The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1937-04-08
| don't quite understand

took IN Washing
Barstow looked out the rain
splashed window.
"Oh, yes, remember. The news
| paper mentioned that-of course II
was romanticized. The poor boy
went away, worked his way
through college, looked for gold.
found it. came back to Seattle, and
accidentally met the girl he had
loved for years"
"Only it wasn't accidental" sup
| piled Hammond. "A friend took me
out there-Timmy Moon, he's an
aviator. Not working at it just now,
I understand; something wrong
with his plane. But no matter,
we'd met UP and of course-you
know, home for the first time after
all those years. asked him what
| ever became OF Kay Joyce" There
was a moments pause. Hammond
rubbed at his hot face. Then he
looked up, queer, burning light in
his dark eyes. "You know, Bar
stow, it was the funniest feeling to
ride up to that old house in an au-
| tomobile and get out and walk right
through the gate
where you had played as chill
| dren."
"Played nothing; that old granite
block of father never would let
me inside the yard. You couldn't
/ blame the kid for shouting me
with him telling her not to asso-
ciate with ragtags."
II suppose not" said the attor-
ney, staring at his law books.
1T was funny in a way. Jimmy
had called up the house. but he
hadn't said whom he was bringing
out. Kay didn't recognize me for
minute; I'd have known her any
where. .
Naturally"
well, for awhile I wished /
hadn't. come. You see, I'd always
dreamed of that house as the grand
est place in the world--one of those
old-time building-block places. with
turrets and slate roof"
II know the kind"
"And Kay was a bit distant at
first, you know, hard to pick up the
thread after all these years. Then,
just for fun, Jimmy pretended to
have forgotten his handkerchief. So
he reached for mine. had moose
hide bag full of nuggets In that
pocket"
you'd fixed it up that way"
tOf course. So, out came the
nuggets with the handkerchief and
spilled all over the floor. You
should have seen usI" Again he
rubbed feverishly at his face. "Ev-
| erybody down on the floor, helping
pick up those nuggets
| Barstow eyed him, gentle ap-
praisal.
THAT helped considerably. didn't
| it, Jack?'
"Oh, yes. Naturally, it led to
questions and something / could
talk about. Kay and got along
simply great after I'd found my
tongue. Queer, isn't it, how per-
son will have an idea all his life,
that If he could just be free to
talk to q certain person, all her
false ideas of him would fade away?
You know. Everything divided us
when we were kids: social position,
money, and all that. We didn't even
| 60 to the same school. But I never
wanted anybody but her-I've never
thought about anybody but her. And
knew that if could just get to-
gether with her, without that old
chisel-face of father around"
II judge from the newspaper ac-
counts that you got along famous
ly."
Hammond stared.
''Where in the world did they
get all that stuff" he asked, then
was silent. His brain had spun for
moment, suddenly to halt, high
lighted upon one particular recol-
lection 1t was the Crystal Castle
In Seattle, with persons crowding
around Jacks table. He could see
Kays outstretched hands as her
fingers toyed with scattered, pebble
like nuggets, where he again had
tossed them from the heavy moose
hide pouch to the tablecloth. Per-
sons were asking questions, all sorts
of questions; now Hammond re-
membered a young man with q
newspaper stuffed in one pocket
who queried him with particularly
I'VE did the town." he said. u
guess some newspaper man mus
have barged into our party
Evidently. He got the story
about as you've told it. Even to the
farewells down at the dock"
The telephone rang. Barstov
turned to answer it. Jack did no
notice. He was back in Seattle
with the big red sun coloring ths
waters of the Sound, with the whis
tie of the S. S. Aleutian sounding III
warning for all passengers ashore
And he stood at the foot OF thu
! gangplank, with Kay close to him
telling him that she wasn't afrais
of life in a new, raw mining camp
Then there was Jimmy Moon, rub
bing at his pudgy face and rafting
. | on about how they'd all be I'D al