White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1929-02-01

the muzzle Of shotgun, receiving In.
structions from the mouth of the
Three Bar cook. For Slade was help
less and knew it.
"Waddles, you win," he said. 'I'lI
be going before you change your
mind"
AS the man walked toward his
horse which hat sided a few steps
away the big cook gazed after bin
and fingered the riot gun regretfuily.
The wagon did not move on WREN
the men had finished working the herd,
as the rest of the day had been set
aside for kill-time. An hour after
SHADES departure the hands were roll
ing in for sleep. The girl saw Rile
Foster draw apart from the rest and
sit with his back against rock. He
wns regarding some small object held
in his hand AS he turned 1t around
she recognized 1t as boot heel and
the reason for Rile's absence was
clear to her. He had back tracked
the blue horse to the scene of the mis-
hap.
She was half asleep when voice
some distance from the teepee reused
her by speaking the name of Bangs
1--WE pretty elastic conscience my.
SELF" the voice went on. "I'm not
above lifting few calves for the
brand I'm riding for or any little
thing like that, but this deal sort OF
gorges up in me. They'll never cinch
1t on to any man-they never do. Old
Rifle is brooding over 1t. He'll likely
run amuck. One way or another he'll
try to break even for Bangs"
Billie recognized the voice as
Moore's and knew that one of her
men, at least, had not forgotten
Bangs. 1t was the first time an init.
nation that the affair was other than
an accident had reached her ears.
The calf roundup was nearing the
end. Two weeks would see the finish
and supply the final tally. Harris sa,
on rock and reviewed the plans he
had formulated for the salvation of
the Three Bar brand, realizing the
weak spots and mapping out some
special line of defense that might
serve to strengthen them. In the Sc
clusion of the wagon Waddles was
carefully rereading much-thumbed
, document for perhaps the hundredth
time. man had come in at daylight
with the mail from Brills and Billie
Warren was within her teepee porting
over her share of 1t. The men had
finished theirs and were sleeping.
!. The girl read first the four letters
in the same handwriting, one to mark
each week she had been on the round
up. The fifth was from Judge Colon.
her fathers old friend, to whose
hands all his affairs had been en-
| trusted. After scanning this she read
again the other four. Very soon now
in the course of few months at the
| outside. she and the writer would
meet away from his native environ
ment and in the midst Of her own. AL
ways before this had been reversed
and her association with Carlos
Deane had held background of his
own setting-a setting In startling
contrast to her log house nesting In
desert of sage The Deane house
was wonderful Old-fashioned man
sion set in grove of century ."lc
elms and oaks She kne. his life nnc
now he would see her in her naturn
surroundings
In hazy sort OF way she felt that
some day she would listen to the plea
that, I'm some fashion or other was
woven into every letter; but not til
! the Three Bar was booming and ne
longer required her supervision
Everything else in the world was see
Ondary to her love for her father $
brand and the anxiety of the past two
years of Its decline eclpsed all Other
issues.
Her reflections were Interrupted by
Harris voice just outside her teepee
asleep. BillIe?" he asked softly.
mo" she said. What is it?"
i've thrown your saddle on pa
poose," he said. Lets have tool
around"
She assented and they rode off NJ,
the left-hand slope of the valley A
| mile or so from the wagon Harris Ills
mounted on a high point.
LETS have medicine chat" he Ut
fered. 1--WE got considerable on m.
| mind"
| She leaned against a rock and h.
/ sat cross-legged on the ground facing
her and twisting cigarette as an
aid to thought. Her head was tiiled
back against the rock. her eyes halt
closed.
(TO LIE CONTlNUED.)