Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-06-13

tell you something of the past that
made their present. About their future
We can only guess.
Small town people are all good re-
porterS and good detectives, with tech
nique unconsciously sound. As I said,
when something happens, we go back TO
first causes. In my family, for instance,
we date everything from the time great
grandfather, who had been an officer
in the Union army and married 4 Vir-
ginia girl, got so embroiled in a local
political argument that he forgot to
exercise options on some coal land
which would have made all of us Frank
Inns fabu!ously rich instead of midwest
ern editors and politicians.
So. when Flora Hardness decided to
give Chuck Jigginhom break, she was
not only stalking her political future
but throwing her private life on the
1t was inevitable that the dubious Husk
Horton chapter should re-appear in
the otherwise clear book: although not
even the Bingham Sisters, who solemn
ly register every wedding on the cal
endar and then religiously ring the
date nine months ahead, could find
anything really damaging in the youth
full relations between the woman police
judge and one of the men she had sent
to the penitentiary.
This is about what they dug up on
Flora Hardness! Her people were good
common folks; nothing against them.
Father worked in the steel mill. chewed
tobacco at work, was quiet outside,
went to church and lodge regularly.
Mother was good houSeworker, neat
as pin, minded her own business and
took care Of Flora, who was an only
child. They owned their own house and
had garden in the back yard.
Flora had been pretty-no doubt
about that; and she had a figure; she
was a lively girl, full of fun; but cir
cumspect; she had faculty for avoid
ing situations that sometimes got Others
of her high school crowd into trouble.
Was almost suspended once for not
telling on" gang that robbed the
school safe of the examination papers.
Was not suspected because she was
always a bright pupil, and honorable;
but She wouldn't tell. They never did
find out-officially.
But everybody knew it was HuSk Hor-
ton and his gang-girls as well as boys.
Husk did the actual picking OF the
safe, OF courSe-but the others saw the
questions. 1t was easy enough TO tell
when 10" student got "98'-it was
easy to tell, but not to prove.
HuSk was the town problem even
then. His parents were close to what
the town called white trash. Inere
was a trace of insanity in the fathers
makeup and the mother was shiftlesS.
Husk was an athlete-which was prob
ably why he was still in high school
instead of in the coal mines or the
steel mills. He had the type OF face
which the girls now call cute. He had
charming trick OF manner. He could
dance we'll He was the Rhett Butler OF
his generation-the secret love of nice"
girls, the despair of their mothers,
floating mine in the social sea.
Oddly, or perhaps not SO, Flora Hark-
ness was attracted to HuSk Horton;
but the concensuS was that he ap-
pealed to what was then called the
missionary" spirit in Flora. He was
the kind who was always flirting with
serious trouble but who never seemed
TO mean it-just the type to appeal to
girl who telt an obligation TO the
human race, as Flora Hardness un-
doubtedly did.
However, it had never been serious,
or even acknowledged affair; it had
never progressed beyond strong attrac-
ton; and when the propinquity of high
school had been removed, they dritted