The Argosy, Vol. 90 No. 1 — page 88: what you’re looking at

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

82 THE The exaltation was gone. Hot and mad, plain mad, Ben gritted his teeth and clenched his hands as he strode toward Fleming’s cottage. The light still burned. Fan burned, too. At any rate, she looked like a creature of fire to Fleming’s confused eyes. ‘Damn it, Fan, I’m going to quit!” he exclaimed. ‘“ You jerked me out of a job { kin manage and jacked me up into one I can’t. I’m gittin’ corns on my brain! I can’t stick! Petheroe’s willing to take me—”’ Then it was that Fan flamed. ‘So that’s why you have been over to the Bonita so much lately! Sam’s trying to get you to go back on me, is he? I guess that cuts out a large pattern of what he’ll get!” “°Tain’t that, Fan, honest! I about asked him to give me a job. I tell you I ain’t ekal to this one!”’ ‘‘ Nunkie, can’t you see that I’ll be fired if you go?” Fan fell into the vernacular as if she wanted to use all the means at her com- mand to influence the man who stood rather shamefacedly before her. “Lord, the Big Ben, can’t run without you! You know more about it than any one except your father. Since he died you’ve done more than he ever did. Moore ain’t a fool. He’ll keep you as manager—”- “Oh, Nunkie, Nunkie! How can I make you understand that there are men who— Well, I’m a woman, Nunkie, and he’s.a man! And he’s young and awfully good-looking. He thinks— Nunkie, do you know what a Turk is?” With tears in her eyes and laughter in the. pink curves of her lips, Fan asked the question. Nunkie’s brows puckered. ‘““T got a few idees about ’em. Mostly that they’re killin’ devils,” he said thought- fully. To his complete amazement, Fan, with the tears still on her lashes, sank into a chair and laughed. Nunkie stared at her in confusion. “ Say, Fan, I’ve bin pertending I’m your dad! But I'll be hanged if I’ll be any old kind of a goat. You'll have to explain ARGOSY. things to me. My long suit ain’t making up what other folks mean by what they do—specially when they do such darn queer things!” Fan was out of her chair and at Nunkie’s aggrieved side in an instant; the same in- stant that Ben Moore, lured by her lJaugh- ter into haste, came near enough to see into the cottage through the open door. ‘““Nunkie dear, you’ve been the next best to a father that any girl ever had. I’m sorry I see so many points of interest at once. It makes me confused. But here’s the simple lay of the land!” The conciliatory tone was unaccom- panied by even the slightest sign of a ca- ress, though the old man had almost raised her. It would have embarrassed him al- most to death. But the fervor of her words and the look of her carried the sincerity and affection in her heart straight to its goal. ‘“T can’t get at the bottom of this con- tinual disappearance of our steers,” she said. ‘ And I can’t overlook the fact that twice we have found them somewhere on Sam Petheroe’s land, and three times it has been Sam himself, or one of his men, who has located others for us. It’s always steers from the western range that disap- pear. You know the cattle don’t come away from the shade and the stream at this time of year unless—” Ben mounted the steps. Fan had spoken low. She started visibly as she heard his steps. Nunkie rose rather hurriedly. It was plain that both of them were unwont- edly susceptible to any impressions. ‘““Who’s that?” Nunkie asked. ‘“Moore,” the answer came. Moore’s voice was cold. His pride was smarting with the whip of Fan’s laughter. He believed that she had heard Fleming’s report of his talk with the ranch-owner, and was laughing at the way in which she had outwitted him. ‘Good evening. Sorry to disturb you,” he said, his lip curving as he realized he was still guarding her by covering the fact that he had so recently seen her. “I'd like a few words with your father, Miss Fleming.” Nunkie shifted his feet as if he half in- oO cComicbooe S CO