Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 5, 1921 — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

THE KNIGHT OF LONELY LAND. within the sound of one another’s voices. She felt strangely safe and cared for like someone very tired who has found a shoul-, der to lean upon. And Billie, who had put other thoughts behind him with the passing day, was happy too. CHAPTER XY. SPITE WORK OR RUSTLERS? WEEK went by. The blue and gold days remained, but their beauty was like a jewel behind a gossamer veil. The languorous heat of midday persisted, but in the shadows even that hour held a whispering chill as though warning summer that the time for lingering was nearly done. The faint greenness of valley and hills changed in a night to sombre grays and browns: the close mantle nature draws about its body when winter sends word of his coming. The week passed swiftly at the Three Nines. There was plenty of work, and Billie and Jack spent few idle moments. Jarrow, dropping years as he dropped aitches, became brown and hearty under their eyes and took so many duties upon himself, quietly and unobtrusively, that the other two wondered how they had man- aged before he came. Mrs. Moffatt did her share as well. She had rapidly acquired the ‘“ ways of the primitive,” as she persisted in calling their simple housekeeping, and Jack was no longer called upon to solve culinary diffi- culties. She learned to handle the refrac- tory stove with the ease of a veteran and evolved some triumphs that left her a proud woman. Geraldine was the only idler, and even she had begun to search ‘about for something to do which would make her indispensable. -_ There were times when the girl was far ‘from happy, but there were other times -When she put doubts and fears resolutely behind her and determined to live solely in rthe present. Every night she looked at the ‘young officer’s picture and murmured over and over, vows that bound her heart to is, And every morning she wakened with — 349 the thought of another before her, radiant with the centainty that she would see him in a little while and be within reach of him ali that day. And between these periods: of happiness and regret there were the hours when she faced the problem of the future, for Ger- aldine was gradually coming to feel that the strangeness of her position was under- laid by something far deeper than her uncle’s chance absence. She could believe in that easily enough but she could not disregard other warnings, seemingly unim- portant, which hinted that she did not know the whole truth. Bijlie and Jack in the exigencies of their existence, forgot the fiction of Norman Hoyt’'s ownership, and twenty times a day betrayed the truth. If Geraldine had but possessed the key to the engima she must have guessed the whole story easily enough, but although she thought of every possible contingency, not once did the truth occur to her. During one of their rides which had be- come of daily occurrence she asked Billie the question she had once put to Jack: “When is my uncle coming back?” But Billie hardened his conscience and answered plausibly. He was determined she should not know the truth. He knew to a certainty that she had no money, and if he could keep her at the ranch until he had some of his own, he was determined to make restitution for at least a small portion of what she ‘had lost. But this was not the present, or would it be possible for a time. He was worried about money to meet the ordinary expenses of the house- hold; if a greater demand was put upon ‘him he would have to sacrifice part of his cherished herd, Not once cid he consider evading what the felt to be his responsi- bility to the strangers. So he repeated the story of Norman Hoyt’s trip to Arizona, predicted his early return and did what he could to lead her thoughts to different channels. But there had been mail that day, and among the big bundle that belonged to : Geraldine was one she read over and over before she went for her ride, and the con- tents of this letter was behind the question. CO