Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1929-03-14

|Roes I Just serve a. an extra hand
Snd do whatever necessary turns up
IN return for your letting me advise
you on a few points that / happen to
have worked out while l was providing
through the country"
"Any way you like" she returned
tits for you to decide. Any money
which you fail to draw now will re-
vert to you In the end, so 1t won't
matter in the least"
His reply was irrelevant, a DELHI
crate refusal to notice her ungenerous
misinterpretatiOn of his offer.
do you mind If l gather a few
Three Bar colts round here close and
break out my own string before they
get back?" he asked.
Anything you like" she repeated.
"Tm not going to quarrel. I've made
up my mind to that. I'll be gone the
rest of the day."
Five minutes later he saw her rid
ing down the lane. She was not seek
ing companionship but rather solitude
and for hours she drifted aimlessly
across the range, sometimes dismount.
ing on some point that afforded a
| good view and reclining In the warm
spring sun. Dusk was falling when
| she rode back to the Three Bar. She
| heard the sound of saw and Ak as
Harris worked up the dry logs into
stove lengths. At least he was max
| ing good his word to the cook. The
| sounds ceased when the sun was an
hour high and when she looked out to
determine the reason she saw him
working with four colts in one of the
| smaller corrals.
He had fashioned a hackamore for
each and they stood tied to the corral
bars. He left them there and repaired
to the big gates of the main corral
The two swinging halves sagged until
their ends dragged on the ground
when opened or closed, necessitating
the expenditure Of considerable ener-
gy in performing either operation
| She watched him tear down the old
| support wires and replace them with
new ones, stretching a double strand
from the top of the tall pivot posts
to the free ends of the gates. Placing
short stick between the two strands
| of heavy wire he twisted until the
shortening process had cleared the
gate ends and they swung suspend
ed, moving so freely that rider could
lean from his saddle and throw them
open with ease.
| RI fi..f,1 ttfNVl
he fashioned heavy slabs of wood to
serve as extra brake-blocks for the
chuck wagon. Between the perform,
ance of each two self-appointed duties
he spent some little time with the
colts, handling them and teaching
them not to fear his approach, cinch
ing his saddle on first one and then
the next, talking to them and handling
their heads.
For three days there was little com
munication between the two. 1t was
evident that he had no intention of
forcing his society upon her. In the
afternoon of the third day she saw
him swing to the back Of big bay.
easing into the saddle without a Jar,
and the colt ambled round the corral,
rolling his eyes back toward the thing
clamped upon him but making no eff
fort to pitch. He dismounted and
stripped off the saddle, cinched it on
a second horse and let him stand,
leading third out to a snubbing post
near the door of the blacksmith shop
where he proceeded to put on his first
set of shoes.
The girl went out and sat on the
sill of the shop door and watched
fort to release the forefoot that the
man held clamped between his leath
er-clad knees, then changed his tao
tics and sagged his weight against
Harris.
''You, Babel" the man ordered.
Don't you go leaning on me-" He
pared down the hOof and fitted the
shoe but before mailing it on he re.
leased the colts foot and addressed
the girl. IF I'd fight him now while
he's spOky and half-scared it would
spoil him maybe" he explained.
81 gentle-break mine, too" she said
and the man overlooked the infection
which. as plainly as words, was In
tended to convey the impression that
his ways were effeminate. IF every
man used up his time gentling his
string he'd never have day off to
work at anything else"
'Why, it don't use up much time,
he objected. "They halfway break
themselves, standing round with
saddle on and having man handle
them a little between spells of regu-
lar work-like cutting firewood and
such. And it's saving of time in
the end. There's three hundred odd
days every year when man consumes
considerable time fighting every horse
he steps upon-if they're broke that
way to start"
$50 your only reason for not rid
ing them out is to save time." she
said.
IF you mean that I'm timid," he
observed, "why, l don't know as I'd
| hnthar t0 diSnuta If" He moved nvor