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Show ' Jf The difference between their years was not quite so great he declared, but womanlike the girl let the statement pau unchallenged. And I wouldnt Insult your Intelligence by saying you are the only woman that I have ever made- love to, but there Is a vast difference between making love to a woman and loving one. I have Just found that out tor the first time. I marvel at the past, and I am ashamed of It, but I thank God that I have been saved for this opportunity. I want to win you, and 1 am going to do It, too. In many things I dont match up with the people with whom you train. I was born out here, and Ive made myself. There are things that have happened in the making that I am not especially proud of, and I am not at all satisfied with the results, especially since I have met you. The better I know you the less pleased I am with Jim Armstrong, but- - there are possibilities In me, I rather believe, and with you for Inspiration, God!" the man flung out his hand- - with a fine gesture of determination. They say that the-- east and west dont naturally mingle, but Its a lie; you and I can beat the SYNOPSIS. ' u Enid Maitland, a (rank, m and un-- -i polled young Philadelphia girl, la taken the Colorado mountains by iter uncle, nobart Maitland. James Armstrong, 'Ualtland'a protege, (alls In lova with her. o CHAPTER ll(Contlnuad). "And by wbat right did you taka 4hat one?" haughtily demanded the outraged young woman, looking at him beneath level browa while the color slowly receded' from her face. She had never been kissed by a man other than a blood relation In her life remember, suspicious reader, that she was from Philadelphia, and she resented this sudden and unauthorized caress with every atom and Instinct of her still somewhat conventional being. "But arent you half way engaged to me? he pleaded In Justification, seeing the unwonted seriousness with which she had received his Impudent advance. Didnt you agree to give me a chance 7 I did say that I liked you very much, she admitted, "no man better, and that I thought that you might" "Well, then " he began. But she would not be Interrupted. I did not mean that you should enjoy all the privileges of a conquest before you had won me. I will thank you not to do that again, sir. It seems to have had a very different effect upon you than It does I upon me," replied the man coolly. loved you before, but now, since I have kissed you, I worship you." "It hasnt affected me that way, retorted the girl promptly, her face still frowning and Indignant "Not at all. world. Forgive me, Enid," pleaded the 1 Just couldnt help It You were so beautiful I had to. 1 took the chance. You are not accustomed to our ways." Is this your habit in your love Mlwd ha girl swiftly end wst without a spice of feminine malice. I never had any love affair before," he replied with a ready masculine mendacity, "at least .none worth mentioning. But you see this Is the west; we have gained what we have by demanding every Inch that nature offers, and then claiming the all. Thats the way we play the game out ' here and thats the way we win." But I have not yet learned to play, the game, as you call it, by anjfcsuch rules, returned the young woman determinedly, and It Is not the way to win me If I am the stake." "What la the way?" asked the man Anxiously. Show me and Ill take It wo matter what Its difficulty." "Ah, for me to point out the way would be to play traitor to myself," she answered, relenting and relaxing a little before his devoted wooing. "You must find It without assistance. 1 can only tell you one thing. "And what Is that?" Tun do not advance toward the w - by such actions as those of a moment since. "Look here," said the other suddenly. "I am not ashamed of what I did, and Im not going to pretend that I am, either." You ought to be, severely. Well, maybe so, but Im not; I couldn't help It any more than 1 could help loving you the minute I saw you. Put yourself In my place. "But I am not in your place, and I cant put myself there. I do not wish to. If it be true, as 'you say, that you have grown to care so much for me and so quickly "If It be true? came the sharp Interruption as the man bent toward her, fairly devouring her with his bold, other. ir -- , The woman thrilled to his gallant wooing. Any woman would have done so; some of them would have lost their heads, but Enid Maitland was an exceedingly cool young person, for she was not quite swept off her feet, and did not quite lose her balance. 1 like to hear you say things like that," she answered. Nobody quite like you has ever made love to me, and certainly not In your way, and thats the reason I have given you a half way promise to think about It I was sorry that you could not be with us on this adventure, but now 1 am rather glad, especially If the even temper of my way Is to be Interrupted by anything like the outburst of a few minutes since." I am glad, too,"- admitted the man Fpr I declare I couldnt help it If I have to be with you either you have got to be mine or else you would have to decide that It could never be, and then Id go off and fight It out" "Leave me to myself, said the girl earnestly for a little while; Its best so; I would not take the finest, noblest man on earth And I am not that Unless I loved him. There Is something very attractive about your personality; I dont know in my heart whether It la that or said the man, as she hesitated. Thats enough. He gathered up the reins and whirled his horse I am going suddenly In the road. back. Ill wait for your return to Denver, and then Thats best answered the glrL She stretched out her hand to him, leaning backward.. If he had been a different kind of a man he would have kissed It; as it was he took It in his own hand and almost crushed It with l a fierce shake on that little girt he said, and then without a backward glance he put spurs to his horse and galloped furiously down the road. No, she decided then and there, she did not love him, not yet Whether she ever would she could not tell. And yet she was half bound to him. The recollection of his kiss was not altogether a pleasant memory; he had not done himself any good by that bold assault upon her modesty, that reckless attempt to rifle the treasure of her Ups. No man had ever really touched her heart although many had engaged her Interest Her experience therefore was not .definitive or conclusive. If she had truly loved James Armstrong, In spite of aU that she ardent gaze. Well, since It Is true, she admlt-- might have said, she would have under the compulsion of his pro- thrilled to the remembrance of that caress. The chances, .therefore, test That fact Is the only possible wild were somewhat heavily against him excuse. for your action." You find some Justification for me, that morning as he rode down the trail alone. then? His experiences In love affaire were a but whether No, only possibility, It be true or not I do not feel that much greater than hers. She was by no means the first woman he had way yet -- There was a' saving grace In that kissed remember, suspicious reader, last word, which gave him a little that he was not from Philadelphia heart He would have spoken, but hers were not the first ears into she suffered no Interruption, saying: which he had poured passionate He was neither bet. "I have been wooed before, but" protestations. True, unleu the human race hu ter nor worse than most men, perhaps become suddenly blind," he said softly he fairly enough represented the average; but surely fate had something under his breath. better In store for such a superb wom"But never In such ungentle ways 1 suppose you. have never run up an. A girl of such attainments and man like such Infinite possibilities, she must against a real mate higher than with the average me before." be evidenced mainly man. Perhaps there was a subconIf of this In her mind as she by lacking of self control, perhaps 1 sciousness to be overtaken by. the waited 1 men are Yet that silently there have not have met that would not need to apol- rest of the party. There were curious glances and ogise for their qualities - even to you, strange speculations In that little Mr. James Armstrong." Dont say that Evidently I make company as they saw her sitting her but poor progress In my wooing horse alone. A few moments before Never have I met with a woman quite James Armstrong had passed them at like you" and In that Indeed lay a gallop, he had waved his hand as some of her charm, and she might he dashed by and had smiled at them, have replied in exactly the same lan- hope giving him a certain assurance, was scarcely guage and with exactly the same ' although his confidence the .facts. warranted by a am him no I to longer meaning I Ills demeanor was not In consonance boy. 1 must be fifteen years older thirty-five.with Enids somewhat grave and somo- . than you are, for I am ... d d . 1 "Good, grip.-WeT- matter! had It been placed before you shoved the helium over to the him on the old colonial mahogany of left. Staboad an port was the terms In Philadelphia. But as I recollects em. Its Jest the same the dining-rooup there In the wilds she had eaten with burros, you takes em by the the coarse homely fare with the zest tiller, thats by the tall, git a good and relish of the most seasoned ranger tight twist on It an ef you want him of the hills. Anxious to be of service, to head to the right, slew hls stem she had burned her hands and smoked sheets around to the left, an you got her hair and scorched her face by to be keerful you dont git no kick usurping the functions of the young back wlch ef It lands on you is worse ranchman who had been brought along n the re of a mule." as cook, and had actually fried the Arthur faithfully followed direcbacon herself! Imagine a goddess tions, narrowly escaping the outraged with a frying pan! The black thlpk brute's small but sharp pointed heels coffee and the condensed milk, drunk on occasion. Hls efforts not being from the granite ware cup, had a more productive of much success, finally la delirious aroma and a more delight-fu- l hls despair he resorted to brute taste than the finest Mocha and strength; he would pick the little aniJava In the daintiest porcelain of mal up bodily, pack and all he was a France. Optimum condlmentum. The man of powerful physique and swing girl was frankly ravenously hungry, him around until hls head pointed lu the air, the altitude, the exertion, the the right direction; then with a prayer excitement made her able to eat any- that the burro would keep It there for a few rods anyway, he would set him thing and enjoy It She was gloriously beautiful, too; down and start him all over again. even her brief experience in the west The process oft repeated became mohad brought back the missing roses notonous sfter awhile. Arthur was s to her cheek, and had banished the slow thinking man, deliberate In nobistre circles from beneath her eyes. tion; hs stood It as long as he possibly Robert Maitland, lazily reclining could. Klrkby, who rode one horse propped up against a boulder, hls feet and led two others, and therefore was to the fire, smoking an old pipe that exempt from burro driving, observed would have given hls brother the hor- him with great Interest He and Bradrors, looked with approving com- shaw had strayed way behind the rest placency upon her, confident and sati- of the party. sfied that hls prescription was workAt last Arthurs resistance, patience ing well. Nor was he the only one and piety, strained to the breaking who looked at her that way. Marlon point, gave way suddenly. Primitive and Emma, hls two daughters, wor- Instincts rose to the surface and overshipped their handsome Philadelphia whelmed him like a flood. He decousin and they sat one on either side liberately sat down on a fallen tree of her on the great log lying between by the side of a trail, the burro haltthe tents and the fire. Even Bob ing obediently, turned and faced him Junior condescended toglve her ap- with hanging head, apparently conproving glances.. The whole camp scious that he merited the disapprowas at her feet. Mrs. Maitland had bation that was being heaped upon been greatly taken by her young him, for from the desperate tenderniece. Klrkby made no secret of hls foot there burst forth so amazing, so devotion, Arthur Bradshaw and Henry fluent, so comprehensive a torrent of Philips, each a tenderfoot" of the ex- assorted profanity, that even the old tremist character, friends of business paat master In objuration waa astonconnect lone in the Mat. who swerc ished ! emUMna Wk spending their vacation with Mait- Bradshaw, mild and inoffensive, get land, shared In the general devotion; It? Hls proficiency would have apto nothing of George the cook and palled hls rector and amazed hls felPete, the packer and horse wrangler. low vestrymen. Not the Jackdaw of Philips, who was an old acquaint- Rhelma himself was so cursed as that ance of Enids, had tried hls luck with little burro. Klrkby sat on his horse ths Bacon Herself. her back east and had sense enough In fits of silent laughter until the to accept as final hls failure. Brad- tears ran down bis cheek, the only knee, hls long whip In hls hand, hls shaw way a solemn young man with- outward and visible expression of hls keen and somewhat fierce brown out that, keen sense ol humor which mirth. In every detail of what was go- was characteristic of the wdst The Arthur only stopped when he had ing on about him. Indeed there was others were suitably dressed for adbut little that came before him that venture, for Bradshaws Idea of an ap- thoroughly emptied himself, possibly of an accumulation of years of represold Klrkby did not see. propriate costume was distinguished sion. chiefly by long green felt puttees Wall," said Klrkby, you sure do CHAPTER III. which swathed, hls huge calves and overmatch any one I ever heard w'en excited curious inquiry and ribald comes to It cursin'; wy, you could re. The Story and the Letts comment from the surprised denizens Imagine, If you please, the forest of each mountain hamlet through gimme cards an' spades an bent me, primeval; yea, the murmuring pines which they had passed, to all of which an I waa thought to have some gift y In the old days. and the hemlocks of the poem as well, Bradshaw remained serenely oblivious. I didnt begin to exhaust myself, by the side of a rapidly rushing mounThe young man, who does enter espe- answered Bradshaw, shortly, and tain torrent fed by the eternal snows what I did say didnt equal the situaof the lofty peaks of the great range. tion. Im going home. A level stretch of grassy land where "I wouldn't do that, urged the old a mountain brook joined the creek man. Here, you take the hones an was dotted With clumps of pines and Ill tackle the burro. great boulders rolled down from the ' said Arthur. 1 would "Gladly, everlasting hills half an acre of open rather ride an elephant and drive n clearing. On the opposite side of the herd of them than waste another min-ut-e brook the canon wall rose almost on this Infernal little mule. sheer for perhaps five hundred feet, The story was too good to keen pinending In Jagged, needle-edgenacles of rock, sharp, picturesque and and around the camp fire that night beautiful. A thousand feet above ran Klrkby drawled It forth. There was a the timber line, and four thousand freedom and easiness of Intercourse in feet above that the crest of the greatthe camp, which was natural enough. est peak In the main range. Cook, teamster, driver, host, guest, The white tents of the little encampmen, women, children, and I had almost said burros, stood on the same ment which had gleamed so brightly in the clear air and radiant sunshine level. They all ate and lived together. of Colorado, now stood dim and ghost-lik- e The higher up the mountain range you In the red reflection of a huge go, the deeper Into the wilderness you It was the evening of the campfire. plunge, the further away from the first day In the wilderness. conventional you draw, the more For- two days since leaving the homogeneous becomes society and the less obvious are the Irrational and unwagon, the Maitland party with Its scientific distinctions of the lowlands. long train of burros heavily packed, its horsemen and the steady plodders The guinea stamp fades and the man on foot, bad advanced Into unexplored and the woman are pure gold or base metal Inherently and not by any artand almost Inaccessible retreats of the mountains Into the primitive Inlt Was In These Very Mountains, ificial standard. deed! In this delightful spot they had George, the cattle man, who cooked, Said Robert Maitland. pitched their tents and the permaand Pete, the horse wrangler, who asnent camp had been made. , Wood dally Into this tale, was a vestryman sisted Klrkby In looking after the was abundant, the water at hand was of the church In hls home In the stock, enjoyed the episode uproariousas cold as Ice, as clear as crystal and suburbs of Philadelphia. Hls piety ly, and would fain have had the exact as soft as milk. There was pas- had been put to a severe strain In the language repeated to them, but here turage for the horses and burros on mountains. Robert Maitland demurred, much to the other side of the mountain brook. That day everybody had to work on Arthurs relief, for he was thoroughly The whole place was a little amphi- the trail everybody wanted to for humiliated by the whole performance. theater which humanity , occupied per- that matter. The hardest labor conIt was very pleasant lounging sisted In the driving of the burros. around the camp fire and one good haps the first time since creation. Unpacking the burros, setting up Unfortunately there was no good and story easily led to another. the tents, making the camp, building trained leader among them through It was In these very mountains, the fire; had used up the late remain- an unavoidable mistake, and the camp, said Robert Maitland, at last, when hls der of the day which was theirs when ers had great difficulty In keeping the turn came, "that there happened one they had arrived. Opportunity would burros on the trail. To Arthur Brad- of the strangest and most terrible adcome tomorrow to explore the counshaw had been allotted the most ob- ventures that I ever heard of. I have d and determined pretty much forgotten the lay of tne try, to climb the range, to try the stinate, stream that tumbled down a succes- of the unruly band, and old Klrkby land, but I think It wasnt very far sion of waterfalls to the right of the and George paid particular attention from here that there Is one of the camp and roared and rushed merrily to Instructing him In the gentle art most stupendous canons through the around Its feet nntil, swelled by the of manipulating him over the rocky range; nobody ever goes there; I dont volume of the brook, It lost Itself In mountain trail. suppose anybody has ever been there tree-dadepths far beneath. -- Tonight "Wall," said Klrkby with hls some- since. It must have been at least rest after labor, tomorrow play after what languid, drawling, nasal voice, five years ago that It all happened. rest that there burros like a ship wTch (TO DE CONTINUED.) The evening meal was over. Enid I often seed em weu 1 was a kid down could not help think with what .east afore I come out to Gods counThere are people who do not know scorn and contempt her father would try. Nature has pervided em with a bow to waste their time alone, and ' have regarded the menu, how hls gorge kind of a helium. I remember If you hence become the scourge ef busy peowould have risen hers, too, for that wanted the boat to go to the right ple. Do Bonald. nr uf he Actually Fried innnnnnnrnnnrririffirinrLAnr what 'troubled present aspect She threw off her preoccupation Instantly and easily, however, and Joined readily enough In the merry conversation of the way. Mr. Robert Maitland, as Armstrong has said, had known him from a boy. There were things In hls career of which Maitland did not and could not approve, but they were of the past, he reflected, and Armstrong was after all a pretty good sort Mr. Maitland's standards were not at all those of hls Philadelphia brother, but they were very high. Hls experiences of men had. been different; he thought that Armstrong, having certainly by this time reached years of discretion, could be safely entrusted with the precious treasure of the young girl who had been committed to hls care, and for whom hls affection grew as hls knowledge of and acquaintanceship with her Increased. As for Mrs." Maitland and the two girls and the youngster, they were Armstrong's devoted 'friends. They knew nothing about hls past. Indeed there were things In It of which Malt-lan- d himself was Ignorant, and which had they been known to him might have caused him to withhold even hls tentative acquiescence In the possibilities. Most of these things were known to old Klrkby, who with masterly skill, amusing nonchalance and amazing profanity, albeit most of It under hls breath lest he shock tjie ladles, tooled along the four nervous, excited bronchos that' drew the big supply wagon. Klrkby was Maitland's oldest and most valued friend. He had been the latters deputy sheriff, he had been a cowboy and a lumberman, a mighty huntpr and a successful miner, and now, although he had acquired a reasonable competence, and had a nice little wife and a pleasant home In the mountain village at the entrance to the canon, he drove stage for pleasure rather than for profit He had mile given over hls dally twenty-fiv- e Jaunt from Morrison to Troutdala to other hands for a short space that he might spend a little time with hls old friend and the family who were all greatly attached to him on this outing. BnM Maitland, a girl of a kind that Klrkby bad never seen before, had won the old mans heart during the Veelu spent on the Maitland ranch. He had grown fond of her, and be did not think that Mr. James Armstrong merited that which he evidently so overwhelmingly desired. Klrkby was well along In years, but he was quite capable ol playing a man's game for all that, and he Intended to play It In this lnatauce. Enid Maitlands Nobody scanned face more closely than he, sitting humped up on the front seat of . the wagon, one foot on the hlgh'break, hls head sunk almost to the level of hls . eyes-takin- g that-a-wa- d - cross-graine- d |