The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 2, 1902, Page 4

THE SUNDAY CALL. mil hiek world, and th the uniform which and all whicl had man fu raveling \ he wa twod, with hat whe longet mure Ng W with Wb At the natiy ' ex that bid that to him could with a chil elfiel think again her his pt into ways he unre had not ng in from a had without us, years h the and the place a M r ¢ r eyes giving ¥ m Ay hat wrng & he v e of the mystery of it : ¥ 1 away like She had caught by r, and the hand a almost X uld be no m v he felt sure. Th ace had c change with time t haunting appeal- But wi g here?” he repeated for the e What is she doing here asked a me captain he door &, come in," the cay . hifting his position so as 10 he able show his face to the lieu # entered Anything going romise of trouble, and : get into action, Over the he the was are up o0 e ng out Balt Creek wa y . had chap over there f f Horner Horner, 1 think-w going to attack the post sing wipe us all out, just t nark nigger's as good as a Hender grinned broadly, He was fresh from West Point, and the noveity of the frontler had not worn off, Me apent moments sudying human nature ¢ exinie Juckeboro, and his tempe #0 happy that he could fin gh in m things which would bave made der man serious, Me was genuinely anxious 1o wee some rough gervice and this bad news about the Kiowas 1 been welcomed by him us & ple . Iy good fortune Hope this Horner will postpone his affuir t we Ve had & go at the In- A hing delinite about the Klowas?" thing = than that one of a party " ) g0t & sight of them and he and b wd have run in, They pe Y re heading for Sait Creek We g ingers are over in that hey'll rush a runner in ' f lans really are up, Mean Sime W BOUUINE rendy Lo start at 2 ) Is this Horner a ke st wll,” said the lleutenant, “He's bad medicine, all right enough. Tralns wit crowd, too—with th. Jim G ! Goodwin I'he gambler.” “Mah, Now 1 understand!” oried the captuin, springing 1o his feet and dealing his thigh « resounding hwack {ow 1 unders That's why Beott's girl i» He stopped suddenly. The MHeu. tenant was regarding him quizzically, Beg your pardon, Henderson,” he said I wasn't shouting at you, but the fact is you hav just solved a mystery for me—put me in the way to account for the unsuspected presence here of the daugh ter of an old, old friend." ‘Scott’s girl, 1 belleve you called her,” Henderson ventured Yer," suld the captain: “but not any 1t that you ever knew—an old Ken tucky friend And the girl 1 had not ween her for an uge until yesterday, Not since she was a little slip »f u thing, years ago, Bhe is a woman wow, but 1 always remember her us Boott's girl," n smiled In & knowing .way aully I8 some one among the #ox who makes It devilieh hard for & man ever to think of her except as she was ‘once upon A time,' As a rule, It's the one he just falls of winning.' "Nothing of the sort In this case, I assure you,” the captain said earnestly. “Merely the sudden and unexpected ap- pearance of a friend of other days, whom 1 have not as yet had & chance to ques- tion. hen, since you have connected her in your mind with this Goodwin, 1 would advise you not to question too closely,'"” was the lleutenant's comment, “See here, Henderson,” the captain said, reddening with sudden anger, “‘we may as well come to an understanding right here. I may need your help; If 1 do I'll ask for it. I'll take your advice on the same terms, I owe this young womun's father a debt of gratitude, and I have a most sincere respect for the lit- tle glrl 1 knew as his daughter, [ shall require my friends to treat her with the vume respect, I meant no offense, captain,” Hender- won wald frankly, “The young wciuan is, of course, u stranger to me. The man, Goodwin, 1 know by reputation, however, und If your old friend's daughter Is tra eling in his company, why—well, she is out of her class, that's all, “1 know something of Goodwin, too," suld the captain, “Or, to be exact, 1 did know of him at the time I first met Miss Beott. He was wild, even then, so It is possible he has developed badly. It this {8 the Goodwin he certainly waid Henderson, dryly, ought to know-I must know,” the captain went on. “I owe it to the family » to be ay T ask a “Certainly. Name ant 1 must intercsted in her welfare rervice of you, Henderson? it sald the lleuten- relation she bears to this Goodwin, How she comes to be here with him, And, above all, If »l {8 sutisfied to remain with him, The ia 1 may ask for rhyself If the situation warrante mv interference. And 1 ought before we ave called out aftor Kiowas. Will undertuke to the first of questions for know what to know these anwwer me?" ‘In may and ok you thuse Henderson sald, "“There news in about the Klowas, that my excuse for going in honr be move 'l make to town. cortainly dees look bad,” the cap ss falll comfortable atitude and the li slack, he guided the mi with a care lessness which easily might have be mistaken for recklessne He had good-humored, pleasant face, with a heavy, bristly, red mustache, and . blue eyes that seemed to laugh at you our of the tan that gurrounded them, Neither the heat nov the ruts (n the rondwiy were able to rufle his temper, Ha lurched with the wig i It tited now to one and again to the sther side of the trall, but the peaceful ex, resslon on 4 fuee never was altered in +he slightest by the jolting, He wan sluging—bawlh g rather—at the top of his volee, and here and there in his spng a rock or u rut punctunted the lnes with a shrieking croscendo lmporsible to describg. “DO YOU WANT A BOY ON YOUR RANCH, MISTER?' taln murmured as he stood in the door= way watching the lieutenant go striding across the plaga, "1 can't understand it at all, God, how the old man would writhe In his grave if he knew! And how she must heve changed in nature! Poor little glrl=poor little girl. The ruin of a family followed by the fall of the last member of that family; and ten years ago the home people all wers en- vious of thein because of thelr soclul po- sition and wealth, Poor little girl.' Captuin Davis summoned his orderly and sent him scurrying to' the barracks to rout cut the commissury. A trooper aped out through the heat to where the horses were grazing on the prairle, A bugle call rang out from the center of the square, and the sleepy troopers of a m! ute before became black demons of ener- gy, rushing here and there about the bar- racks to gather thelr equipment or to meet and groom the horses that came galloping ti.rougu the gates of the stock- ade. CHAPT. IR 1L MAVERICKE! A canvas-topped Studebuker drawn by four mules (raveling at a gallop came rat- tling down the stony incline on (he west of Jacksboro, The ‘side-hill overlooked the stockade where, just then, the troopers were busily grooming thelr mounts along the picket line. The solitary occupant of the wagon glanced them over without much interest. ‘With one foot braced against the dashboard, legs crussed at the knees, body hunched up in a slouchingly Come all you jolly driver boy=hees Bound on this overland Asdoo=o0:00! To a1l ye friendly ones Ul give a parting hand 1 leave the wild and hroken w The ¢old und stormi piai-yen, And from (he home 1 love so well VIl neshoveer roa-home agaIn. Midway of the town's main thorsughs fare on the right wau the “livery bari, A ramshackle shed with h coreal at the back In the center of which wus a pile of hay. The hay was in a barred rick, and between the bars horses, mules, burros and mileh cows were permitted to browse upon It for twenty-four hours at a time at the uniform rate of “two bits the head.” The barn wag the news:centar of the town. All newcomers put up their teams there, and Mr. Bud Belcher, the proprietor, generally was ‘‘allowed” to he ‘the best-nformed man in thede parts,” It wayg he who had Imparted to Ifeutenant Henderson the information about the Kiowas and about Mr. Horner's amiable Intention to “shoot up the post o little,” Lnis place the newcomer halted his mules. As he slouched to the road- way a small boy Who had been idling In the shade of the barn darted out to make a tender of his services, The two canio into violent colllsion, und the youngster would have fallen had not the teamster dropped & hand upon the neckbund of his shirt and lifted him into the alr, ‘'Now, then, voung Jack Rabbit,” the teamster sald, holding the boy at arm’s length, “what's a-biting you? Ain't you never seen a grub-wagon before? Or was you just trying to stampede them mules? “I wanted to help—unhiteh,” the boy managed to gasp, and then the teamster saw that he was choking and hastily put him down. Mr, Bud Belcher, chewing a straw and stretehing himself as he came, Nirched out Into the rowdway. “How, BEr ma sald he, “What brings you town “CGrub,” Mr. Brockman sald briefl 1 out of meal at the ranch, and golr shy on tohacea and cartridges, What's asdofng In town?" othing much, Some buffalo-hunter ot a weare and chased themselves in with It, ¥aying the Kiowas are up, That's about, all to-day." “Moon's just about right for ‘em." Brockman remarked Big. buneh “8he fulls to-night L D ‘' 'Bout a hundred, they said, that means all of twenty by tally." ""Which a-way?" “Over by Balt Creek, heading soutl Brockman rubbed his chin reflectively Reckon stralght rnr'n moment or two, “Don't Ilke It a DIt he sald finally, “They're bound to turn back north, and that'll bring ‘em out our way, 1 1 faol around hote very long I'll tumble into trouble, Turn them mules into that hay, will you? I'tl be toddiing on down to the store for (he urub. Water ‘em, too, Reckon I'll start back before sundown,' “WII the mules stand 1t7' “'Bure. They've been running the range for a month. Besides, 1 turned 'em out on good grass last night in Los Valley." He sturted oft down the road with the swinging stride pecullar to all range rid- ers, and had gone not more (hun twenty yards when he felt a tug at hig shirte sleeve, “Do ou want a boy on your ranch, mister? Brockman turned and saw the gmull person he had collided with trotting be- fde him, “Do [—do I want—what?" he asked, astonished, y ‘A boy on your ranch!" the small per- son repeated, Brockman came to a halt and studfed his questioner, The boy was not more than eleven, if that old, and thin und “peaked,” as they say ‘In Texas, His ukin was white, an unusual thing in those parts, and hig halr was of a shade be- tween yellow and light brown. But his eyes were as blue and as fearless a Brockman's own, and he looked the big ranchman squarely fn the face while walting for his answe Well, sir Brockman said, when he had looked the boy over. you ain't fat enough to eat, and 1 reckon that 1bou all we could do with y wt In our coun tr Where's your people? The boy's eyes dropped for a moment nd his lps quivered “They've away," he sald I must go to work and do for myself now “You're a stray,” Brockman sald. Do you know whit we do with stray euly out on the range? “No, - What We maverick them," “And then? “And then they just be to u The Loy hesitated for a moment, and then, “Couldn't you maverick me?" ne “Does 1t hurt V=10, not %0 muechy-much,” Brockman wald, smiling With his hoothepl he drew a capital lotter L in the dust of the road and then made an open trlangle over It AL weo'd have to do’ would be burn that there brand into your left shoulder with o ved=hotyiron and et your ears up a bit, Crop®the rvight wind underslope the left the way we do It No, 1 reckon ft don't hurt mueh, Year Hngs stand 1t all right, wo [ gue o try 17 “he boy miled up Wt him 'm nur you are joking he i You lon't trent boyw | thit My brande are put on eattle ao that the own or will know them agnin If h run awny 1 wouldn't W ] wouldn't have to brand me. Would ‘Well, now, 1 ain't ko sure,” Broekman wnfd, “Fuct 1k, 1 ain't never beon usked o muaverick u human before. | know just what the rule fi in theém [ But,” ax a new idea came to him, “didn’'t you hear what old Dud just #ald about the Indian “Yow “Well, slr, they're pretty had people to have any truek with, they are; and If we didn't get hungry and eat you up thoy might “You wouldn't let them the boy sald confident Brockman laughed loudly “You're a trylng to honey mé up,”’ he sald., “That just the way the girls do. Which put me in mind: Have you got a sweetheart “No,” sald the boy. “Have you “Well, 1 aln’t connected up to date, but I have hopes. mister—I have hopes 8o have 1, sald the boy, soberly. Brockman laughed again 1 have hopes that you'll maverick me,” the boy exblained. “Ranch ain’t no place for you, my boy Brockman sald. “You'd want to get away ns soon as you got there. Besides you might not get there at all. Suppose now, that them Indlans were after you; that they had got you rounded up good and hard and you couldn't get away from ‘em—that might happen any time out there—what would you do In a case like that?" The boy pondered the question awhile before replying. It w ns If he were trying to conjure up fust such an emer- gency as had been suggested to test his conduct y try himself out—before an- swering. By and by he shook his head “I can’t tell,” he said. “I'd be frightened, 1 know."” “It's the safest bet a man ever made,’ Brockman agreed. “You'd be scared good And you'd just about plump down and go to hollering for your mammy. That's ‘what you'd do.” “No,”" the boy said quickly. “I wouldn't do that. That wouldn't keep the Indian oft.” . Something in the youngster's manner, and a sharp, quick, decisive note in his volce, made Brockman turn and observe him more closely. Then he patted his head. You're one of them considering chaps, he sald, with a smile. “One of them that looks before they jumps. Back in the big towns is where you belong. It's fellows like you that grows up to be big rich They just sits down and looks at a thing all 'round, and finally tackles it plumb right—on the soft side.” The youngster glanced up at him, a pleased expression on his face, “Yes,” the ranchman continued, whim- sically, “that's where you belong. You've ot what folks out here ecalls a talent for tinkering with time. It sure would make you rich back East But out here—well, out here It's a leedle out of place, as the fiddler said to the cow that came to his dance. ‘It would sure get you scaiped first full of the moon “Perhaps It would keep me out of the way of the Indians, in the first place,” the boy argued. Brockman looked surprised. ‘‘Reckon I'm wrong, after all," he said es, Sir; reckon I'm wrong. You ain't one of them thinking chaps at all, or else that talent's been bucked off sudden The hoy reddened, "“Why he persisted wouldn't it? “Well, sir, why doesn't {t?"" Brockman asked, "Why doesn't it take you right off back Mast, where you helong, Instead of trying to plant you square among 'em?" The boy gaw that he had been illogical, but he dld not alter his determination. "I want to go because 1 must get some. thing to do," he sald, plaintively, "'I'd be afraid, but T would work hard just the same if you would let me." “Can you shoot?' Drockman asked T could learn,” he replied “Can you ride?’ “Oh, yes!" he oried, eagerly. "I had a pony at home,'' “Huh!" Brockman rubbed his ohin “Where's home " “Where I came from,” the boy repiied, looking away “Bure, Brockman wald, smiling at the nner in which the hoy had evaded hat's what ole Bud calls & self-avident- ual fact, Reckon you had one of them iit- tle pudded muley human saddies, too. Could the pony buek to any account? “He didn't buck at all. He was o gentle pony. “Then 1 guess you can't ride n whola lot," Brockman remarked. “You'd need a lttle practice at falling out of & balloon, H0's to get used to hitting the greund hard, before tackling one of our bunch," Mr. Bud Belcher had been observing them for some minutes from the burn, H. approached and whispered something |n Brockman's ear, “Bho! You don't mean 1t!" Brockmay exclaimed, rogarding the boy with a more sympathetic interest. Mr. Bud Belcher nodded his head to6 durned bad, but It's 80, he sald, phatically. Brockman put his arm gently over the boy's shoulder. “You're mavericked all right, little one” he sald., ““You* st right out to the ranch with me this after- noon," F ] “I'm much obliged to you,” the" boy ald, looking up at him with molst eyes. “And I'll work hard for you, too," “r »or 1 kman mv 1 Ve 1 grut v now - HAPTER II1 THE CAPTAIN'S MAIL H rson ear wo hours the hang-dog ma ) mAn W vl lenly haw be I upon to act as the bearer of avil tiding Have 1 len anything?* Captalo Duvis anked Yetory,” the lHeutenant replied Things that puzsle me Vould it wsking too Wt'n hintor )\ ) hoaw \ care to tell? 1t may help me to put A better face on the thin oy Are sa rin town was Hender way ‘of breaking the moment would mueh rath A Juest than answer them Who In town talkifg about her the captain Inquired Oh, Beleher, among oth | ught to put f sgn pe [ Vrance wn with the word y t them, MHow A t truth inywhere near that o he'll manke turn round au 1 had u il talk with the Flght We He noy had I of Miss Seott Knows Goodwin | v ugh, Mut ted him, tn Marrie m? Where and when Oh, In San Antonfo—about three Arw Ihen you think the bride could not have been aptain could no bring himself to finish the quéstion I'm afrald Henderson clearad his throat But it A open question ot ee, the man's simply int gor. I ! ra Goodwin all rig) Now, wi ildn't he remember the woman, to e might Scott, but he ti was 4 n wasn there's a cha The pta < hi ad sadl Kentuck woke nd rang to his feet ex citedly Of course, the pa doesn’t remem ber the name of he eried. “How Id he, when she would not ha t name? Dom't you see, Henders have been jumping at con ons again,” and he heaved a sigh of relie “I haven't jumped at anything, a don’t see anything,” the lleutenant re ed, @sgust apparent in his tones mentioned only one name to me. If has half a dozen, of course she may have dan Antonilo, busy aga pald no rs In was and used one of the oth But the captain his own thoughts him with heed time, “she could three years ago that time. and?” Hender- he sald, after a not have been in Texas Her husband died about *“Oh, then she had a ht son was surprised “Yes. Briefly, this is all T know about her since I have been in the service: The year that I came away she married a man chosen for her by her father. She had had a suitor named Goodwin—the wild fellow 1 spoke about—but the old man would have none of him. I don’t know that the girl cared for him, mind you. He was un. desirable from any point of view—a hard drinker, a spendthrift, and, naturally, a gsambler. The old man was getting on In lite, and he ious to see the girl comfortably settled, I suppose. The war was threatening thenm, too, and as the sympathies of the old man and his son-in- law were with the South of course my connection with the family was broken and I lost track of them for a time. When the trouble was over I'learned that the old man had died of heart disease—joy over the news of the result at Bull Run killed him. When Grant succeeded Hal- leck and began his double move against the South Scott's son-in-law joined the Confederate army. He was wounded in the Wilderness—shot to pleces, almost— and went back to Bessie a hopeless crip- was ple, absolutely helpless. She nursed and cared for him until three years ago— when he dled, as I have sald. There was some mention in one of my letters of a child. What became of it I can’'t say."” “She has left a child-a boy-—over In town." “Has left? Do you mean that she has “Gone, 8o has Goodwin," tut why, and where " “"Belcher declared that and I eouldn't find any he didn't know, one else whe did But they have gone together. That mueh 18 certain.' “And the boy? Surely they have not deserted him?" “We have only Belcher's word for it. They may be coming back." “I'll not believe it of her," the captain sald, 1 can't concelve of & reason for 1t “You think this is the same CGoodwin?' “Unauestionably, And that brings us back to that marriage, 1f there is another woman, then he has deceived her—trioked her. ‘Unless " There can be no ‘unless’ in this case, Henderson,” the captaln sald sternly, “f will stake my life upon it that she has been tricked Henderson stared, and then, as the eap. taln turned nt through a panto. mimic performance of clapping his hands as u mark of approval An orderly came in with the post mail and lald @ letter on the captain's ta Awny, we Anything & me?’ the leutenant Nothing In from the Hast, sir” the orderly replied. “This s mall from the town."" Probably & complaint about Jackson the Heutenant suid as the captain picked up the letter Or. maybe, a challenge to mortal combat.from Mister Horner. ‘It s a woman's hand the captain wald, “I suspect that It Is from her, Hene on,' hen they both fell silent for ime Henderson hoping that the letter woul prove to be'of @ nature to make the cap- taip ewsy In his mind respecting the writer, and the captaln dreading that it might contaln confirmation of his worst suspicions. The lett ituelf, delivered after her departure tainly was & bad sign from one point of view. She could have sent for him, or have called upon him, ff things were as they should be. “I forgot to say,” Henderson remarked, “that Parson Potter's opinion of this