Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-13

mother Liz otUns the Chuckomopi
dude ranch In Arizona, is Jealous
ly bitter totDard middle-aqed
handsome Jim BradStreet until
she learns that he isn't after Liz
money because Liz hasn't anu
more. Having got of to bad
start NTH Jin's son Craig, Bricks
foUe for her fance, Carl Jamison,
persists epen though doubt OF 1t
IS raised every time she sees and
talks to Craig. Both Crdig'S and
Carts interest in the ,Uealthy
Molly Winters unnoys Brick and
tempers all around are near the
breaking point ,0hen Carl is
10ounded By an accidentally dis
charged pistol. Sympathy forces
Brick to consent to his suddenly
urgent demand that they be mar
r1ed Immediately, and they Leave
the camp ,Ohere the accident oc-
cured and return to the ranch.
Craig and Molly precede them,
Craig haUing told Brick he'd haze
ne,Ds for her merit time they met.
CHAPTER XII.
All the way back to Chuckomovi
Carl was in rare good humor,
although Brick knew from the
drawn lines about his mouth that
the wound in his thigh must be
paining him considerably. Beulah,
silent and frosty-eyed, sat beside
Steve in the front seat of the station
wagon, but Brick rode In the back
where a cot had been placed for
Carl. Although she tried to keep up
run OF small talk, she felt a Ger
tain depression that did not van
ish when Carl took her hand with
an air of quiet possession and said,
We're going to be awfully happy,
sweet" That was what she wanted
most in this world but right now
it seemed peculiarly elusive.
Carl had offered no explanation
of last nights happenings. She
had made up her mind to respect
his apparent wishes not to discuss
1t until later. But in spite of her.
self she kept thinking about Craig
What had he meant when he said
that if things turned out as he ex-
pected he would be waiting for her
when she reached the ranch to
finish what he had started? What
would he say when she told him
that she planned to marry Carl
Immediately? Would the mantle of
her own decision protect her from
anything he might say or do?
Craig was not waiting at the
ranch for her. From the Chinese
houSeboy, Lee, she learned that
Molly and Craig had ridden into
Chuchomovi around eight that
morning. They had had coffee, aft
er which Craig had taken Jims car
and gone away immediately-the
houseboy didn't know where nor
when he would return, if at all
but Lee did say that Molly went
to her cottage and presumably was
asleep there at this moment.
Brick Prepares Room.
Brick had room made ready for
Carl in the lodge and had his things
moved from the cottage into 1t.
Then she telephoned the doctor at
Medicine Hat. He came in the late
afternoon and it was Beulah who
relayed his orders to Brick. Says
Carl better be kept quiet for two
or three days, so you'll have to look
after him. We haven't got time
around here to run a dude ranch
and hospital too" Strangely, with
that announcement some of the de-
mind. Two or three days at Chuck
omovi ought to clear up a lot of
things for all of them. If Craig
should return
But Craig did not return to the
ranch that night Brick prepared a
supper tray and took it up to Carl
She was not too surprised to find
Molly there, talking animatedly to
him, restless, almost predatory as
she moved about the room, smok-
ing innumerable cigarettes. watch
ing out the window as each car
drove up to the lodge.
Brick put the tray on a bedside
table. Has Carl told you that he
and I are going to be married right
away?" she asked brightly
Molly shot Carl a quick glance
through a film of smoke. For
moment she made no reply and
what passed over her plain features
might have been displeasure-or it
might have been complete surprise
or even keen experimentation
she hooted an ungainly laugh and
said, We'll, good enough. Let me
be the first to wish you all sorts of
happiness
The Dudes Return.
At that Brick realized with q
start no one had wished her happi-
ness up to now-only she herself
had wished that. Beulah, when told
that morning, merely became more
frosty eyed than usual and replied,
Time you made up your mind
about something" and Liz hadn't
said anything. Brick remembered
that last quite clearly now
The pack train and dudes re-
turned from Chiricahua the next
afternoon-and with them plenty
of work to keep Brick from think
ing too much about her approaching
marriage with Carl. Strangely,
ChI1ckor,oyi bod hecon,e overpioht