The Argosy, Vol. 90 No. 1 — page 72: what you’re looking at

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

66 close enough to see the brand before they was seen by the Bonita boys. Our fellers asked them what they wuz doin’ with our cows. They said they didn’t have ’em. But they did, all right! They’ve got ’em now!”’ “* T’ll see Sam Petheroe!”’ Fan spoke firmly. She came to Joe’s side and lifted her hand. He caught it. She set her foot on his in the stirrup and swung up behind him. “Take me to the corral. I let Dick go.” Joe’s horse cantered off. Fan, with a serious expression, rode easily behind Joe. But while her left hand rested on his shoul- der, her right one thrust the bit of paper into the pocket of her skirt. She took the precaution to fasten the three buttons that secured the pocket. ‘‘ Saddle the bay mare, Joe; she makes better time than Dick,” Fan said as she slipped to the ground at the big gate of the corral. “Say, Miss Fan, I told Jeb about the critters. He said he’d go over,” Joe ex- plained as he lead her horse out. “Tell him I’ve gone,” she called as she lifted the reins and the mare stretched out for speed. But she stopped at the ranch-house. She entered it with more freedom than usual and by the door. Ben was away. She went to the desk and rolled up the top. Then she opened a small drawer. In it she laid the piece of paper that had been found by Paleface on the body of the dead stranger. She made a hasty search through various boxes and drawers to locate the rarely-used key of the little drawer. She found it at last and thrust it into the lock, but it re- fused to turn. She worked with it a mo- ment. Then suddenly, with impish freak- ishness, it turned. She drew the key out and hid it under the edge of the blotter. Then she rode away toward the Bonita ranch. Meanwhile, Ben rode into a group of houses with flowers about their doors. It was quaintly like the Spotless Town pic- tures, except for the local color of the West and the reclaimed desert over its single, sunny street. A company of children burst THE ARGOSY. from a miniature schoolhouse. An intelli- gent-looking woman followed them. “Is this Spotless Town?” Ben asked as he took off his hat and drew rein. “I'd like to call it Frances Village,”’ the woman answered with frank cordiality. “Only without a name, we are not on the map. And that’s rather restful.” Her words rang pleasantly. It was agree- able to be away from the world with the clean winds of the plains and the moun- tains sweeping the chambers of his tired brain. “Why Frances Village?” he asked, guess- ing that she did not identify him as the ranch owner. “It’s Miss Fleming’s idea—a part of the big idea in which she gives us a share. You see, she believes that heart interest is as valuable in the reconstruction of men and women as head interest. So she lets us all love our work. Indeed, she sets us the example.” Moore was looking into the animated face with unrepressed curiosity. “TI don’t think I quite get you,” he said. “You don’t know Miss Fleming then? She’s very busy just now. The owner of the Big Ben is here. It was named for him when he was a baby. I suppose he seemed very big and important to his father. We’ve been told that his mother died when he was very young.” Moore looked away. It was a curious, breaking-up experience to hear this sunny- faced woman speaking, in accents of warm, human sympathy, of the boy who had lost his mother and was loved by a lonely father. ‘TI suppose Miss Fleming told you about the ranch owner?” he found himself asking. “Yes,” she replied, then laughed aloud. “‘T told her once that I believed the reason she liked him so much was because he stayed away and didn’t interfere with the running of the ranch!” Moore had appreciated that the woman to whom he talked was refined and pos- sessed force of character. He was not al- together surprised when she spoke intimate- ly of Miss Fleming. But his mind was racing away with the thought she had put into it. Miss Fleming had had a good impres- oO Comicbooe S CO