White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1925-02-13

II suppose Jess is putting Magpi'
through her paces."
"U-huh! She's made more Of hi
than all the he-guides put together
All the men want to take riding les
sons, but so far she's run this Miss
Page as favorite. Women's being
queer"
Queer is the word" agreed Hugh
Here are the spurs. There is nc
charge. Tell Miss Page I'll hope te
see her wear them SOON"
Thanks. She's some woman. Ar
old hand at handling men. Not flirt
you understand. o no! Something fin
ished about her method that can't
sabe! Now, Jessie, bless her, you
always know exactly what she's do
| ing to you, and that she's too lazy to
do very much. But not this other
one! Mel prefer Jessie. But not
knocking Miss Page. It's just that
after being brought up to the Stand
ard BREEDS, you wouldn't know exactly
how to go about gentling an Arabian.
And that's not knocking Jessie, either.
You know how stand about Jess.
I've never made any bones of it."
Hugh nodded and Johnny rambled
on.
"Hughie, what do you suppose there
is between Jessie and this here Miss
Pager"
What do you mean?" asked Hugh,
cycling his old friend keenly.
cts hard to say. The books would
call it subtle! 1 think they are watch
ing each other and, honest to God,
Hughes, 1 think neither one would
mind If the other fell down canyon
wall and was lost forever. If I thought
Jessie cared enough about you, I'd
say she was jealous. That is, If you'd
known Miss Page long enough"
Women are queer" repeated Hugh
vacuously.
"They took long trip the other
day and Miss Page came in alone
about sunset. Jessie, she didn't get
back till moon-up, two hours later.
jumped her and she said she and Miss
Page had an argument. That the other
one insisted on leaving her and COM
ing home and Jess went on and fin
ished the trip alone. Naturally, was
mad at Jessie and told her she'd lose
her job Of guide If such thing ever
happened again. She knows as we'll
as l do that you've got to expect q
dude to be crazy, and it's always the
guides job to stick with EN-"
"What did Jess say?" asked Hugh.
"She grunted." Johnny suddenly
laughed. "She also said a little later
that hadn't complained when she'd
let that fat school marin from Duluth
come home alone the day before.
Which was perfectly true. So there
you are! Miss Page, as Jessie knows,
is peach, and Jessie, as Miss Page
knows, is pippin."
Hugh smiled, and after Johnny had
jingled out, he looked after him, re-
calling the mad days when he had be-
lieved life would not be worth living
unless he bested young Johnny in the
race to marry Jessie Morgan. Then
he laughed aloud. Jessie! A first job
as guide to Miriam Page. And after
he had laughed aloud, he twisted his
long brown hands together in ges-
ture that was expressive at once of
pain and of CONSERVATION. Life, so
brief and his control Of its direction
SO uncertain! He did not return at
once to his reading, but fell to pacing
the floor.
The days were increasingly diff
cult. He had lived life Of great
physical activity for which the pacing
of the floor of The Lariat was a poor
exchange. He had given up a star.
hung sky for dingy cupids traced on a
fly-specked ceiling. He had bartered
the glory of the plains for books in
tawdry bindings. Something, some
one must compensate for the loss OF
he could not endure 1t.
| Oily OudmUcIldlu, tuo Udl DCl, III
terrupted his half-savage meditation
Billy was smooth shaven and thin
with fringe of sandy hair surround
ing a shining bald spot. His eyes
were brown and slightly protuberant
"Listen, Hughie," he said, II want
to look up something in the diction
airy. rli never get Pink Morgan Out
Of the chair till do
whats the trouble?" asked Hugh
nodding toward the shabby Webster
beside the cash register.
"Pink says petrified wood aim
wood. He sets up to know lot be
cause you're his son-in-low. He ant
Principal Jones has argued for al
hour and I'm sick Of it. A schoo
'teacher is always long-wfnded and
Pink is as hard to run down as {
coyote And Pink says one Of those
damn birds you shipped out Of her,
last summer wasn't bird, but {
lizard. And I've been arguing witt
him about that. Would find it unde,
bird or lizard?"
(To Be Continued)