Show se selwood aw of gleea sleepy cat STORY FROM THE HE START john Sa selwood lwood gentleman iambi r and manager of a stage axe IM aln at sleepy cat comes upon a settler whose wagon has hag mired in a creek lie ile helps set get the out fit clear after plak ingup a girls hoe boo and being attracted by the appod supposed up pod owner thereof in fy lers lees the Btttle ra wagon moses mccracken a youth louthis you thIs Is robbed of 00 in a sleepy cat gambling den selwood forces the swin diers bartoe and atkins to return the money fyler opens a dry goods store with big stayne hay n fit a running a mock auction selwood learns the girl whose shoo shoe he picked up Is christie ayers daughter selwood makes christies christias Chri sties acquaintance and warns fyler that atkins la Is a crook starbuck head bead of the crooked gamblers attracted tries to ingratiate himself with christie the girls mind Is poisoned against selwood vyler iyler Is beaten and robbed christie seeking doctor carpy meets selwood und informs him that atkins has thrown her father out of his store claiming to own it fyler in 1 riot not badly hurt christie tells ells selwood of threats made by starbuck also that he had asked her to marry him with his two companions selwood drives atkins and haynes irom from ayiers store CHAPTER VII continued selwood once started warmed to the subject it nonsense youre the first one I 1 ever saw in my afe I 1 wish you please make fun of mel protested Chils tle labut but in matter of fact not unhappy in tier embarrassment all my life since I 1 ran away from home she opened her eyes did you run away from home 1 I never neve rhad had a home rightly speaking but I 1 ran away from a aa n uncle I 1 lived with and ever since ive lived on the frontier and spen seen but these poor half starved emigrant emigran I 1 women or worse when I 1 see anybody like you 1 I why I 1 help belp if I 1 can christie id do anything for you I 1 mean it every word just give me a chance to do things for you if my own affairs were as straightened out as most mens are lie 1 I never would ak anything more than the chance he be leaned toward her in his intensity at what she had bad aroused stood with her eyes down on her hands bands clasped nervously before tier her on the counter to do everything for you he exclaimed her heart beat baat a tattoo she brita brothed thed fast in spite of herself tills this was a new jnue in a man mans S voice for christie and she was afraid ard aid kill any man inan that stepped between us do you hear christie it was not hard bard to hear bear words such as these words but difficult to know what to say however the simplest answer was vas the best besl yes she BIC answered faintly look at me christie he said almost sternly christie summoned up her courage she raised her eyes Se lwoods face was red to the temples ills eyes glowed tier her heart at almost stopped at their expression some time he be said in deadly ea earnest r im going to tell you everything then be the judge christie fie walked down street with hla big head bead thrown well back and kept on to the tent quarter for ills his daily visit to tracy selwood f found 0 und him much disturbed he had just received a visit from an unusual caller harry barbanel Bar banet one of his big old time enemies harry had told him a long story about Se lwoods uncalled for meanness in cleaning at ikins and bartoe out of ers store threat eiSa reprisals and left the tick sick man worried selwood made light of the complaint but tracy took it what did you do it for lie asked with invalid peevishness 1 I dont like to get that bunch stirred up the use S selwood el I 1 wood tried in vain to bring tracy around to his fits way of thinking tracy was much upset that selwood i should dip into a quarrel not tits his own 1 I dunno john lie he sold said at last 1 I dont guess youre fitted just juet exactly for or keeping out of other folks rows you aint that kind jolia john fc youre too much of a gentleman the fellows that nicknamed you hit it about right oh ob I 1 know you dont like it I 1 used to like to he be called smooth dave tracy but they had me right youre too much of a gentleman so youre figh fightlin tin ull all the time with these river rats all the timeto time echoed selwood indignantly well a good deal of the time carpy tells me but why by stir up tip at king and bartoe and starbuck for I 1 tills man fyler he to you selwood squirmed but held Us his peace 1 I 1 know hes got a girl dont drag tier her name into it exclaimed iclal med selwood savagely 1 suppose they are robbing people i tracy went on shifting ground instantly st or shooting people they ant robbed iou routed toy my company interrupted selwood sharply robbing me they hey elicit you ar shooting me I 1 what at ali I 1 u talking milling about lie he blurted out u i i re raie 1 1 I tracy feebly put him off by FRANK H SPEARMAN copyright by charles scribner SOB service Ser lc the trouble you yon get mad it if you was just a rambler gambler and a gentleman you get rond mad selwood in a heat beat flung out of the tent CHAPTER vill VIII bad news newa for no further attempt was made on tile the store and while her rattier fattier was waa getting well christie acted as ronn tiger ager haynes HaT Des having partly acquitted himself of evil intent started its ills anc auction sales again and business busIne qs went on but one tiny lay haynes called on selwood to say his own stock of goods would not last over a week longer and begged Sel selwood to reinstate him at the hall and on promise of good behavior selwood IOU him when ills his goods were sold lie he would give him another chance christie meantime walked on air to herself she scarcely concealed her interest in selwood indeed she found herself sensitive after it few days because selwood did not call oftener yet some remembrance of their last talk was pleasant in her heart some thought of a confidence in her worth expressed by the only man in tier her new nev and strange surroundings roun dings whom she felt sure she might trust starbuck came in one day especially to toll tell her that lie he had learned fill all the circumstances of the row between tier her fattier father and tits his partners and thought it if tier her fattier father would figure out his damages when lie he was waa well enough to do so he be starbuck would see that atkins paid and christie he added in earnest of ills his intentions tell your fattier father not to be modest about fixing the amount atkins lg Is a be bad egg the truth of it I 1 get along with him I 1 have to keep LI aie el peace ht here e and I 1 get along with e everybody rut but your fattier father ought never to have lind had anything to do with a man uke like that lie he made no reference whatever to the unpleasant alternative lie he had offered before and seemed to wish it lost sight of for lie he showed now only an interest in seeing what appeared clearly a wrong properly righted fier accepted the olive branch christie rece reveled led Star bucka bucks overtures coldly A man may he fooled more than once but a woman provided tier her affections affe Wons are not involved Is not easily deceived the second time by a man she has once distrusted christie was just enough afraid of the man to treat hina him civilly but she threw into her talk with him little carping bits that kept starbuck irritated though they did not cool his ardor indeed they rather inflamed it with a resentful resolve to bring the irl iri in some wise to time theres a hussy got lem cm all beat declared doctor carpy to selwood shy as an antelope and as trim on tier lier feet we never had no women like that down in my country she asked me tills this morning what had become of you less than that much of a firebrand would have sent Se lwoods good resolutions to keep away from christie fyler up la smoke what he ought to do and what he wanted to do were as tar far apart as the north pole and the south arid and in the clash of opinions the south pole won leaving carpy walked up lip to the lie hall or on the the only sign of life about the place was bull page who was filling and shining up the lamps selwood spoke kindly to him bull was a devotee walking to the back of the hall went nent behind his desk ile he lifted tile the glass clock dome doubled the shoe up and put it into one of ills capacious pockets ile he had resolved mentally to ask christie today tills was her shoe if she cla claimed inked it tie lie meant to make tier her prove tier lier claim by trying it on for him it was useless to pretend he could visit tier without careful preparation the least vain man would have tried to look lils ills best for a call on tile the only pretty girl in sleepy cat bill panda parda loe joe claimed she wal waa tile hie only pretty girl on the Moun mountain lain divide and was he fie probably lid did not think so hut but ill ills direful careful dress canless can less men inen con condemned donned him this aft erwon that lie he bent ent to call on christie lie haq ai in that thai dan clan berous state of preparedness prepa redness that hint had given him film his big unwelcome nickname feier sat fat in a chair near the door sunning himself at tile the whip rack bis big haynes was helping a man pick out a wagon in the darker rear end of tile the store selwood pausing at tile the door to shake hands with fler fier and ask after his health caught a glimpse of Chr christie isile talking to some man whose bark back was so turned that selwood could not see who it was the quiet gambler with ills his left hand ban resting easily on the toe of the shoe in his side coat pocket chatted for a moment with the fattier father of the girl who claimed so much of lils ills thoughts talked with him film about tile news from the rast cast the he increase to in travel the growing disorders in the town and tit at length getting away from him walked into tile the store bip big laynes jaynes stopped him john he be said 1 I understand wentworth will be here tomorrow yes 11 ok r bringing old general roper wit with b to so im told selwood heard beard Chri christias christies sties voice just then in the back of the store stor and it was raised in 1 I dont believe army an y such thing thine she ehe was saying hotly selwood beard a mans laugh lie he recognized it as Star bucka bucks he fie heard board also Star bucka bucks subdued but bat satisfied retort ask him sometime 1 I will exclaimed christie vehemently ill ask him the very next neit time I 1 see him the talk between the two had evidently gone on in ignorance of set sel woods presence to know thill that starbuck was in the store and talking christle christie was vias quite enough to stir selwood into an ugly mood tind some intuition suggested that they might be talking about him resisting tInZ an impulse to walk back where lie 1 I could be seen selwood his fits left arm resting on a bale of blankets plied piled cn a dry goods box between the two counters and ana holding in tho the fingers of ills his left hand an unlighted cigar stood perfectly still eyes and ears open ile he had bad not long to wait ile he soon heard christies christias Chri sties footsteps Toot footsteps steps light and quick she came down on tier her heels with such decision and they were coming toward him she stopped as she saw selwood ncr her flu flushed glied face tier her challenging expression and questioning eyes betokened her excitement slie she looked fixedly at him returning her gaze he be lifted ills list hat with his left hand band and I 1 1 vs who told you I 1 was a gamble gambler tr r he asked laid it carelessly on the blankets blanket then he be waited for tier her to speak and as she did not at once he broke the pause himself good bood morning he be said if its not too late starbuck cli who had followed christie halted a few feet away the T ie passageway was narrow and he could not have passed forward it if lie would selwood gave no intimation that he be was aware of tits his presence christie struggling apparently with will some sort of suppressed feeling hesitated she forgot to return Se lwoods greeting then looking at him as if she would mould look clear through him aim the question pressing for answer burst from her lips are you a gambler she asked bluntly the words were loud and clear even 11 llanes heard them ile he looked surprised across the counter and saw christie confronting selwood with appealing eyes there was a moment of straining ainz silence with selwood returning X X X X X X X X X X X X X christies christias Chri sties gaze gam that question had been expected but bill it was none the less dreaded when ihen it came he spoke deliberately and only to ask another question but his lacked its accustomed pitch and resonance who told you I 1 was a gambler ablerr he asked christie whirled hir led man christie pointed to starbuck buck told me so just now Is it truer true the words came like bullets selwood looked at starbuck coldly and long then he turned hla big gaze back to christie the truth had to come 1 I urn am a gambler lie he said lie he saw her horrified amazement a as the realization of what his words meant sank in it made it II the harder to face tier her with what now seemed even to him a shameful fact you told me the she responded with a tremor and anger fast rising in her eyes you were a mining man it was no time for evasion in it the parlance of Se Sel lwoods kind christie was callin calling nor would he if he could have tried to deceive tier lier further 1 I am a mining man lie he said 1 I tell you I 1 was a rambler gambler because I 1 want to lie be clas classed Pd with the cutthroats cut throats and that infest tills town tind and call vc gamblers ile he spoke slowly and pointed with tits his left land hand alq arm resting on the lie bit blankets ts to the kind of thieves he contin continued und evenly that call themselves gamblers and divide their stealing with tills this man starbuck started furious the kind selwood went on without raising ills his voice that tills fill man blackmails blackmn lis for a lulng stand away christie I 1 shouted the words with ft a violent oath ile he sprang forward haynos haynes jumped and grabbing crabbing him threw his lil arms around him selwood motionless beside the blankets waited with only its ills eye fixed on his enemy while haynes remonstrated with tile the enraged man and reminded him of christies christias Chri sties pre presence christie in a panic found herself caught between the two men she tried to signal selwood to let her pass for words stuck in her throat but he would not budge and he compelled her to stand ond and listen im just rt ft common gambler he be went on remorselessly morse lessly but nobody ca can n say im not a square gambler I 1 back my game against the game of other men no man can say worse than that of me turn him loose haynes II aynes added selwood contemptuously youre not doing me any favor b by standing there christie thoroughly thoro frightened called desperately to hr her father who had bad heard the commotion and camp hobbling hack back fyler intervened and remonstrating in turn with the two angry men asked selwood to step to one side that starbuck might pass out ill settle with you and your establishment both together youve bothered this town long enough watch out I 1 exclaimed S starbuck viciously ns as he passed selwood selwood much to haynes surprise did not even attempt a retort lie he was compelled with ills his life at a t stake to watch Star bucks eyes hut but apart from that instinctive caution it seemed as it if he did not hear star bucks threats or gave them no heed there was much more weighing on his mind than stai bucks words christie hurrying to the back of the store left selwood to his pillar of blankets ile he gazed rather discouraged after tier her retreating form forin lifted and inspected his unlighted cigar as if looking for company then summoning |