Show TU a fal 0 E IRON by katharine newlin burt burl copyright by katherins Kith irino N burt SYNOPSIS loan jon andis eighteen years old wife of alerre Il 1 I 1 e are erre Is the dargil ter of john carver who murdered her mother for adultery iler her I 1 lonely nely life with bar father in a wyoming cabin unbearable joan joa n leaves hirn him to work in a hotel in a nearby town joan meets meet pierre rind and the two mutually attracted are married carver tells alerre story of joans mother pierre forges a cattle brand frank noll twell young minister presents books to joan forbids her to read them I 1 CHAPTER V continued 4 theres There 8 poetry tills this time lie h e said opt get pierre to read it aloud to you the suggestion was met by a rudo rude laugh from pierre 1 I be bastin my time he jeered it was the first rift in his courtesy well looked up in sharp surprise lie ile saw raw a flash of the truth a little wriggle of the green serpent in Ile eyes before they fell ile he flushed and glanced tit nt joan she wore an almost timorous air accepted I 1 Ms remarks in silence shot doubtful looks at pierre before she answered questions was an entirely dir different ferent joan now hollawell Holl lwell was angry and he stiffened toward his hast and hostess dropped fill all tits his talk about the books and smoked haughtily lie ile wits was young and oversensitive over sensitive no more master of himself in this instance than pierre and joan but before he left after supper refusing a bed though pierre conquered his dislike sufficiently to urge it holliwell Holl lwell had bad a moment with joan it was very touching ile he would tem tell about it afterward but for a long time he could not bear to 10 remember it she tried to return his books coming with tier her arms full of them and lifting up tip eyes that were almost tragic with renunciation 1 I cant be taking time to read them mr she said that extraordinary over expressive voice of liers hers running an octave octav of regret an someway pierre dont like that I 1 should shoula spend my mv everd everdus ns on them seems like ito ho thinks I 1 was myself up to bo b knowin more than him she laughed ruefully me knowin moren its laughable hut but I 1 dont want him to be think in that so take the books please I 1 like them she paused 1 I love them hem she said hungrily tin and blinking thrust them into his hands he put them down on the table youre wrong loan joan ho he said quickly you inu stilt give in to such a foolish idea you yon have rights of your own a life of your conr own pierre stand in the way of your learning you ihus tnt let him ril ni speak to him oh not no I 1 some intuition warned tier her of the danger in tits his doing this well then keep your books and talk to pierre about them try to per bunde cunde him to read aloud to you sou I 1 shant be back now till spring hut but I 1 want you to read tills this winter rend read till all the stuff there come jonn joan to please me anti and he smiled coax imply 1 I aint norald of sald said joan slowly her pride was stuns stung by the suggestion ill keep the books she sighed goodby good by when I 1 see ce you in the spring ill be a right learned school schoolmarm she held out her hand and he took end and held it pressing it in his own ile he felt troubled about her unwilling to leave her in the snowbound wilderness with that young savage of tit the Pi smoldering moldering eyes goodby good by fold pierre haind behind him his soft voice had a click hollawell HolH wll turned to him good fc od by bv landix I 1 shant atiee be either of you till the spring I 1 wish you a good winter and I 1 hope ile he broke oft off rind and held out his hand well wild he youre pretty far out of way here bere be good to each other 1 D I n your interference 1 said eald eyes but he took the hand hall and even escorted Hol holliwell livell to tits horse snow came early arly rind and deep that winter pierre hud had cut and stacked his winter wood he be ind had sent his cows to a richer mans ranch for winter feeding there was very little for him to do after he had bad brou brought fht in two buckets of water from tile the well and had bad cut for the days consumption it a piece of 0 meat from hit elk hanging outside against the wall he had only to sit alt and smoke to read old magazines anti papers and to watch joan stoan then the poisonous roots of his jealousy struck deep always his brain falsely interpreting her wistful silence she bhe was thinking of the parson hun irry cry to read his books longing for the open reason and his coming again to the ranch in december a man came in on snowshoes now shoes bringing the mall one letter for klerr a communication 1 which brought heat to his hl face the forest service threatened him with it A lowi of land it pointed to some lome flaw in his title part of tits hta property the th most valuable part had not yet been surveyed gurve alerre looked up with ith tet met jaws my every e fighting instinct xi to hold whitt what was his hl own 1 I hey her put in two years hard work on them acres he told his visitor an im not Vl plan arnin to gle give them over oter to the tha first fool favored by the service my title la Is as clean as ray my hand take moren thle thievery Tery an moro n take it away from me i you ton better go to robinson ad the bearer barer of the letter cant get after them tellers belleri too soon its a country where you can easy come hy by what ft hat you want but where it aint so easy to tim hold onto it if it aint yer land its yer houses if it aint yer bosses its yer wife ile he looked tit nt jonn joan and laughed alerre went white and dumb tile the chance shot had inflamed tits his wound ile he strapped on tits his snowshoes and bade a grim goodby good by to joan after after the nian had bai left dont you yon be oil while im awny away lie told her sharply standing in the doorway ills trend head level with the ile steep wall of snow behind him and lie he gave tier her a threatening look so that tile the tenderness in tier her heart was frozen after he had gone fierre ri Il erre say a real goodby good by say goodby good by 11 she blie whispered her face cramped and tears came she heard life his steps lightly crunching across the liard hard bright surface of tile snow they entered into the terrible frozen silence then she turned front from the door dried her ber eyes with tier her sleeve like a little village girl and ran across the room to a certain shelf pierre would be gone a 8 week she would not waste oil but she would read it was with the appetite of r starved creature that the file foil fell her er books CHAPTER VI pierre takes take steps to preserve his property A log tell fell forward and joan lifted her head she had not come to an end of isabellaa tragedy nor of tier her own memories but something other than the falling log had startled startle fl her a light crunching step upon the snow she looked toward the window for an instant the room was almost dark and the white night peered in at lier her its gigantic snow peaks pressing against the long horizontal window panes and in that instant she saw it face joan came to her feet with pounding pulses it had been Pl alees errea face but at the same saffie time the face of a stranger lie he hafl had come tack five days too soon and something terrible llad lad happened surely his chancing to see her with her book would not make him look like ire that besides she was not wasting oil she had stood up but at first she was incapable of moving forward for the first time in tier her life she know the paralysis of unreasoning fear then the door opened and pierre came in out ot of the crystal night what brought you back so soona soon asked joan top too soon for you ofir eh no lie strode over to the hearth where she had lain took up the book struck it with his N she turned her har head hand all that she could turn hand as though it had been a hated face and blutig it into the fire alre 1 I seen yau you through the window he suld said so you been happy while title I 1 ben away til ill get you supper ill light the limp lamp joon joan stammered pierres face wax was pale pain his black hair lay in wet streaks on life tem temples plex ile he must have traveled at furious speed through the hitter bitter cold to be la in uch such it sweat there was it a mysterious controlled disorder in his look anti and there arose from him the odor r af strong drink but lie he was steady and sure in all his movements ar and d his hid eyes were deadly cool and reason able only it wits was the of ness halted baaed on the wiclest premises of unreason nn reason 1 I dont went want ra nu supper nor no light he be said ald enough fr fer you to read pawns parsons books by its enough fer me to do what I 1 aughter oughter done long lon afore tonight she stood in the middle of the small los log wallee room arrested in the act of lighting it ft match and nt at him with troubled eyes she waa n no longer afra afraid lj after nit nil strange as an tie hp looked erre strangely as hp he tal keil he was her pipere her man the confidence of her heart had not been serl bously shaken by hla his coldness and his moods during this winter there nere had been imes of fierce possessive tenderness she was waa hlll own woman his property at this low coun counting tInz lid did she rate herself A sane man does no in lury to hla his own possessions and pierre 0 course was sane bane ile he was llred angry he had been drinking her ber ignorance her inexperience led her to put little emphasis on tile effects ot of the lie poison sold bold at the town saloon when lie wits was warm and fed ond and rested ile he would be quite himself again she went about preparing a meat in spite of his words boru s ile he did not seem to notice this ile had taken ills his eyes front from her at last and was busy with tile the fire she too busy and reassured by the familiar occupation ceased to watch him film her pulses were quiet now slie she was waa even beginning to iw be glad of tits ills return why had she been so fright frightened eneil of course after such it a terrible journey alono alone in tile the bitter cold he would look strange her father when he came dack back smelling of liquor hall had always been more than usually morose and unlike tits ills every flay day self lie ile would sit over the stove anti and tell tier her the story of tits his crime they were horrible homecomings home comings horrible evenings but the next nest morning they would amin am in like dreams tomorrow tills this strangeness of pierres alt would be and unreal 1 I seen your sia buster in town sold said alerre lie he was squatting on till hl heels hecla over the fire which he had built up to a great blaze and glow and he spoke in a queer singsong sing song tone through tits his teeth lie asked after you real kind ile he wanted to know how you wits was gettin on with the edlen tion lies hed ben bandin out to you I 1 tell tel him film that you wits was right satisfied me an uy lay ways an hed bed quit his books I 1 know its as you was lievin such a good time durin my absence joan was cruelly hurt ilia his words seemed to fall heavily upon her heart 1 I lievin a good time I 1 was waa you pierre said she he in a 11 low tremolo of grieving music the them books they seemed like they was waa all the company I 1 hed bed you looked like you was gissla me he sneered the sin buster an I 1 hall had words about you joan yom lie he give me quite a line of preach tw about you joan as how flow you hed bed oughter aughter develop yer own life in yer own way clong the lines laid out by him film I 1 told him as how I 1 knowel best what was right an fittin fer my own wife as how with a mother like yourn you needed watch ln tn moren le lear arnin as how you belonged to m me an not to him an says saya be she dont belong to any man pierre lan dim he said neither to you nor to me she belongs to her own self eel f ill 1111 see that she belongs to me I 1 said ill fir her so go shell know it aw an every other fetter feller will at that lie he turned from the fire and straightened to tits liln feet joan moved backward slowly to the door ile he had made no threatening sign or movement but her fear had bad come overwhelmingly upon her and every ry instinct urged her to flight but before she touched the handle of the door he flung himself with badly swift force and silence acro the th room and took her in his arms with till nil her wonderful strength jrsn jeaa child not break awny away from will him ile he dragged tier her back to the hearth tied her el lows hows behind tier ner with the scarf froni from ills his neck that very scarf he had worn when the dawn lad had shed it a wistful beauty upon him walting waiting for her on a morning not so very long ago joan went weak pierre Pl erre she cried pitifully whit what are you a coln to 1 to mer ile he roped her to the heavy post of a jet et of shelves built against the wall then tie lie stood away breathing fast now whose gel are you joan carvor pr lie he asked her you know im yours youra pierre she sobbed apu got no need to tie me to make me say that 1 I got to tie tic you to make you do dip moren it I 1 got to make sure mire you lire are it II 1 fire wont take the sure ness out of me after this she turned her head all that slit she could turn lie he wits was bending over the fire od ad when lie h straightened she v that he held something in his lint ha it ang ong br bar of metal white lit at the shaped end at once her showed allowed tier lier a broad glow of sunset falling over pierre at work therell be stock till nil over the country marked with them two bars he had mid the TWO HOT bar brind brand dont you fer git it idill I 1 site she wits was not likely to forget forett it now she shut her yes lie ile stepped close cloie to her anil and jerked her blouse down from tier her shoulder she writhed away from him silent in her rage and fear land and fighting duni bly slie she made no appeal at that moment her heart was vaa so full of hatred that it was wag hardened to tc pride lie he lifted his brand aind set it against the bare flesh of tier her shoulder then terribly she screamed again when he took the metal away she he screamed afterward there wits wa a dreadful silence jonn joan hart find not lout her healthy nerves received the anguish anglish and the shock nor lid did she make any further outcry she pressed her forehead against the sharp edge of tile the shelf the she drove tier her nalla nails into her hand litin ds and at intervals Inter vali she ahe writhed from head to foot circles of pain spread from the deep burn on her shoulder spread and shrank the bonea of tier her shoulder shon jilio lder nider ind and arm ached terribly ore stilt hlll seemed to he ent eat ing into lir her flesh the nir was full of tile lie smell of nf shin so that site she til in toil eted it bee spIr and hotter than tier her hurt liar birnel ron cow timing its own t anra torp iw annl trust TO BF continued |