Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1934-09-28
wAGNEs
t LOUISE
PROVOST

|saddled Comet and went up th'
: familiar path to the little house
: Home was lonely. Once inside, sh'
went about the business of prepar
ing a meal. Not because she wa
hungry, but because she must keel
doing things.
When the meal was over sh,
wandered out again, looking up a
the low, bright stars. How lon.
could she live here? Where woule
she go if she left? How long, will
her dwindling capital and he:
slender knowledge Of ranching
would Trails End yield her a liv.
ing? The money she had brought
lin the little gold bag was nearl!
gone now--she had not asked Barry
flor any after she had learned h;5s
embarrassed he was fo; Actual cash
If she went away, it was almost
a certainty that she would neve'
see Barry again. He would let j,
kill him before he gave in.
She shivered under her protect.
ling coat and went back into thu
house.
At the Perch, Martha, engaged
for the purpose, waited On thu
whims of Barry's women guest
with suspicious eyes and an uncom
promising awe.
"It amt respectable" she sale
Grossly to Petry, "havin' thost
fancy lookin' women here, almost
the minute Miss Anne's gone"
"They sure was fixed up for din
ner,' he admitted.
Martha, fercely pursuing he1
own train of thought, paid not the
slightest attention to him.
"All this talk about letters! You
needn't tell me Miss Anne ever in
vited her up here. And him takin
it all in like a ninny! Oh we'll, ]
suppose men can't help bein' sim
pletons.'
Martha slammed her iron down
WrathfulIN Cleo had, tossed her
several frocks to press, and Martha
was doing it with indignant eff
Cheney.
Cleo was fully aware of Martha
Larrabee's antipathy.
'Disagreeable old thing" she
thought as she caught sight of
Martha's ample form in the dist
ance. II believe she knows where
Nancy is I wish | knew the
way to that Trails End place of
hers
For the present she had to be
content to wait. John Gage had
come here on business. On the very
might of their arrival Barry had
made his worried apologies to her,
and the next morning he and Gage
had started off early on horseback.
Already Cleo was bored to suf-
location. All day long with Paula
Gage, and not a man in sight to
make life endurable for either of
them, except a Chinese cook and a
!leathery old man called Petry. To
be sure, he had stopped his work
and taken her for a ride after
lunch, but in spite of her pointed
suggestions they had gone nowhere
near Tails End.
Shortly after dinner Gage had
unceremoniously claimed Barry.
attention, and the two were sitting
at the far end of the room, talking
boring things. Cleo went outside
to find Paula Gage. Paula was wan
dering aimlessly up and down thu
long veranda.
The next morning Petry drov'
Gage over to the county seat to d.
some long distance telehoning
Paula went with him, and Barry
was free to devote at least part o:
his day to Cleo.
How about a ride?" he suggest
ed, and Cleo agreed promptly. Sh
looked particularly engaging in rid
ing clothes, and she knew it. Bar
RVS sober face frightened as she raj
down the steps to join him.
He helped her up, and she founs
herself mounted on a glistening lit
tie bay.
Where are you going to TAX
me, Barry?'
Anywhere you want to co." an