The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 80: what you’re looking at

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

782 some one who would reveal life and its possibilities to her as Natalie had illuminated it for him. But Silsby and the question of the Apache Spring were not the kind of affairs which a hired puncher could defer for social correspondence. The letter had not been written. It was late in the afternoon of the day following when a buckboard came smartly across the plain at the foot of the butte. Natalie and Miss Thorpe had been into Pinon. Alice had told Natalie all she knew ~ about Ted Radford. Natalie knew that the chance word of any one of four people might cause Radford to be called to account for his connection with or knowledge of the death of Nick Bullen. Th@ugh she listened quietly to Miss Thorpe’s explanation of her aversion for Radford, Natalie made a woman’s reservation. She did not believe in the guilt of the man she loved. But her heart throbbed hotly at his making love to her when he was bound to an- other woman. Jealousy took posses- sion of her. She pictured the beauty and ele- gance of the society girl to whom Ted was engaged. She suspected that he had exercised the self-acquired right of many rich and handsome young men to seek love wherever it might © seem desirable. She knew positively that he was poor. He had told her so. But before she could accept that as the motive for his doing away with Bullen, she had asked herself if that were really true, or whether he had merely told her so to carry out the idea that he meant to be a part of the West and continue near her. Had he done it just to win her? Alice Thorpe’s hatred of Radford for daring to insult the girl she loved so devotedly was a pale and lack-lus- ter flame compared with the cruel fire of Natalie’s hurt pride. Her intense nature had opened with the sudden, vivid blooming of a cactus-flower, and THE ARGOSY. Radford was the sun that made it blos- som. Now that same sun threatened to wither her. Natalie pulled up the ponies with a jerk. The ground between her and the butte was covered with resting steers. Silsby’s bunch had arrived and taken possession. She saw the cattle going toward a point where the butte thrust out and concealed the Apache Spring. ‘““ A-h!”’ she exclaimed, her little ex- clamation charged with the variety of meanings she could infuse through it. “M. Gill ees too queeck! He has al- ready sent hees cattle to dreenk from the Apache Spring before we have come to the terms! ”’ Alice Thorpe, too, was looking in indignant wonder at the cattle. Gill had refused the terms they offered, so that the settlement had been deferred. As a matter of fact, he had no cattle ready for that range, and he thought delay might lower the price they asked for the water-right. Sykes had as- sured him that the two women would not deal with the Mesquite Ranch so long as Frederick Radford was there. “There ees a man. We weel go and tell heem—’”’ A. cowboy had ridden out of an ar- royo near them. It was Ted Radford. Natalie paused as she saw him. Then she struck her ponies and they flew for- ward. Impelled by his characteristic courage and his refusal to be snubbed meekly, Ted started in pursuit. But it was too plain that his very presence in the same territory was an abomination. He gave it up and watched the ponies strike the dust from their flying feet as they put distance between him and Natalie. “The little one’s Frenchy’s niece, ain’t she?’ Silsby’s gruff voice asked as Radford galloped toward the spring. He nodded. Without further com- ment Silsby called to him and sent him to drive up some steers not yet ac- quainted with the charm of the Apache waters. Radford rounded generously behind the shy steers and came gradu- ally up to them. But they dashed and EOPMICLOOO KS (E@)