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Show BETTY WOULD MARRY I REID by D. J. Walsh.) BETT? FOLLEU looked wistfully nt the mountain. It seemed to he very near this morning. Hetty had come from a little eastern town tucked In amonj the Mils, and this calm, blue giant wan the friendliest thlnpt 8he had yet found out here. Teaching was homesick business. Yesterday a letter from home had made her cry for an hour. )ick Morrow was going to marry Peg Klinore. As she read the words P.etty wished she had accepted Pick when ie asked her, then she wouldn't have hail to leave I'lnevlllc at all. She stood now on the porch of the small ranch house gazing at the mountain. moun-tain. It seemed to beckon, to call. A curious thing, this solitary peak rising out of the vast southwestern plains. Old ISrlght Top, Mrs. Lowden called It. She know no more about It than lis name. The Lowdens hadn't l)een there very long; they were a young couple who were trying out ranch life. Betty's companionship, aside from her board money, had been warmly welcomed by Jenny Lowden. Without a word to her hostess, who was busy In the kitchen, Betty went down the steps and out upon the trail which seemed to lead straight toward old Bright Top. It had been a little chilly Inside, but out here the sun was warm and pleasant. Neither did the silence seem so oppressive as within the ranch house, where the Jingle of pot or pan startled one horribly. lietty walked on and on. The mountain drew her as a magnet. She thought longingly of the old elm at home which must just now be shedding shed-ding Its leaves. Oh, to mke leaves nnd burn them I Somebody came riding toward her. fihe recognized the man. He was always al-ways hanging round the Lowdens when he wasn't away at work somewhere. some-where. Evenings he came riding up to the porch on his queer calico pony. Mrs. I.owden laughed and exchanged knowing glances with her husband whenever Rold Kilmer appeared. That made P.etty angry. She would have nothing to say to the fellow. He wasn't the kind she was used to, not llko Dick Morrow, with his sleek hair and graceful manner. Iieid was coarse, rough, awkward, a bit ugly. He had narrow, far-seeing eyes, a grim mouth, sl;In burnt to the color of a ripe chinquapin. And he rode a branded horse. She shrank aside now as Reld came Hear. She nodded so coldly that nil he could do was to touch his wicle-hrlmmed wicle-hrlmmed hat and ride on. F.ut her checks burned at the look he had Riven her. No man had ever looked jit her like that. Hetty didn't know that In the twenty-eight years of bis clean-thinking, hard-working, vigorous life Reid had never seen a girl like herself. She was no novelty to men like Dick Morrow; Mor-row; any one of n dozen girls Dick knew wore prettier and smarter than she. Rut to Reld, with his ideal of womankind all unmnrred, Betty with her hair the color of a turned elm leaf, her brown eyes, red lips and dainty air of sophistication, which was augmented by the cherry-colored dress she wore Retty was desirable nnd Irresistible. The first glimpse of her had changed his whole life, tie worshipped her with single-hearted passion. She felt she was well rid of him when she heard the thump-thump of Watcheye's hoofs on the hard soil. 'Again he was close beside her. This time he held out to her his wlde-brlmmed wlde-brlmmed hat. "Rotter take It, ma'am. Sun's hotter hot-ter than you reckon. 'You might get touch of sun sickness." "Thank you ! I'm used to going bareheaded," Betty said coldly. She shrugged one cherry-colored shoulder as she walked on. The Idea of his thinking she'd put that great, clumsy tiling on her head! It didn't look very clean Inside, either. Held looked after her wistfully. Willi a sigh he wheeled his pony and rode on. Rut again and again be looked back at the darlbng, bright little figure of the girl he loved. It troubled him when he thought of the Run rays pouring down on her sunny uncovered head. The meeting with Reld had disconcerted discon-certed Betty. It set her to thinking a lot of silly stuff. She saw that Held was In love with her. Any man who loves any woman Is not uninteresting uninter-esting to that woman. Rut In the present condition of her heart she wanted to hurt Reld all she could by snubbing him. Suddenly she stopped In the trail, realizing that she had been marching forward for a long while. The mountain moun-tain was no nearer. Above the ripe grass shimmered quivering heatwaves. heat-waves. Nothing was distinct. Rooking Rook-ing back, she couldn't even see the ranch house. She felt strangely swlmmy. She felt of the top of her bead and found It hot. Sun sickness sick-ness I Her heart sank. "Guess I'd better run along home," he said to herself. , 8he was no longer sure of herself. The trail had petered out, crawled Into the high, dry grass and lost Itself. Close at hand she heard a strange, menacing rattle. Nausea seized Betty. A step In any direction and she might put her foot In Its strapped shoe and silk stocking stock-ing down upon that horrible rattling danger. Death lurked. Just the other day Mrs. Lowden had told her about a man she swayed as she stood. Covering her face with her hands she sobbed In terror. Thump-thump I An arm went round her, courteously, kindly. She wilted on a hard yet wonderfully comfortable shoulder. A big hand scented with, horse leather patted her arm. "There, there! You're all right I I'm here!" murmured a deep voice. "Do you hear It that thing?" gasped Betty. She made a gesture. "That's nothing. I'm here." He put his hat on her aching head, rie lifted her npon his pony. He took her home. For the rest of the day Jenny Lowden doctored and scolded her. "Next time you want to take a walk you belter ride," snapped Mrs. Lowden. Low-den. "I thought you knew better than that 1 Rareheaded, tool Gosh, you tenderfeet make me tired." A week passed. No sight or sound of Reid. He had ceased to hang round the Lowden ranch. "Shouldn't wonder a mite If he was getting married," Jenny said. "Ress Slocum Is a fine girl. She can ride anything on four feet. Took the prize at the Posy county rodeo." Betty was silent. She'd thought a lot about Reld ever since that awful Saturday morning when he came to her rescue. Kindness, tenderness, a delicate reserve new to her In her contnet with the hoys of her own set why, he was a thousand times more the gentleman than Dick Morrow! She hoped he'd be happy with his Bess. She had dismissed the school one afternoon and was getting ready to go home when she heard a knock at the door. Reid stood there, grim-mouthed, grim-mouthed, grave. Betty's brown eyes (lashed welcome. "Thought maybe you'd let me walk along home with you," Reld said. "Of course! I'm just ready." They walked along, the calico pony following. "Are you married, Reld?" Betty asked. "Married! Who to?" "To Bess Slocum." "Ress Is my cousin. Cousins don't marry In our family. Bess and I don't hitch good anyway. What gave you that Idea?" "You've been away so long " "Sure. Getting me some decent clothes. I I couldn't ask you to marry a buckaroo, could I, honey?" "Clothes don't matter much to me," Betty said softly. "Don't they, honey? I was afraid they might. You've been used to different dif-ferent ways of living I've had a good bit of schooling, honey. I've got a fine ranch. I've got money saved up " His voice faltered, he looked at her anxiously. "Stop! Stop!" cried Betty. "I told you clothes don't matter. Neither does anything else where you're concerned. con-cerned. I'd marry you, Reld, even though you weren't anything but but a buckaroo !" |