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Show THAT GIRL of JOHNSON'S I "By JEAfT K.AT& LWDLXTM, ' I I Anther ef "At a Ctrl', Mirer," Etc. I I Entered Aeconllnr to Act of Conireu In the Yar lS-X) by Street & Smith, f S In the Office of the Librarian, of Conireu, at Waihincton. I), C. I "I,"WI "" 'w w "" " " "' " nn rrnnnrn r'l CHAPTER VII. The Strayed Cow. Dolores sat In the doorway wait- tS tor her father's return from the tATern. lie had boon to the houso whllo nho woa over the mountain, and bad his supper. Sho herself had oaten nothing, for sho had no appetlto In spite of her walk over the mountain, Sho was qulto Idle, her hands In their old listless attitude In her lap, nor dark head resting agalnBt tho ttnpalntod door post, her grave face and thoughtful eyes raised to the 'heavens. Tho moonlight falling across J her face defined It clear and perfect i as marble; ipon tho clean bare lloor bohlnd her lay her shadow long and dark. Tho night was silent; the distant sound of rude slnglnc from the tavern tav-ern died away; tho .ghts wont out one after another In tho long, low houses. Dolores began to wonder i vaguely why her fathor did not con o. ' Midnight had passod; tho hours ticked away one by ono on the big clock la the corner, tho moon hung round and golden abovo tho mountain peaks 'In the wost; In the east a streak of whiter light appeared, broadened and tdoopencd. The girl's shadow disappeared disap-peared from tho floor; It lay In front .'. of her on the door stone. Tho cow was cropping the grass on tho, roadside, her breathing deep and contented. Lodlc, the next neighbor, oazne up the road with a bucket. Ills woll was low In this dry weather; Johnson's well was public property at, 16 rich times. . "A sheer day," he said apoiogotlcal-tly, apoiogotlcal-tly, looking at tho brindlo. Dolores roused herself, a slow thought coming to her mind. "I have boon waiting for my fathor," she said. ("Is he still at the tavorn?" Lodlo held the buckot suspended half way down the -well; a dull sur-'prise sur-'prise was the leading expression on 'iilfl face. ir "Don't ye know where ho wont, jyiores? Warn't ye hyar when ho ;kom up fer his gun an' Btarted tor hunt thor cow owcr yander on thor mounting? Ther cow Is , hyar; there's yer foythor?" L A suddon Bbnrp fear woka In her 9 sunlight 'on lfdrTicna? WJ8-. "If he wont over on tho opposite -mountain to hunt Brindlo and"h'a's"hot returned he must have lost' his road, or gotten hurt, or something to keep him." '' ' ,- "Yes," said I.odle, slowly. , "An thoys want him et ther cpirt tor-day; ef ho a'ln't thyar they'll kern for him; theys sweared, they',d,.hcy hlih, fer ther thing kyant'bo setttod toll ho - gooa." .'. ' Al I Ho swung the bucket up on tho I edgo of tho well and paswed down tho I rnnd In sllcnco. his slouching figure Iliko a blot on the exquisite landscape. Breakfast was ready, and Dolores wont In and set' tlio potatoes and baboon ba-boon at one side of the hearth; tho 'coffee was ready to make; she novor made that till It, was ready .to bq drank. Vhon all was ready within aho went but to the bank under tho pines. The sun was high and warm, B i but under the pines tho shadows were 1lcodranfldajK, and thero sho waited 1 ' for her fattier. B Dy and by the men of the settle- She arose and faced Lodle. I meat started 6vor tho mountain in I groups of twos and threes. Dolorc3 watched them go, scarce taking her I eyes from thorn till their slouching I figures faded and blended with tho I yollow road and tho rugged paths. As they passed they asked for her fathert) every ono Receiving tho samo reply, t Later, as'D6lores,,watchod, a yollow cloud of duBt arose whore the road and tho nky seemed to moot. Sho watchod It mechanically. As tho cloud ' appeared, and drew .nearer, out ot,rt, appore'd ,a body .of fhorseruun. rldlnc ' V r- ' G ' i. at a sharp paco down the rough road. They slackened their paco as thoy came up. The girl was plainly discernible dis-cernible In her print gown undor the pines. Thoy halted at tho rlck6ty gate, and ono of thorn dismounted and went up tho walk. Ho removed his hat bb he drew near Doloros. ' "Miss Johnson?" She hesitated a moment; tho nnroo was unfamiliar to her sftvc as used by young Green. Thon sho bent her head In roply. ' "Your father?" "He Is not hero," sho said, slowly. "Whore can wo ilnd him?" "I do not know." "But wo must find him." He frowned sternly; his face and volco were authoritative. "He Is summoned to appear In coutt today In tho Green" esse; the law cannot wait. Can you i glvo us no Idea whero we can And hira?" "No." Ho returned to his companions and roportotl that Johnson was not there; his daughter did not know where ho was. They hold a consultation. If it were possible Johnson must bo found and brought to court that day; law and right must not bo delayed. Riding down the mountain thoy halted at the tavern. Tho tavern-keeper's wife came out to meet thorn. ' They naked for water; sho said water was scarco on tho mountain, but she could give them cider If that would do. Thoy replied that elder would do very Wall In fact, much bettor than water for their purpose, for they had a rough lime bUforo thorn. As they drank thoy unkod for tho host. He was away, sho said, goho over the mountain to tho town; a trial was being held there, had they not heard of It? Nearly every ono had heard of It; It was making a stir. Folks woro excited about It; thoro was to bo a trial thoro( and Johnson had they ever heard of Johrison? was all thoy were waiting for to lay tho guilt where It belonged; ho know more about It than most folks; some thought Did Johnson go? No, not that sho knew of, and sho" would knowVHe v"- In" whaelrocttondld' Johnsorf'go? She was not sure; sho bolloved ho wont right down 'the road across tho valley. There "ivas a bridge across tho river If ono followed tho road along tho foot of; tho mountain a bit. Jenkins had seon hor there, and ho told Johnson so at tho tavern; Johnson John-son went right over to hunt'her;, ho .took his gun In caso ho. came across game! but that was useless unless ha woro luqklor than usual, for Johason was too shiftless to have luck. Yes, the cow camo back; sh had lost her .bell; ho would oxpoct to find her by that; doubtless ho would keep on hunting; ho hndn't sonso enough to know she would most likely corao honjRjby herself. But It he did not wish to return for reason best known to himself Johnson was shiftless, but he "was no fool about some things. ...Ills girl ndw had about a3 llttlo seijso as was possible. Sho did not even know when sho was well off; sho was like hor" mother for all tho world, only worse. . , As for Dolores, sho seemed to like him to talk tocher; she-was not In tho habit of talking muchsho novor talked with her neighbors, she folt abovo thorn; ho was tho Judge's son, nnd, no doubt, she folt flattorcd that ho took notice of hor. Their roon never said much to hor, for they did not llko her. Maybe sho wont oyer tho mountain. Well, maybe sho went because sho wished to go. How could I sho answer for her? Perhaps ' Could they find Johnson If thoy tried? Sho did not Know. The opposite oppo-site mountain was a dnngerous place; thoro were sharp ledges and turns and doop chasms; folks seldom ventured over there excopt for hunting; thoy had no causo to go. Did thoy want Johnson? He was not In tho habit of going off; ho novor went hunting excopt on their own mountain; ho had no go ahoad In him; ho was shiftless and so was his daughter daugh-ter only worse. They had accomplished their errand and paid her liberally as thoy aroso to go, raoro determined than evor to And Johnson wore It a possible thing. "" ' CHAPTER VIII. v i , i The Search. The deputies rod6 slowly down the 'mountain. Tho road was hard for their horses and uncertain, besides it waB stra(jo to. th.om and otrango ground wrb unflafoi, Thoy talkeS fit-tie. fit-tie. On leaving,. tho tavern one of 'tljom. remarked that the woman knew what 'She was talking;' aliout, and now -.'- ... i 1 1, Li, , ' I - ,1K " T i i ' u Vi r ' v. I I t Thoy would find Johnson It sJchfT thing woro possible, for,thoy ht more reason ,than qvor And him. Thoy rddo along, tho foot of the mountain ' In- search-to ' the path o which tho woman spoko. There wn no road here as "along tho other mountain; moun-tain; a narrow Hue half hidden bj long grass and tangled bSshes strap gled In and out capriciously, ai though to puzzlo Its followers,, now up the mountain side, again straying out Into tho valloy meadows nearer tho river's moaning. Above, among the pines, the blue hazo wns tangled, hiding all bo yond; tho dread mystery of themoun tain clung llko n garment about It Tho mon rodo on In silence; thors waB a solemnity around them that hushed nil light words. Tho enormity of their undertaking dawned more and moro upon them; to search for a man In that wlldornosB with tho mountain's moun-tain's hacrt for his hiding placo and Its robo of hazq fqr his shield was absurd. ab-surd. Thero woro chr.Bms and dangerous dan-gerous places, sharp turnings and winding paths, ledges hidden by har.o that would swallow a man as completely com-pletely as a sopulchor, and leave no trace, masslvo rocks overhead that n tremor of tho mountain would hurl upon them. No wonder tho men grow silent and allowed tho horses to havo their way; man could not follow tho dangerous, hidden paths; only bruto instinct could find tho safe places. They enmo at .Inst-to tho path up the mountain, and tho hprscs refusod to tako Jt until urged by whip and Bpur. It was a path that shielded all beyond It, as though the mountain had made a fastnass -that none could break. Tho horses tolled up slowly, slipping now nnd again on .tho treach-orous treach-orous ground; tho tangled bushes and low boughs swept them as thoy passod; abovo tho pine boughs parted enough for a man's head to pass untouched un-touched boneath. Now and again the bushes and ferns; great rocks loomed path seempd lost In tho wilderness ot ahead and tho path that seemed cut off turned sharply and wound up thq ' mountain; again and again tho horse hoofs paused on tho edgo of a chasm half hidden by haze, and the men with white faces held them up by main force from the ghnstly depths boneath their very foot. Their voices, as thoy shouted In hopes of a roply had . Johnson lost his way, Bounded grueBomo In tho loneliness. . Half way up the-, mountain thoy paused and faced about It was useless, use-less, thoy said, nnd-foolish to follow tho path up higher; no man would wander up thoro of his own ice will; facing tho law ,wdro proforable; one ,knowwhfttiir.oi erftxrom itfiw lured fhla viotliflroii:;' . JitttC, at "But we must nnd hlin." evory corner and- lurked niar every rock; he was abovo, belowiwd boforo them; ho reigned in tho jaountaln'a heart. If Johnson werejthoro ho might stay there; their llv.es woro of moro value than his; the would return re-turn to tho town and repojrl tho uttor hopelessness of the soarchf- It would bo ,wlsor to search for him noaror holnp; to hide from the law showed I that ho waB cowardly, and a coward would nover come there. Thoy would Btop at tho tavern and speak to tho woman again; her wordsl might bo wls'Sr than thoy thought., And thoy would speak again to that girl of Johnson's; sho might bo moro willing to talk, and she was no fool. (To bo continued.) |