| Show flame ame of the 1 jord er by VINGIE ROE ROB copyright doubleday doran co loo inc arvic SYNOPSIS seeking death by throwing herself from roin the summit of lone mesa aresa to escape dishonor at the hands of a drunken desperado sonya allows herself to be rescued by her suddenly sobered and repentant attacker the et girl Is a self appointed physician to the navajo indians indiana 11 vine living on an arizona sheep ranch with her brother serge scree his wife llla lila and their small daughter dabs for a year she has bas been engaged to rodney blake wealthy NOW new yorker but her heart I 1 isi with the friendless navajos cavajos and she evades a wedding sonya pulls little moon bloon wife of two fingers 8 a navajo through the crisis of an illness two fingers Is deeply grateful erate tul blake returns to new york declaring he be will give elve sonya six more months and then demand ehe keep her promise to marry him CHAPTER III i A haan leaves and another speaks the little town close on the border of the reservation was typical of all desert towns lonely and bleak and washed dalhed continually with wind and sand it held a store or two a blacksmith shop a tiny station on the railroad line and the customary tanks of water sonya parked the car in front of the general store and taking her ber handbag from the seat beside her climbed out and entered the store boasted two clerks besides tile owner this owner was a bland fat man by the name of parks a man whom sonya i disliked instinct instinctively rely but who never neter allowed anyone except himself to wait on her lie ile came forward now the creases of his heavy face set deep with smiles why miss ln 1 he s said ald unctuously what can we ire do for you alk like some nice fresh fruit got cot in some right good oranges an grapefruit this week sonya spent some time in the store buying a fair supply of the oranges thinking of little moon aloon and of more staple things for llla lila As she walked briskly about selecting tills this and that there was the stir of arrival at the high board porch outside three men were coming in and sonya looked up from her task casually as one does JD in such circumstances instantly she felt the annoying prickle of her skin the odd ang anger ger that had seared her before for foi one of the newcomers was the tall bronze man of lone llacsa tile the two with him were dark and rough men of secret eyes and narrow lips in appearance the worst of tile the border types which sonya knew and she prided herself she aie r had seen them all to 10 tills this mans country gad bad bom bombrys bo bres she told herself after that first swift glance fit r it companions to that drunken libertine who had dragged her from her horse on the top of lone mesa at that memory her face burned with hot anger and she set her lovely fulir ul HIpped lIpped mouth into a stern tine line shook her shoulders exactly as it she flung off some actual repellent touch she strode forward head up eyes straight arid and had to pass within five fire feet of the three men who had entered As slie she did so slie she was wag conscious of the eyes under the tilted hat brim on her face it was as it if a strong magnetic current pulled at her in passing as if some inarticulate power all 11 its strength upon her that she might look aside so strong and compelling was this that to save her life she could not help the flicker of her ber eyell eyelids ds the almost unbearable ablo desire to turn and look but she did not turn angry to her boot heels both with her outraged memory and with herself she walked to the door and out so stirred was she within herself that she sat slumped in her seat her hands thrust lu in her sweater pockets and did not turn oven when she heard parks or who she elie thought was parks come out across the porch with her box of supplies tuc them bliem in back she said nodding over her shoulder and thanks As she reached tor for the gearshift the she stopped to in the act arrested by a voice that was not parks park hiss Sa savalla varla ln it said can I 1 speak to you a ml minute nute sonya straightened up and looked at tile the owner of tile the voice straight in the eyes she looked him her mouth shut hard again and at that straight r look she elie saw again the wild blue eyes under the level bronze brows that had stared down dowa in her face as she hung to the dead root of the panon stump on the face of lone mesa ilesa cut but they were vastly changed the black pupils that had bad spread so wildly over tile the blue of the iris that day were normal now low the expression anxious well she ilie bald baid thinly why should you talk to to me why why just because it seems 1 must I 1 want to to tell you to ek you it if can you believe me A lien I 1 tell you tha tIve never had a min sites peace since that day on oil the mesa ive never forgotten your face or your hands or abe wind w and blowing your hair up around your head when you bung there im a bad lot miss bliss S narin and not fit to speak to you or look at you but no mutter matter what I 1 an am le aie sot got to tell you this that theres enough nolte man to in me to make me live in hell because of what I 1 did or tried to do to you im on my knees to you not asking your soar forgiveness that be but just down in the flirt dirt and wanting you to know it all thanks for listening ile he tool took off his hat and turned sharply on tits his heel bed and as sonya threw in tue the clutch and roared away she was conscious of the elie two dark strangers and parks to in the shadow of tile the doom doorway do ay intently watching them both so te ile was in hell bell was lie he in the dirt was he well that was where he deserved to be that he wasl was A tall man lean and built with unusual grace narrow hipped broad shouldered straight in the back ue lie wore a blue flannel shirt with pearl buttons and a dark hate hat and there were belled spurs on his stitched boots cowboy stun stuff yet she did not know of any cattle ranch in this wide sheep country where he might work where did he come from what was he be doing in this part ot of the country why bad he come round the curve of two fingers hogan ho an that day on foot shed ask two fingers about that matter yog yes she would do so she had find a certain right to know who this man was and what he did in this land since he had all but been her death well said serge tit at supper it seems lonely without rod good old scout youre a lucky girl sonya am I 1 said sonya sometimes I 1 wonder what about rod clake blake no finer man in this world 1 hes still young youn and one of the best lawyers la in new kew york rich partly by his own efforts partly by family inheritance of 0 good blood and impeccable principles im surprised at you yes well maybe said the girl garl llla lila looked at her across the table for a long ions moment with a strange expression in her eyes but said nothing ft 7 qi L J no can say he said corne here for other horse 11 later as the two women washed the diales and set the house to rights for the night she look at her again sonya darling she said calmly rod blake Is not the man I 1 dont believe you love rod kod honestly deep down as a woman should love lore the nian man she marries I 1 thought so for or a long time for or nearly all of 0 this last visit of his A flame of 0 loyalty flared up in sonya she said hotly of 01 course I 1 ilove love him the old dear go on put cabs babs to bed and dont worry that yellow head bead of yours by this time next year ill be mrs rodney blake riding around new york in a limousine and be darned lonesome out here without we me and howl bowl said lila inelegantly but 1 I dont want ant to think about it iv then dont theres a ion long time and a lot n ot things between biow long and how bow many measured by their importance sonya herself could not foresee the next day she rode over to chee wash again and found little moon so much better that she was sitting up also she found one of her enemies this was yellow buck a medicine man who regarded her service to his people as a direct inroad on his territory and hated her accordingly she was trying to replace his sings and dell chasing with the medicine in her saddlebags she was all bad two fingers said sonya when she was ready to leave that day who was the man who cams came ahre on foot I 1 the he day my man came after me mel tall man with sun hair sky eyes eyell two fingers shook his head bead no can say he be said come here for other horse ills ilia horse go 90 bad lame I 1 give him horse go get his big next day in corral now good goo d horse no see so good horse ever come see sonya swung up op on darkness and follo followed Ned him around the bogan and up a little rise to where several brush and stick corrals stood among some low trees there in one of them stood such a horse as she had bad not seen ever either taller than darkness da who was a fin fine e specimen of native animal which the th e indians called american horse lift bright lit as new gold and of 0 its color though paler this horse was built with a grace arid and beauty that transcended description loiL sly my heavens hearen sl I 1 sala sonya wonderingly my ily heavens heaven st I 1 youre roure right two fingers no na see so gord horse ever and this Is not the one she had almost said lie he rode on lone one mesa but checked herself well she said instead 1 I must set get going long ride home you take good care of little moon ill come back in three days so she jogged bogged away down chee wash her hat down oer oct her ees smiling a little just in the joy of living and the beauty of the desert there was no one sick about now that little moon was getting well and she would do some of the things she had wanted to do tor for herself for it a long time for one she would go over and spend a couple of days with her friend myra little on the clack black sheep ranch she seen her tor for three mouths and she was very fond of her lila illa agreed heartily with plan to visit myra little and two days later the girl departed on darkness she started early to avoid as much of the days heat as possible and made the long bard ride I 1 in n goo good of time trotting into myras door yard lust just as she was putting dinner on the tha table myra a tall gaunt woman desert bitten of face and form but dawn fair inside her soul was at her stirrup before she could dismount ily soul alive 1 she cried catching the girls hand now just this a treat ali ah sonya how glad I 1 am to see you I 1 she put her arm around the girls waist end and the two women entered the wide low ranch house where the savory smell of baked b aked mutton and potatoes scented the warm air sonya smiled around at the cool deep room so BO plain so comfortable where this courageous and intrepid myra lived her hard working liff life laid her saddlebags on the couch ran her comb through her short hair and was wag ready she went out through the big room and washed at the bench on the back porch drying on the clean roller towel myra was wag hastily hanging up the meal steaming on the table was plain but good hot bread the mutton and potatoes onions sliced in tine vinegar and a can of fruit opened in her honor there were indians here a woman with a shy child of four a half grown girl two tiro men these ate ata at a long table on the pleasant porch while the two white women sat at myras own small table in one end of 0 the living room myra owned and ran the black sheep ranch oh sonya said myra happily 1 I just cant tell you how bow good it Is to see you youl I 1 its been a long time since we had a talk an im just goin to lay off the whole afternoon oon for the matter come on sonya I 1 lets ets go an rew rest sonya followed her into the darkened room beyond which served as the best room of the house on its walls were astonishing paintings painting g ot of the desert land in oils rich true glowing canvases that would have drawn their crowds tn in any gallery of the world these were ivere myra littles romance her satisfying draught of beauty her outlet tor for that inner fineness which found so go little chance in the stark service of 0 the sheep always they struck sonya ane anew w with their austere magnitude and always as now she stood before them marveling its a shame myra she said now shaking her head that these pictures cant be hung bung in new york maybe mayba some day when im there ill see about the matter you goin there sonya takle a trip asked myra quickly no said sonya and yes no no trip going to stay I 1 guess what the word came quick and sharp sonya moved uneasily nodded 1 I think so she said turning to look at myra gravely when a woman Is engaged to marry a man she goes where he be lives she why I 1 know NO ao it public property but I 1 am rodney blake an old college friend of serges fine man myra stood silent searching face with ith her clear gray eyes why sonya she said presently how bow will we all ever do without you an yet only selfishness it will be fine tor for you youve lived so fast and deeply in this desert that its only right iou go back where you belong get the rest an life comin to you you deserie it well maybe but now lets sit down and visit we had a real talk fest test for months and months sonya heard that the brights still farther over east had it a pair of twins and that sa sam m savina notorious border thief ha had d been found just across the RIO itlo grande crucified a grim mexican warning to his kind also that the servant of the lord was com coming ing in to the black sheep that very night on one of his constant journeys the two bits of news seemed to suggest each other the and the gentle halt half mad old man who rode the desert country year in year out in the effort to save souls sonya had bad seen him a time or two bea before r in her turn she told myra of t the h sickness of little moon of mr satter and the children he had gathered in from clue blue sand wash and finally of the nan man of lone mesa and what had happened that day on the windswept top of the he tableland my bly heaven sl si said myra breathlessly as she the girl hanging on the face of the precipice why did you take that jump sonya hushed flushed why do you think id care to live after after being the plaything ot of a drunken renegade 12 I 1 TO BE BB CONTI CONTINUED |
