Show l E NEIGHBORS J r t 1 By y R ROBERT BERT STEAD 1 I 1 Author or The of-The The t t Cow Puncher The The Homesteaders Homesteaders' t rY br Retort Steed I Ia a CHAPTER XVI l' l 15 15 a i After fter the first blank moment of sur- sur fe i turned not to Spoof or Mrs ise r 1 p Son r or the boy bay but to J Jean an There Theres t t momentary tremulousness but buti i as s a Instantly Jean had herself herselt unI un- un sC I Jr a control she was more the artist def I l Iban t a I 1 knew I 1 be began bean r an to realize how I artistry carried E M fat tS This her ber Is news 1 she cried When L did jj She stopped short A wa wave wae e eIt el flushed 1 her face Gerald did l of It solar color 1 admit of at c. c casual explanation rot lt and nn nd his wife and I still stood c fO ES tg though hough rooted to the floor The Thelio lio an seemed lemed to avoid my gaze but when ben lit ut times thugs I caught a glimpse of I there was something finer her ter he face Ilan e embarrassment rt ass went ent In it there was wa it Is true but somer some- some almost seraphic as well r l Ihl M Suddenly I think we women should PO 0 over to two Twenty-two Jean ex- ex aimed Marjorie must know the 4 Brent news Come J Jerry err 1 At the door the collie colUe joined them capering tapering uneasily In the snow Spoof I f and end I watched them as they took their the well trodden trail tran war v. along across the gully i then we stabled hist his t oxen lIeD in n silence flack Back In the house Spoof drank a n cupful cupful cup ful Cui of tea an and rolled me a cigarette cigarette- 1 I never oC smoked cigarettes except un under un- un tin tin- tinder der Spoofs malign Influence before Influence before I. I he slowed shoved a disposition to talk tall Then 1 tested seated on one of oC m my rough benches behind the blue lue haze of his own tobacco tobacco to to- bacco smoke he spoke married this woman that I 11 i you youl l low ow as Mrs Alton five years ago Christmas day You lOU will understand rob why Jacks Jack's wedding was something of an anniversary to me In course of tine time Gerald Geral was born tIp until then and for some time afterward er e everything everything every every- thIn thing was all right I Then Then something something happened In what I chose to call righteous Indignation Indig I nation n I turned tamed her out Perhaps it was vas more mortified pride or just blind beast Jealousy Newer Never e mind Through It all I J gave gae myself credit for being l just en even n generous I 1 gave gaye her half I I of my read ready money which wasn't t much e l' never been much of a ai I money grabber Hall It has alwa always s 's I f-emed f such an inconsequential busIL busI- busI Les L less ss But Dut I gave ga her half of what I Ikid had kid and anil settled seWed on Gerald the small Income larome ome I could command and aid let her herl l keep keti p th the boy That was the biggest thing I see Fee a good deal of off It through different light today but for letting b her r keep the boy I demand some credit Ive I've done one or two hard things Hall hail You know That was one of them A ti He Ile finished his cigarette and lit anti an an- o c. Then I came out here he contin contin- I ned It hIt seemed the wisest thing thine to do I was settling into the hope of forI forfeiting for for- I petting it all and mal making a n new start I when she follon- follon followed d me He held up his Us hand as if to silence me although t r I had bad made no move to speak I III I dont don't dontI l I blare her now her now he said But nut then last summer you ou know know-it know It rather I interfered I rna may as well be frank frankI I with ith you Jon I had an idea Idel that Jean Would just about complete section 5 wo o. o She's a wonderful girl Jean I You tou know the know the other da day That Teat was one of ot the hard things 1 I It t Was as thinking about when I spoke of ot off f them toem a moment ago ao f Frank she lit a thousand old fires cf tt memory that morning Moving f bout about In m my room roum sitting at m my table r louring e my m tea tea tea-G-d G d man mon do you ou i understand It was too much for any- any I f body dl I dont don't know what l I have happened At an any rate 1 ask you to believe that I was making I ay y fight Then you came I He threw awa away half of an and antI roll rolled ed another I Then I spent some sleepless nights Prank Frank old boy I 1 was glad you ou had t rom come e and even in my gladness for that I wished you you you- We hu- hu are e such queer mixtures beyond analysis But Hut the more I admitted these things s to m myself the more I 1 hall alto to n admit that something might be tad raid for tor Alice Alice had once been to me all that it now seemed that Jean might be I wondered If b by tome miracle that might not come Women n are ure strange creatures Besides p I wanted anted tremendously to tol tore l 4 re the boy hay So yesterday I 1 hitched the oxen and andr joke r roke oke trail over to Widow Alton's Ir Jy iy afflictions had brought me rne to a 3 asagi i sagi bumble humble frame of mind to toI I let Id Alice sa say her lieI eu say For awhile skit she t sa say anything Just au wept you know r and cried and m my name nume over Over O er- er erma ma sad ad sometimes Geralds Mighty uncomfortable comfortable for a n man loan standing t t around aroUD and feeling that in some wa way I be hes 8 SU t to o lame blame for it It allWell all l Well well when hen we got do down wn t to facts the the e had ad come In the hope hoe hopeY of or raising moos oney Y by means of homesteading so soshe i that hat she could educate the bo boy But nut Buten r that hat en she f found und through h old Jake Jakc I 1 had 1 here she wasn't if agoto foll fOllowIng And yet ret she was afraid or of f roe Ine afraId shed she'd meet me tool lorn bere e afraid Id I'd come over to toI tou berK I her a u h horn stead and all the time hopI hop- hop I would I 1 Women are sh-ance sh Rea lures cit we talked ed It all over ewer a atIA and and d t tIA first time in ln his hII narrative Spoofs Spoof's face lighted with a gentle smile II I didn't go back to Tw Two last at all nIl Were We're night planning a sort of quin quin- al honeymoon progress the district and about properly first call caUls Is at Fourteen enough our And now V that that's off my ray chest behold a man happy once more I am nm amazed at the folly that at denied Men me all aU these years- years too are strange e creatures Theres There's just one thing u a very In significant ant thing compared with Alices Alice's happiness and mine and Geralds Gerald's but Its It's s this In taking up her ho homestead she had to declare herself a widow She did It for the boys boy's sake and she knows she will have to give up the claim but will she get Into further trouble Will 1 they let It b go at that That w was as a poser and anti I turned it over OYer in m my mind for some minutes Better see Jake Take about that I 1 suggested sui- sui sug sug- Hell He'll find a way hats rI right ht said Spoof Jakes th the e boy And he owes me something yet on that cogitation nut transaction Just one more thin thing Spoof resumed re re- reI re- I sum ed after a little Ive told you youa a great deal more than I propose to tell anyone else It seemed to me that you and you and Jean Jean bad had a peculiar right to know knots It had been arranged that during the busy season I should take my i meals at Jacks Jack's and Jean had volunteered volunteered volun ohm the duty of carrying carlIng my afternoon afternoon afternoon after after- noon lunches to the field There was little time now for either poetry or prose and yet we lived U amazingly Inthe in inthe inthe the spirit Between the one must think of something and I recalled recalled recalled re re- re- re called and recalled re those thIngs I had read during the winter At lunch lunchtime lunchtime lunchtime time or In the evenings I would talk of them with Jean always tr trying Ing to approach her from some new and unsuspected unsuspected unsuspected un un- suspected angle As for Instance when a summer shower threatened us I quoted I had borrowed a Shelley from Spoof I brIng fresh frosh showers for tor the tho thirstInG thirsting thirst- thirst InG Iner flowers From the seas and the stream I bear light lIc-ht shade for the leaves when laid In their noonday dreams From my wings wInG's are shaken the tho dews that waken walen The sweet buds every one one one- One evening Spoof came over carrying carrying car car- his Is gun Theres good crane shooting out at Reed lake Inke he said Brown and I were up last night got four beauties Jean seems to be shooting rather well thought you and she might like to go out on a crane hunt so I brought over o m my any gun guru But nut you you'll you you'll come wont won't you 1 No uNo not this time said s Spoof sagely sagel Ive got all I can use uge for some days Jean was enthusiastic so we quit work early the next afternoon and nd drove to Reed lake about seven or eight miles to the west I fastened a horse blanket to the side of our wagon dropping one edge to the ground In front of it I spread another on the grass and here we sat sut sheltered from the cool night breezes that came solemnly whispering over the tops of the reeds that bordered the lake lale Jean seemed to doubt the efficiency of or any method of hunting that consisted consIsted consisted con con- In sitting down beside a horse blanket and waiting for tine the game to come up and antI be shot She could understand understand un un- un crawling for a hundred yards ards head down and heels down except asa usa as us asa a waving wn foot might serve sone to semaphore semaphore semaphore sema sema- her signals But Hut to sit and wait She was counting stars There the they come cornel comet I 1 suddenly breathed scarce daring to whisper asa asa as asa a new nety note came up from the water Quietly Quietly quietly We rose to our feet and stalked silently to the waters water's edge There was nothing to be s seen en We were surrounded surrounded sur sur- rounded entirely b by reeds higher than our heads We were sinking slowly In the moist mud water was trickling through the lace holes In my boots Well have to go gu In I 1 whispered Are you ou game I hand of ot her free I 1 felt the pressure upon m my arm IIAn Anywhere with Anywhere here with you So we stepped quietly but boldly the ankles into the water It came ame to we were the calves the knees Then reeds and the lake lule lay before before be be- the through o the misty like u a sheet and fore us dim dint u J frosted glass were we're lucky y Well VeIl Nc Il wait here If It our om wn way they'll come carne Great e a u rushing Out of ot the tile air all cal came wings winos beat almost upon our heads But they canoe came and were gone before knew It we e of at strays beating Just t a couple Well I explained around d the lake wait for the waders notice save without l Presently u and splashing of ot water the they came me soft the the shallows close to wading down dimand dimand dim dimand where wc we stood their great reat bodies the frosted glass and dark a against stretched high or necks their heir long ong them reeds beside grubbing g in the three four five six on One two the they cum came HI Ill take the Take the first two j i 1 next to our shoulders In inOt Ot Our guns came than we tooled looked ra rather ther darkness tr e a birds scarce sighted at the great Creat rod away then then right right ht barrel left barrel left barrel barren bar bar- rel ren we rel-we we I-we we wol woke e the echoes of ot the lake and filled the air with tempestuous noises From Irom rom every side came the splash of water and the rush of wings The stillness the file gentleness of the night in n a moment became the wildest 1 babel of at confusion But we the had no thought for that Splashing right before us were were great forms flapping struggling eddy eddying h about I would have held Jean back but she rushed ahead of ot m me me Into the melee She had o one e by the neck the list st of killing If was upon her was a aught fight to a finish Afterward we dragged dragger them thero out three out three of them Jean declared there another but he m managed to hide himself in the rushes Then we vc built a fire beside the willow willow willow wil wil- low and warm warmed d ourselves Before the water was warm enough for bathing I sent to Regina for a bathing suit The gaudiest thing you have e I said and the they took me at my word ward It was a great day when hen I made my appearance In It ft In the evenings after a n day of dust In the fields we reveled In the cool waters of our pond Jean would race me from end to end ends but she was much too good a swImmer swimmer swimmer swim swIm- mer for me Then came one of ot those rare summer summer summer sum sum- mer nights rare nights rare the on prairies prairies- when the air does not cool off with b t A L I Icar It r t car w r r r ti I Found the Stone With the Matches I Struck One Its Light Glowed Genially illy In My Face the approach of evening e and all the heat of ot day seems hemmed in by black clouds cloutIs crowding overhead 1 I had gone to bed but not to sleep The far tar away awny flashing of heat lightning continuously lit my room with a vague twilight my blankets had become unbearable unbearable un un- bearable and I threw them ofT off The silence was Intense the very night seemed to brood over me i the perspiration tion stood out upon me mc It took me back to the hot nights of or the East gust so little known with us and from that starting point my mind went wan wanderIng wandering wander wander- tIer tIer- Ing down through old olda a ways s 's down to the dam and the millwheel and the little boy bor and girl who were the startIng startIng starting start- start Ing point of all my recollections Jean It had been then Jean It was with whom horn all m my thoughts were linked i Jean was still the Innermost hope of my mr heart I 1 had waited patiently as asI I could and the spring and summer months hd seen arise between us an affection deeper vaster WIder than thun anything I had hatI known In those days when we had tall talked cd of love Io together Our world had grown and we had grown on-n on with it Ours was ryas continually the spirit of the new adventure continually continually con con- a faring forth Into the un un- known But Hut I 1 had hud not talked of ot love lo It had been my conception of artistry to speak no more of love daring all nIl m my that the flees fires hope 1 In the prospect which I 1 guessed had been rekindled In Jeans Jean's heart henrt would In time burst all aU her womanly restraint Then she would come to me Jean was big enough h for that I 1 had hind tried to follow her In spirit through the torment of those days das after Idler Spoofs Spoof's revelation I had hail guessed how liow hard It had been for her and I kept silence I conceived that that was artistry But nut there must be an end some time sometime soon I was not all aU artist like Jean Artistry was vas m my means to an end There must be an end Which would be the l be he- ginning Came a tapping on my mj window I 1 sat up quickly Frank 1 Yes Asleep ot within miles of It Whew Ever Eve see a night like this I 1 had lard 1 thrust my 1113 head lead h the mien W ws Bauw au B- B u auw uw and ana could se sec her form dimly outlined outlined out out- J lined against the night Used to be the usual thing down East Kast sh she answered But we WI get et out II 0 of the way of ot them here Get up and lets let's go for a swim A flash of lI lightning revealed re her In her bathing suit J I was soon out of bed hed and Into mine Beat you to the other end of the pond she said suid as we threaded our way down the well worn path You always beat eat me I confessed But Im I'm game Ill I'll tr try again We took the water together Its comforting comforting com com- forting tide wrapped us about as we swung through h it with |