The Lincoln times., 1945-08-20

to earn "beeg monies"
1t meant more mouths to feed,
but also more hands to help with the
growing of food.
an send for their clothes," Rusty
chuckled. "Muz, can't you just pic
ture the glamour those poor darlings
have packed away in string-tied car
tons ?"
! "If those purple slippers are a
sample"
"They are; she couldn't bear to be
parted from them for even a little
while"
Rusty talked it over with Fatso
that night-the hunger of everyone
fol beauty and romance, hunger
which took a different form in each
individual.
"But," she thought, do any of us
recognize it as hunger? And is it
false thing?" Her cheeks suddenly
burned. "Would l be buying purple
slippers if-but, of course, he may
be married to Adelaide"
Was she finding enchantment in
the unusual only because it - all
right, then, because he was differ
ent from the men she'd always
known?
purple slippers" she told the kit
ten, "are too expensive for gal in
my position even to consider. We
have ranch to run, and running
ranches in these days is no cinch."
Rusty sat in her office, looking
over worn map of the Double R.
She was trying to decide where to
pasture the yearlings that the feed
ers had refused to take off her hands.
With her was Hank, veteran rider of
the Double R, who had been on the
ranch since the time of her grand
father.
AS she studied the map, she real
lied that the Nopocos, though an as,
set, were also liability. They
blocked access to parts of the ranch
that would be useful to her now.
Don't know why l didn't think of
it sooner" said Hank. Ralph run a
makeshift trail in there few years
ago, while you We're away at col
lege. Made a map of it and figured
he might try out new strain of
cattle in Low Valley, where no strays
could get in. But he never did any
thing about it and don't know what
became of the map. Let's see that
map there"
With a grubby finger, the old man
traced a route from the location of
the ranch house.
'sNow see here where the Nopocos
sorta switch their tail - l think
Ralph's trail. began right about
there"
Rusty considered. "But the val
ley's so far west. If We pastured
the yearlings there while they're
putting no weight, they'd run a lot
of it off when We drove them back
here to send them to market"
'It amt necessary to drive them
back" Hank said eagerly, turning
again to the map. "Ralph thought
of that problem and found solu-
ton. Now see, here's Low Valley
and here's its south wall. Some
where's along here, Ralph found an
easy trail up over that south wall,
down to the Big Sandy, and straight
across her to the highway. You
write him, Miss Rusty. That map
he made must be somewheres. Or
ask your MON. She might know"
When Rusty asked her mother,
Mrs. Rowland recalled that Ralph
and Hank had packed into Low Val
ley, but she didn't know anything
about a map. However, she pro-
duced an album of pictures which
Ralph had taken on the trip.
Rusty settled into an armchair in
her room to look them over. Ralph
had arranged them in order, with no.
tations under each one. First came
long series taken during the diff
ficult trip over the ridge.
Then, Rusty came to snapshot
of Hank and his horse on an eleva-
tion looking down into the valley
"First view of Low Valley" A pock-
ct in the heart of the Nopoco range,
it's floor was level and bisected by a
stream, it's sides rising like great
solid walls.
The next page gave more intimate
views of the valley = views of big
trees, and the ground beneath them
is like park Now where" she de-
manded, sitting up, "did l hear that
Oh-Decker-that night he proposed
He said we'd go there for our honey
moon. But could he"
She scuttled downstairs for a map
located Low Valley and rtied to re.
late it to Decker's ranch, the Foul
D. True, Decker owned some Of the
lower Nopocos.
"And he could have a valley o.
his own," she thought.
That night, Rusty sent night let
ter to Ralph:
Eaada,c raf,,cspn cfooE NoaI c,,ro