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Show Judith of Blue Lake Ranch THE PARTY STNOf'SfS. Hud r.x, horn fi.rpniiin nt Ihr. lilue l-ik raticli. convincr-d Hitynn Tremrs, iniui-nir-r. I.i deliberately wrwklnic the iroijTty owned by Judith .Sunfririi, a yrmim woman, her -ou.il ri. Pollock Hampton, und Timothy Cray, rii-i-ld.:s to throw up IiIh Job. Judith iirrlvfH "rid iinnoiiiKM-M she lia bouKht llray's share In the ruti'-h and will run it. She dlsr-haiK'-H Trevors, after HhoolInK him twice In self-ile-fen.He. The men on the rritu-h dislike taklim orders from a Kill, hut by nubduInK a vh.loU.H horse and provlnx her thorough knowledge knowl-edge of mnrh life, Judith wins the best of them over. I-ee de- , rides to stay, for a while at least. Jlldllh herotlUH eonvlived that lor veterinarian. Hill Crowd y. Is Irenel. irons She dlseliarae.s him I, .Hi K-et:i bark 1 1., Tripp, her dead falher's man. polloek Hamilton, part owner, pomes to stay "for Kood." Trevors neeepls Hampton's Hamp-ton's Invitation to visit the ranch. Judlth'B messenger Is held up and robbed of the monthly Py roll. Hud I.eo noes to the city for more money, pettlnir back safely with It. tlioutfh his horse is killed under Mm. Hotli be ami Judith see Tre'ors' hand In the erlme. lloff cholera, hard to account ac-count for, breaks out on the ranch. Judith and I.ce Investigate Investi-gate the scene of the holdup. A cabin In a flower-plan I ed clearing clear-ing excites Judith's admiration. It Is I.ec's. though be does not say so. They nre fired on from ambush, and I.ee wounded. An-swcrlnir An-swcrlnir the lire, they make for the cabin. Hern they llnd Rill ("rowdy wounded. Hra'rulnir him Into the blllldinir, they llnd be has , the money taken from Judith's messenger. They nre besieged in the cabin nil nleht. Hampton arrives ar-rives In time to drive the attackers attack-ers off and captures "Shorty," who later escapes from the ranch. Judith tells I'.ud I.ee her nnanclnl troubles and be says he'll stick, lie's bek'tnnlnK to be fond of her, In Nplte of her mannish ways The discovery Is made that pi-peons, pi-peons, with lin cholera ircrms on their feet, have been liberated on the ranch. I.ee captures a stranger. Dick Donley, red-handed, with an accomplice, a cowboy known as "Poker Kaco." CHAPTER IX Continued 10 Vhe iiskod her riuostions, jrot lifr nn-KJtr'ump'mmly nn-KJtr'ump'mmly she turned to " v. JLK'li. though a hundred rfiL had ny -1' ii (lock (if ji or so n ;;o,, ..i '-U- '.- 4 ovim him. the .:i;ui wnf) ""Si,-. ' l'.aKicy didn't know wlio he -was. Tin' same nmn, however, hud shown up Ihive days tio mid bad asked for nimilier half-dozen of the liirds. There had lieen throe white pi'Ki'ons ninoiif; thorn. He was i: shil'ty-eyed clnip, I'aeley said, old brown suit, lint Willi n rattlesnake skin n round (he crown. That, point for point, spelled Henley. Tee returned wilh the slilrt which lie liiitl ripped from his prisoner's back. Adhering to the inside of it were liltle, downy feathers and three or four larger feathers from a pigeon's wing. I "1 guess he rode mostly nt night, at that," concluded I.ee. "A great little fat man you must have looked, strati per, with six of those birdies in youi shirt." 1 Donley's face was a violet red. Rul 41 glance from I.ee shut his mouth for liiin. I'oker Face, still looking on, pave no sign of Interest. ' "Put him In the grain-house," said Judith, her eyes bright witli anger. "And see that he doesn't go Shorty's trail. I'oker Face, have you anything to say for yourself?" "No," answered I'oker Face. "Then," cried Judith hotly, "you can have your time right now! Donley, here, I'll prosecute. lie's going to pay for this morning's work. I've got nothing noth-ing on you. It's up to you to see that I don't get It ! Anil you can tell Shorty for me yes, and Quinnion, too, and Bayne Trevors, ir you like that 1 am ready and waiting for your next play! And don't forget that when San Viientin is full there's still room in I olsotu." ludith telephoned F.mmct Sawyer f'at she had a man for him. I.ee and 'arson conducted an expostulating I'onley to the grain-house and jailed hint wordlessly. Then Carson put a i""ti on guard nt the door, daylight tl'ot g't it was. When all was done he t'"ed his pipe slowly and turned trou-b'' trou-b'' d eyes after I'oker Face. "She made a mistake there, though," h" said regretfully. "A belter cow-r--nd I never ask to see. Hud. An' yon ii-. r'-.t to see the game of crib that plays! Nope, Judy; you're wrong there." Hut I ml I.ee, the man who did not r-v rove of the sort of woman who did ni: n's work, said with unusual w.irnith : "Don't you fool yourself, Carson! She hasn't made one little misplav yet !" CHAPTER X Judith Triumphant Though, under the surface, life upon I'.lue Lake ranch was sufficiently tense, the remaining days of June frivoled by as bright and bonny as the little meadow-blues flirting with the field-dowers. field-dowers. Since from the very first the ranch had been short-handed, the hours from dawn to dusk were tilled with activity. Carson, who, true to Judith's expectations, expecta-tions, had brought back some new Ideas from his few days at the expert s' By JACKSON GREGORY Copyright by Charlea Scrlbnerj Son mental farm Ideas not to he admitted by (.'arson, however bought a hundred hun-dred young steers from a neighboring overstocked range. In the lower corrals cor-rals the new milking-machines were working smoothly, only a few of the older cows refusing to have anything to do with them. Tripp had succeeded In locating and getting back some of the men who had worked long muh;r I.uke .Sanford and whom Trevors had discharged. It was a joy to sec the familiar faces of Sunny Sun-ny Harper. Johnny Hodge, liing Kel-Icy, Kel-Icy, Tod ISruee. The alfalfa acreage was extended, a little more than doubled. dou-bled. I'laus were made for an ubtin-dancH ubtin-dancH of dry fodder to be fed with the lush silage during the coming lean months. Iiud I.ee broke his string of 'horses and, with Tommy Iiurkilt and one nt her dependable man, began perfecting per-fecting their education, with an eye turned toward a profitable sale In January. Jan-uary. Quinnion, perforce, was left undisturbed undis-turbed upon the sheep-ranch, whither Kinmet Sawyer haM followed him. Against Hud Fee's word that he had bad a hand In the trouble at the old cabin were the combined oaths of two of the sheepmen that he had been with them nt the time. Hamilton's guests, who hud planned for a month at the ranch, stayed on. I'.ut they would be leaving at the end of June. That is, Karris and Rogers positively; the Langworthys, perhaps. The major was content here, and to slay always and always, would be an unbounded joy of course, with little runs to the city for the opera season and for shopping trips, and a great, Jolly house-party now and then. The only fly in Marcia's ointment was Hampton himself. She confessed as much to Judith. She liked him, oh, ever so much ! Hut was that love? She yearned for a man who would thrill her through and through, and Hampton Hamp-ton didn't always do that. Just after his heroic capture of the terrible Shorty, Marcia was thrilled to her heart's content. Hut there were other days when Hampton was just Pollock Hamplon. If it could only be arranged so that she could stay on and on, with no day of reckoning to come, no matrimonial matri-monial ventures on the horizon . . . "That's simple, my dear," Judith smiled at her. "When you get through being Pollock Hampton's guest, you can lie mine for a while." Hampton was now a great puzzle to Mrs. I.angwortliy, and even an object of her secret displeasure. Not that that displeasure ever went to the limit of changing Mrs. Lnngwnrtby's plans. I'.ut she longed for the right to talk to him as a mother should. For, seeking to emulate those whom he so unstintedly unstint-edly admired, Bud I.ee and Carson and the rest of the hard-handed, quick-eyed quick-eyed men in the service of the ranch, Hampton was no longer the careless, frankly inefficient youth who had escorted es-corted his guests here. lie went for days at a time unshaven, having other matters to think of; lie came to the table bringing with him the aroma of the stables. He also wore a pair of trousers as cylindrical in the leg as a stovepipe; over them be wore a pair of cheap blue overalls, with the proper six-inch turn-up at the bottom to show the stovepipe trousers underneath. The overalls got soiled, then dirty, then disgracefully blotched with wagon grease and picturesque stains, and Hampton made no apologies for them. Twice lie left the ranch, once to be gone overnight, Intending that it should be a mystery where he went. But, since he rode the north trail which led to the Western Lumber camp, no one doubted that he had gone to see Bayne Trevors, in whom lie still stoutly believed. Between the loth and the memorable memor-able i'.Oth of June. Bud I.ee saw little of Judith Sanford. She was here, there, everywhere; busy, preoccupied. Marcia he talked with twice; once when they rode together while Hampton, Hamp-ton, racing recklessly down a rocky slope for a shot at a deer got a fall, a sore shoulder and made his debut in certain new swear-words; once when till of the guests, with the exception of Karris, who was painting the portrait por-trait of the stallion. Nightshade, and the major, who had "letters to write." came out to watch the horse-breaking. This time, introduced to Mrs. I.angwortliy. I.ang-wortliy. I.ee got for his bow a remarkably remark-ably cold stare. Others might forget, here in the open, the distinction between be-tween people of the better class and their servants not Mrs. Langworthy, if you please. Having created his imaginary woman. wom-an. I.ee was ripe to fall in love with her w'len she came. He had thrilled to the touch of Judith's hand that night in the cabin; his thoughts, many and many a day, centered about the superbly alive beauty that was Judith's. Ju-dith's. The fact disturbed him vaguely. vague-ly. The thought that he was very deeply Interested In her in the good old way between man and maid, never entered his stubborn head. She was as far removed from his ideal woman as the furthermost star in the infinite firmament. Perhaps it was this very disquiet within him. csused by Judith, which now turned his thoughts to Marcia. "That's the sort of woman," he told himself stoutly. "A man's woman; his other self, not just a pardner; the necessary other side of him. not Just the same side ii a different way." Marcia had little, feminine wayi of helplessness which turned flatteringly to the strength of the other sex. Judith Ju-dith asked no man to aid her in mounting mount-ing her horse; Marcia coquettishly slipped a daintily slippered foot into a man's palm, rising because of ids strength. Now, when his thoughts went to Judith, Ju-dith, Bud I.ee turned them dexterously dexterous-ly to Marcia, making ids comparisons, shaping them to fit into his pet theory. When, days passing, lie did not see Judith, he told himself that he was going to miss Martin when she left. When one day lie came unexpectedly upon Judith and with lips and eyes she flashed her ready smile at him, he felt that odd stir in li is blood. What a pity that a girl like her, who might have been anything, elected to do a man's work! When, again unexpectedly, unexpect-edly, lie came another day upon Marcia Mar-cia riding with Hampton, there was no quic. stirring of the pulses, and he contented himself with the thought: "Now, that is the sort of woman. A man's woman! Ills other self . . ." and so on. When Judith planned a little party to mark the departure of Marcia on the 3()th of June it wasn't definitely decided t lint the Langworthys were leaving then, but at least Karris and lingers were the reasons actuating her were rather more complex than Judith herself fully realized or would have admitted. She liked Marcia: she wanted to do at least this much for her. Living room, dining room, music room, library they would all be cleared of the larger pieces of furniture, fur-niture, the double-doors thrown open. The string hand from llocky Bend would come. Judith would send out invitations to the nicer people there and to the ranches hereabout. She would have a barbecue, there would be races and the usual holiday games, then the dance. Marcia would know nothing of it until the last day, when her eager enthusiasm would send her a-flutter to her dressing room. Unanalyzed, it was simplicity itself, this giving a farewell party to Marcia. Under analysis, it was a different matter. mat-ter. The boys at the ranch would be invited, and of course most of them would come. But Lee would come. Judith would see to that, even if he should hesitate. Bud Lee had always been so self-possessed, self-possessed, had so coolly found her lacking, that, piqued a little, Judith longed for the opportunity to place him in an atmosphere where a little Lamp in Hand, Went Down Into the Cellar. of his calm self-possession might be snatched from him. If she could embarrass em-barrass him, if she could see the reel rise under Ids tanned skin, she would be giving Mr. Lee a lesson good for his soul. "I've got powerful little use for an affair like that," said Lee coolly, when she told him. "Thank you, Miss Sanford, San-ford, but I don't think I'll come." Judith shrugged her shoulders as though it did not In the least matter to her. "I'm giving it for Marcia," she said. "Do you think it would be quite nice to her to slay away? I am afraid that she will lie hurt." Not Judith's words, but the look in her eyes changed Lee's intentions. "If it's for Miss Langworthy," he said quietly, "I'll come." The day came and Bud Lee began to regret that he had given his promise prom-ise to go to Marcia's dance. All day he was taciturn, aloof, avoiding not only the visitors from Rocky Bend and the other ranches, but his own fellows as well. He took no part in the races, was missing wlten the blazing blaz-ing trenches and smell of broiling meat told that the barbecue was In progress. lie worked with his horses as he had worked yesterday, as he would work tomorrow. With the dusk lie went, not to the men's quarters, but to the old cabin nt the Upper End. Again and again that day he hud thought of that look in Judith's eyes when she had asked him to come for Marcia's sake. What the devil did s'oe mean by it? He didn't know exactly, ex-actly, but he did know that in its own vague way it irritated him. Her eyes had laughed nt him, they had teased, they had told him that Judith herself wasn't wasting a single thought upon Mr. Bud Lee, but that she had noticed his obvious interest in Miss Langworthy. "D n it," mui'tred Lee. "1 won t But lie had said be would go, and in little ihitiL-s as in big ones he was scrupulous. scru-pulous. He would go. Just to dance with Marcia and show Miss Judith a thing or two. He felt unreasonably like taking Miss Judith across his knee and spanking her. And lie did have a curiosity to see ji what Judith would look like in a real party-dress. "Poor little wild Indian," he grumbled. grum-bled. 'She's got the making of a wonder won-der In her, and she doesn't even know it. What's worse, doesn't care." He sat with a dead cigaret'e between be-tween his fingers, staring at the windblown wind-blown flame of his coal-oil lamp. Judith Ju-dith was doing this as she did everything every-thing that she set her two hands on, thoroughly and with her whole heart and soul. In that lay the key to her character. There was no half-way with her. When she gave, it was open-heartedly, open-heartedly, with no reservation; where she loved or hated. It was unreservedly unreserved-ly ; If she gave a dance 11 would be a (lance for the countryside to remember. remem-ber. Yesterday Hampton had wondered, grinning, what he'd look like in a dress-suit again. Hadn't had a thing on here of late but his war togs. Whereby lie called attention to his turned-up overalls, soft shirt, battered hat, and flapping vest with the tobacco-tag hanging out. Bud I.ee turned down the wick of Ii is lamp, which had been smoking, and sat staring at it another live minutes. "By thunder," lie said softly to himself, "I'il do it." lie shored the hunk away from its place in t lie corner, opened a trapdoor trap-door in the floor and, lamp In hand, went down into the cabin's cellar. Here was a long pine box, hooped with tin hands for shipping, its litl securely railed on. He set down his lamp and with shirt-sleeve wiped oil some of the accumulation of dust and spider-web. A card with the words, "David Bur-rill Bur-rill Lee, Rocky Bend." tacked to it made its appearance. Lee snook his head and attacked tne lid. "It's like digging out a dead man," he muttered. "Well, we'll bury him again tomorrow." It was a box of odds and ends. Clothing, a few books, a pack of photographs, pho-tographs, an ornate bridle, a pair of gold-chased spurs, a couple of hats, gloves, no end of the varied articles which might have gone hastily into sucli a receptacle as this from the hurried hur-ried packing in a bachelor's apartments. apart-ments. Bud Lee, with a dress-suit and the articles it demands, even to a tie-and tie-and dancing-shoes, went back into the room abore. "Like Hampton," he mused, looking at the tilings in li is hands, "I wonder what it'll feel like to get back into these! I'm a fool." He laughed shortly short-ly and set to work to improrise a flat-iron flat-iron to take the worst wrinkles out of the cloth. "Once a fool, always a fool. You can't get away from it." It was settled. He was going to Marcia's party. He insisted upon calling call-ing it in lils mind, "Marcia's party." And lie was wondering, as he shaved, how Judith was going to look. As Bud Lee came through the lilacs into the courtyard, he heard the tinkle of a distant piano and the tremolo of a violin, so faint as hardly to be distinguished distin-guished above the plash and gurgle of the fountains. The court, bathed in soft light, seemed a corner of fairyland, fairy-land, the music vanishing elfin strains to some mischievous troop putting put-ting sighs and lore dreams into a sleeping sleep-ing maid's breast. The night was rich with stars, warm with summer, serene with the peace of the mountains. He was late. They were already dancing within. He stood a moment, looking in at the outer edge of the flood of light which gushed through the wide doors. Behind him Japanese lanterns hanging hang-ing from a vine-covered trellis ; before him flowers, bright chandeliers, girls' dresses like fluttering, many-colored, diaphanous butterfly wings. He had been saying to himself: "I must hurry if I want to dame with Marcia." And something stirring restlessly within him shoved aside the thought of Marcia Mar-cia and put in its stead the old wonder: won-der: "What sort of a Judith would he see tonight?" He found it difficult to form any picture of iter here, among these gay, inconsequent merry-makers. Judith to him spelled a girl upon a horse, booted, boot-ed, spurred, with a scarf about her neck fluttering wildly behind her as she rode, the superb, splendid figure of a girl of the out-of-doors, alive with the hot pioneer blood which had been her rich inheritance, a sort of wonderful wonder-ful boy-girl. Remove her flapping hat. her boots and spurs and riding-suit, and what was left of Judith? Outside were half a dozen of the boys who had not mustered courage to set foot on the polished floors, Carson and Tommy Burkitt among them. Tommy stared at Bud Lee and his jaw dropped in amazement. Carson took swift stock of such clothes as he had never suspected a good horse foreman owned, and gasped faintly: "The d n . . . lady-killer!" But Lee had neither eyes nor thoughts for them, nor remembrance of his own change from working garb to that of polite society. The dance came to a lingering end, the couples throughout the big room strolled up and down, clapping their hands softly or vehemently as their natures or degree de-gree of enthusiasm dictaled. and Lee forgot Marcia and sought eagerly for a glimpse of Judith. Refused a second encore, the couples stool about chatting, the hum of lively voices bespeaking eager enjoyment. enjoy-ment. There was no early chill upon the assembly, to be dissipated as the dance wore on; the day of festivity outdoors had thawed the thin crust of Icy strangeness which is so natural a ,,,,-r of such a function us this. Al-e'dy Al-e'dy it seemed that everybody w.s on the most cheerful terms with eNery bo civ else. was allowing the nien to fig lit It . out among themselves. Lee moed a l!tt nearer to see her better. In a pale-bU pale-bU e go vn, fluffy as a summer cloud he cheeks delicately flushed, a white rose like a snowdrop in the gold of hair, she was flatteringly happy, e minding him of those little meadow b es that bad flown palpitatingly bout him that day in the fields And she was obviously as much at her ease here, in an atmosphere of music and flattery, as the tiny butterflies in their own meadows. Bud Lee came In, his tall form conspicuous, con-spicuous, and went straight to Marcia. She saw him immediately; forgot herself her-self to stare almost as Carson had done; smiled at him brightly; wared her fan to him. He took her hand and told her with his eves how pretty she was. The delicate tint in Marcia's cheeks deepened deep-ened and warmed, her eyes grew even brighter. "Flatterer!" she chided him. Are we to talk of the moth and the star again, Mr. Lee?" The knot of men about her melted away. Lee stood looking down Into her " upturned eyes, measuring her gentle beauty. He had thought of her as a little ' blue butterfly she was more like a wee wliite moth, fluttering, flutter-ing, fluttering . . . The music, again from a hidden distance, dis-tance, set feet to tapping. Marcia plainly hesitated, flashed a quick look from Lee to the others about them, then whispered hurriedly: "It's terrible of me, but" And she slipped her hand into his arm, cast another searching glance orer her shoulder for a partner who had been too tardy in finding her, and yielded to the temptation to hare this first dance with "the most terribly fascinating fas-cinating man there !" Lee slipped his arm about her, felt her sway with him, and lightly they caught the beat of the dance and lost themselves in it. And still, again and again turning away from Marcia, lie sought Judith. The dance over, their talk was Interrupted..' In-terrupted..' by an ezcited and rather orerdignified youth with a hurt look in his young worshiping eyes, who stiffly reminded Miss Langworthy that she had cut his dance. She was so contrite and helpless about it that the youth's heart was touched ; she blamed herself for her terribly stupid way of always getting things tangled up, gave him the promise of the next dance, which she had already given to some one else, disposed of him with charming charm-ing skill, and sighed as she turned again to Lee. "I haven't paid my respects to our hostess," he said quietly. "Where Is Miss Sanford?" "She sent her excuses," Marcia told him. "Aren't we in a draft, Mr. Lee?" He moved with her away from the soft current of air, a distinct disappointment disap-pointment moving him to the verge of sudden anger. What business had Judith Ju-dith to stay away? "You mean she isn't coining at all?" he asked quickly. "Oh, no," she told him, busy with the rose in her hair,, her eyes bright on his. "Just as the dance was beginning be-ginning she had to go to the telephone. Some ranch business, I don't know what. But she sent word she would be here Immediately I believe," and Marcia made her remark teasingly, though she did want to know, "that a certain mysterious gentleman who masquerades as a horse-breaker is very much interested In Judith." "What makes you say a thing like that?" he asked, startled a little. Marcia laughed. "A woman's intuition, Sir Mystery I" she informed him gayly. "What does the woman's Intuition find to be the mysterious gentleman's interest in a certain Miss Langworthy?" Langwor-thy?" he nsked lightly. "It tells her that he likes her; that it would be fun for him to come and play with her; that he would be kind and courteous; but that he considers her very much as he would a foolish little butterfly !" Here's David Burrill Lee in full dress. Now, what will JU-dith JU-dith look like, dressed up? (TO BE CONTINUED.) |