Marion Marlowe on the Prairie, or, A Thrilling Ride Across Kansas — page 19: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

much out of pocket by the new order of our going.” “No more acting until after the President has been seen, heard and congratulated! Isn’t that just out of sight?” shouted Bert, as Miss Allyn came through from the observa- tion car. Miss Allyn looked at him in amazement. Things were quickly explained to her, and she was as happy as the rest. “It doesn’t seem possible that we shall be flying East so soon,” was Miss Allyn’s an- “T do hope, Bert, that your father will be in Wash- ington when we get there. I would like to thank him personally for this pleasant ex- perience which he is about to give us.” swer, after she had learned the news. _ “He’s in Denver, and can’t possibly get | back until too late for us to see him,” said “It seems that the Can- fields live in Denver. They are the people who adopted him when he was a kid, just as he adopted me. ‘That’s how he comes by the name of Dunlap Hobart-Canfield.” Bert, mournfully. “Was he a poor boy, too?” asked Marion, eagerly. Bert nodded his head. “Poor as a church mouse,” he said, erin- ning. “They took him and brought him up, and then some one died and left him some money. After the war he invested it and made a pile, and that’s how he came to get into the railroad business.” . - " “Perhaps you will follow in his footsteps in time, Bert, just as you wish,” said Miss Al- lyn, seriously. “T can understand now why he took such a fancy to you. Well, I don’t Wish to flatter you, but the captain showed good taste. Why, if he had adopted me, he would not have done better!” There was a general laugh from the other members of the company, who had all man- aged to get seats pretty close together. “Aren’t we nice and cozy here?” asked aS Te ae MY QUEEN. 17 Miss Ellis, as she glanced around the car. “We are all together, so we can play cards or be sociable. Let’s see, how many are there of us? I'll have to count noses!” ~ Little Ruby clapped her hand over her fat little nose with a delighted giggle. She was very much amused at the idea of having her nose counted. Jackets was in the seat with his mother, - and he promptly made a face at her, for, in spite of his mother’s rebukes and Marion’s pleadings, he had not yet found the grace in his soul to make up with her. The gentlemen of the company were now all in seats together, but the new recruit pre- served a curious silence. “I say, Marion,” whispered Bert, over her shoulder, “you have rattled Ajax! get him to go back into the smoker. I have suggested it twice, and so has Mr. Temple; . but there he sits like a log. Now, that’s a conquest for fair, when you can take a man like Ajax away from his corncob.” ' Marion laughed pleasantly, but she did not glance in the cowboy’s direction, for she had already done so twice, and each time he was staring straight at her. I can’t “It is a case of silent admiration,” whis- pered Miss Ellis, mischievously. “Oh, Bert! why don’t you learn to worship me in that mutely eloquent way instead of gushing such volumes of tender sentiments all over me 2” “Great Ceesar’s ghost! what a libel!” Bert almost roared. “Marion, I turn to you to de- fend my reputation! Do I look like a man who would be guilty of such conduct ?” “One can never tell what a person in love will do or say,” murmured Marion, slyly. Bert turned away with a dismal groan. “Well, T'll be blowed !” he said, with an ap- pealing glance at Miss Allyn. “Have | no friends in this crowd? Am I utterly for- saken? That settles it. I shall fly to the engine this very minute! If you feel the CoOmicoooks.c©