Linder?"
"Linder's all right" Y.D. replied
Better than the average, admit. But
he's not the man Transley Is. II he
was, he wouldn't be worlsin' for Trans
ley. You can't keep a man down, Zen.
If he's got the goods in him. Linder
comes up over the average, SOS you
can notice 1t, but not like Transley
does"
Zen did not pursue the subject. She
understood her fathers philosophy
very well indeed, and, to large de
gree. she accepted 1t as her own. The
only quality Y.D. took Off his hat to
was the ability to do things. And
Y.D.'s Idea of things was very con-
crete; 1t had to do with steers and
land. with hay and money and men.
1t was by such things he measured
success. And Zep was disposed to
agree with him. Why not? 1t was