The Coolidge examiner., 1931-08-07
CHAPTER I-Continued.


that was half gasp and half shocked
litter. went round the Venable
board. startled "Felice!" was
wrung from Lewis Venable. "Why,
mamma! !" said Sabra.
Yancey Cravat, enormously vital.
felt rising within him the tide of
irritability which this vitiated fam
lily always stirred in him. Some
thing now about their shocked and
staring faces. their lolling and
graceful forms. reused in him an
unreasoning rebellion. He suddenly
hated them. He wanted to be free
of them. he wanted to be free of
them-Of Wichita-Of convention
of smooth cuStom-Of-no. not OF
her. He now smiled his brilliant
sweet smile which alone should
have warned Felice Venable. But
that intrepid matriarch was not one
to let a tale 60 unpOinted
I'm mighty pleased. for one, that
II turned out as IL did Do you
suppose I'd have allowed a daugh-
ter of mine-a Venable-to go
traipsing down into the wilderness
TO live among drunken one-legged
plainsmen. and toothless scrags in
calico. and trollops in tights :
Never It's over now. and a mighty
good thing, too. Perhaps now.
Yancey. you'll stop this ramping up
and down and be content to run
that newspaper of yours and con-
/ I0, rootfan-GTIah IL
Is with no more talk Of this In
dian territory. A daughter of mine
in boots and calico and sunbonnet,
If you please. a-pioneering among
savages Reared as she was! No.
! indeed"
Yancey was strangely silent. He
was surveying his fine white hands
critically, interestedly, as though
seeing them in admiration for the
first time-another sign that should
have warned the brash Felice.
When he spoke it was with utter
gentleness.
I'm no farmer I'm no rancher
didn't want section of farm
land, anyway. The towns where /
belong, and | should have made for
the town sites. There were towns
of ten thousand and over spring
I'D in a night during the Run. Wag-
Observation-Disclosures
It's the last frontier in America
that new country. There isn't a
newspaper in one of those towns
or wasn't when left. | want 70 -"
back there and help build s.
out of prairie and Indians and
scrub oaks and red clay. For it'll
be a state some day-mark my
words"
"Ho, hum" yawned Cousin JOuett
Goforth. and rose. fumblingly. This
has all been very interesting-odd
but interesting. But If you will ex-
cuse me now | shall have my little
siesta. | am accustomed after din
Der
Lewis Venable. so long silent,
now, too, reached for his cane and
prepared to rise. He was not quick
enough. Feice Venable's hand,
thin. febrile. darted out and
cIutched his coat sleeve-pressec
him back so that he became al
once prisoner and judge in his chair
at the head of the table.
Lewis Venable, you heard him
Are you going to sit there? He says
he's going back. How about your
1aughterT she turned blazing black
eyes on her sOn-in-law. DO you
mean you're going back to that In
dian country? Do yOu?"
I'll be back there in two weeks
And remember, it's a white mans
country now"
Sabra stood up, the boy Gin
grasped about his middle in her
arms, so that he began TO whimper,
dangling there. Her eyes were
startled, enormous. "Yancey! Yam
cey, you're not leaving me again p
Leaving you, my beauty!" He
strode over to her. Not by long
shot. This time you're going with
me-"
And 1 say she's not!" Felice
Venable raped it out. And neither
are you, my fine fellow. You were
tricked out of your land by troll
lop in tights, and that ends il.
You'll stay here with your wife and
child"
He shook his great head gently.
His voice was dulcet.
I'm going back to the OklahO-
ma country; and Sabra and Gin
with me-"
Felice whirled on her husband.
Lewis! You can sit there and see
your daughter dragged off to be
scalped among savages!"
The sick man raised his fine
white head The faded blue eyes
were turned on the girl. The child.
sensing conflict, had buried his
head in her shoulder. you came
with me, Felice. more than twenty
years ago, and your mother thought
you we're going to the wilderness,
too. You remember? She cried and
made mourning for weeks
"Sabra's different. Sabra's diff
ferent."
The reedy voice of the sick man
had the ghostly carrying quality of