CHAPTER Xl!l—Continued.
In the driveway down the yard the
girl handed Brownle's rein to her fa-
ther and ran into the house. When
she returned a moment later, she had
on a short riding skirt, and was buck-
ling around her waist as she walked
the holster of a small and very fancy
revolver,
The preacher allowed his eyes to
Btray over the trim figure and rest on
the weapon,
“A present from—Jack,” the girl
answered to his look, at the same
time dropping her fingers to the neat
holster—*"he trapped mink t' git the
money.”
“Do they—girls, I mean—carry such
~—things In the Flatwoods?”
“Sometimes—y'u see, Jack
ride t'gether, and shoot target 8
much—" 0
“Why, I have one of those—things."”
“Have y'u—bring It along and we'll
shoot target.”
The preacher .handed Rex's bridle
rein to her and hurried into the house.
The old banker, grinning toward his
daughter at the eccentric dominie’s
mincing step, suddenly seemed to re-
member something, tapped the breast
pocket of his faded coat; drew out
the formidable letter addressed to
Jack Warhope and handed It to the
girl, with the request that she deliver
it at the first handy opportunity.
Wondering, the girl looked at the
etter and put It away in her blouse,
just as the preacher returned carry-
Ing ln one hand the very dependable
booking ivory-handled six-gun that had
thudded against the bottem of the
skiff on the day of the seining trip. In
the ether hand he held a very service-
able- bolster, with its pouch for powder
flask, bullets and caps hanging from
the belt.
“lI bought them just before setting
out on my Jeurney for the— West” he
explained,
The girl took the beautiful weapon,
fully loaded and freshly capped, and
looked at it admiringly, while the old
banker beut over her shoulder.
“W'y, this gua's be'n shot—a lot”
she sald, lifting the hammer a trifle
and slowly revolving the cylinder.
The preacher dropped a quick look
at the weapon.
“Gun,” he repeated, with a mite of
hesitation that escaped the others—
“is that what you call them? The man
who sold It to me called It a revolver.
I do wonder If he sold me a second-
hand one.”
The old banker laughed—raspy ran-
cous.
“Cheated a-plenty, parson.
Dolly Varden cannon o
seen service,
guns.”
“Do you mean that it will not
shoot?” the preacher asked In anxlous
tones,
“Lord, no!” the banker returned-—
“it would drop a man In 'is tracks,
and I
’
This
your'n has
'r I ain't no judge of six-
“W'y, This Gun’s Be'n Shot a Lot)”
She Said.
but they cheated y'u If they sold it to
y'u f'r new.”
Texle handed the weapon back to
its owner. He thrust it awkwardly
into the holster and stood fumbling
the belt, wrong side out, around his
waist. The girl laughed, showed him
how to buckle it on under the somber
frock coat, and sprang to the saddle,
with an ease and grace that lifted his
spectacled eyes,
After two or three unsuccessful at-
tempts he finally succeeded In scram-
bling to Rex's back and followed her
down the drive, where the old banker
already had the gate open.
Just through the gate the girl fell
suddegly thoughtful,
“Walt—I'lIl be back In a minute,”
/
1454,
Vi
Sodd
SEPP Pde PPePP bb PP bP OPPL PP
she said and touching Brownle with
the whip, dashed away up the River
road. A moment later under the big
elm by the barn-lot gate at the War-
hope homestead, she drew rein. While
Brownle stood prancing, still a mite
resentful at the touch of the whip, the
girl's head lifted, her throgt and lps
tightened, and the clear call of a king
cardinal made the great elm musical.
A big man with a mighty spread of
shoulder, at work in the cattle pens,
lifted his head and listened. Next mo-
ment Jack Wuarhope appeared around
the corner of a shed, viiulted the fence
and came striding down the barn lot.
“Texie!., Wy"
He opened the gate and came out
into the road. The girl smiled upon
him curiously; fumbled in her blouse;
drew out the letter in the formidable
manila envelope and handed it to
him, He took it; gazed at it, and then
looked up at the girl,
* ‘Not to be opened untll his twenty-
first birthday,’ ” he read—"“what d' y'u
s'pose Pap Simon's up to now?”
“That's what I be'n wonderin',” was
the thoughtful answer, “but 1 reckon
we'll have t' walt till—til}—"
“Six more days,” he finished, as the
girl tightened the reins and pulled
srownlie's mouth up from the grass.
“How 'd y'u like t’ go ridin’?
“Me?
The dimples flashed at him.
“Mr. Hopkins wants t' go.”
“Hopkins?
He shrugged his great shoulders and
down the road where the
ln front of the red-roofed cottage.
“Jack—"
He turned
her to go on.
“Be nice to ‘Im. He knows 8' mtch,
and he was good t' pore—Ken—"
He bent his head In respect fer the
minor note. The soft purr of the ely
twigs came out faintly clear on the
drowsy day; the girl sat drawing the
cracker of the riding whip up and
down between the stirrup and the tee
of her shapely small shoe,
“*Texie—"
He had looked up;
her eyes toward bhlm.
“Don’t let this—man git no holt on
Yu. He ain't po man fr—you. His
ways aln't—our ways—"
back to her; walted for
the girl turned
4 trifle uneasily.
“Jack, you're alw'ys so
Hurry up and git Graylock.”
“How d' yun know I'm goin'?”
"Aln't y'u?™
He smoothed the mane on Brownies
neck ; "half turned toward the gate.
“I am if he Is.”
“Bring y'ur r'volver—we're goin’ t'
target shoot.”
He wheeled back, for the first time
serious.
waist,
“I "low I will,” he muttered.
CHAPTER XII
A Face at the Smudged Window,
Aunt Liza happened to have “drapped
a stitch” in her knitting and had
stepped to the window the better to see
to “plek it up” when the three riders
came up the Eagle Hollow road.
looked up carelessly from hér tedious
i
ne cid slience. She bent again uver the
“"dreapped stitch”; “picked it, up’ at
last. and came back to her ing
chalr, r
The old man, doubtless glad to rest
after his long tramp In the woods that
morning, sat with his pipe dangling
between his fingers and tapping his
chalr, his head bent forward, ponder
ing the threée-angled drama-—-the eter-
nal triangle-—at that moment being
staged within the narrow valley,
, The click of the busy knitting
needles, the muffled tapping of
pipe, fell at length Into a sort
rhythm, which, with the tick of the
dull-faced clock on the mantel-shelf,
seemed to enhance the silence rather
than disturb it, and to bring out the
peace and repose of the room,
Meanwhile, the three riders lelsure-
ly followed the eccentric windings of
the Eagle Hollow roed. Seen through
the tangle of vine and bush and tree
in teasing glimpses on thelr left, the
erratic little stream that inflicted on
the road Its many turnings, sparkled
by in the sunlight. On their right,
across a picturesque rall fence, rose
the wooded bluffs that led to the up
lands of the Warhope homestead.
Cleared only to the width of a
wagon, so narrow that the bordering
bushes sometimes raked thelr stirrups,
the road Itself was a thing to Invite
the wood fairies, It lay for the most
part in checkered shade, the feet of
the horses playing almost constantly
among a delicate tracery of leaf and
branch and stem, flung dewn by the
sun In dancing patches upon the gras.
sy track. The great trees of the
bluffs reached their giant arms over it
and hovered it In grateful shade, while
cliff and scar unwound thelr succes
sive pictures as the three rode mong.
More than a mile up the hollow the
road passed under the far-flung
rock
Meanwhile, the Three Riders Lei
ings of the Eagle MHellew Mead.
| branches of an Immense oak,
so high above its fellows that
preacher reined In Rex and excialmed:
“Grand! Magnificent!
low Is not to be found in the forest!”
“Eagle Oak.” the girl observed, rein-
the side of
teller horse, “the king of the Flat-
woods.”
“It bh'longs
went on.
to the homestead ™ she
the hluff--that's
Black Rock and
they're both on
Jack's—father ha
patent, 'r whatever they call It, made
out t' his gran'father, and signed by
General Andrew Jackson hituself. They
sa y-—"'
The wootisman fldgered
base of
stead,
in his sad-
She caught
the first glance,
“Come ‘ere, Nick-—ain't that Big Jack
an’ Texle an' the new parson?
“Well, I'll be dern'd,” grunted the
old man, coming to the window and
looking out, his pipe poised between
his fingers—“what d' y'u think o
that?”
“What I think’s a-plenty,” the prim-
ly¥ positive old woman snorted, “out
gallantin'’ around like that, with two
beaux a-traipsin’ after ‘eran’ that
preacher In the Flatwoods bar'ly long
enough t' git 'Is chalr warm. I use’n
t' think right smart o' Texle, but I
cayn’'t swaller no sich carryin's-on as
she’s a-havin’ with the new parson.
nohow, an’ if he keeps on like this, 'e
won't be,
“Texle Colin may live t' rue the day
she draps a fine lad like Big Jack an’
takes up with a teetotal furriner, ait
“b'cayse 'e happens t' be gallantin’
an’ full o p'laver.”
“Aw, 1 dunno,” the old man Inter.
rupted, turning away from the window
as the three riders disappeared behind
a bend In the road a little above the
house, “jist b'cayse she happens t' go
out ridin’ with "im, hit ain't no sign
she's a-goin’ t' take up with Im.” *
“That's jist your way,” Aunt Liza
retorted, still standing at the window
and fussing with the snarled knitting,
“alw'ys tryin’ t' smoothen things over
f'r everybody, Did you look how ‘e
set Ils hoss, ‘longside o' Big Jack
huhI wonder the second best hoss
In the Flatwoods would put up with
sich ridin’. I knowed that preacher
wouldn't do t' tie to the minute 'e It.
Hain't no sense in a preacher bein’
that good-lookin’, nohow--now there's
the business of it, I-jeeminy.”
Aunt Liza's grim lips twisted into an
“Ah, It must be fine to have such
mented.
iugs myself, sometimes.”
The remark not seeming te call for
oak ; up the narrow ribbon of road, with
the pleturesquely broken valley un.
folding its wonders;
a — A —— — ———————— a — ————
Sports Blouse as
———————————
| Chenille Cloth Used
for This Overblouse
some Combinations; Can
Be Made at Home.
The blouse has become p Very neces |
sary and decorative part of the ward
robe of every well-dressed woman. By
clever planning, observes a fashion
become a half part of two or
coktumes, and the better
ters of several others.
You may cut, the cost of the three
described In this article either by mak-
Ing them yourself or by engaging a
competent sewing woman to copy them
for you,
Here are ‘three correct types: The
sports blouse, the costume blouse, and
the tunic blouse which transforms any
skirt it Is worn with Into a very up-
to-date dress.
The sports blouse may be of dimity,
This type of blouse should be worn
only with country elothes, a tailored
suit, or as part of a businesslike jer
sey or flannel dress. It may also be
of English broadeloth, in which
its scope is enlarged to include
golfing costume and the riding
The costume blouse is the
portant part of the three-piece
which worn more than
purchasing a two-plece sult
not only be more free In your cholee of
models, but will cut the price
The most up-to-date model to complete
just this sort of ensemble is the mono
grammed overblouse of metal cloth,
which has been sponsored by several
of the most famous Parisian dress
makers. This blouse is
the blouse counters, but
copled at home,
An original way of epplying the
monogram {8s to work out an individoal
three-quare
cnse
the
habit.
most lm-
sult,
By
will
Will
is ever,
you
nlso,
expensive
could be
Dimity
for Sports Blouse. Medallion Trirae
Cestume Blouse.
in evidence are conventional patterns
i
i
The tunic overblouse is a very smart
and convenient development of this
scason’s craze for things Chinese, [It
may be made of crepe to match the lin-
ing of your suit, or to harmonize with
your costume, or it may be made of
sutin discreetly trimmed with metal.
To be thoroughly In the fashion
should he of satin, either white or
It should fit easily to the
nnd flare slightly from the
touch of metal-—the smartest |
in small buttons or narrow
You will need a
of satin. *
wny Is
yard and a quarter
Lace and Feathers Are
Features of New Fans
There is always something new and
artistic In fans. The most elegant fan
seen In the Alps, or elsewhere in his
travels, and overflowing with effusive
exclamations punctuated with a laugh
$0 loud and blarey that It fairly
made his horse shy.
The preacher's laugh was the most
strikingly odd expression of his strik-
fugly odd personality--a sert of hand-
forged laugh that 4ld not seem to
of sarcastic exclamation point that ex-
ploded at untimely and most unex
pected Intervals In his conversation,
As they passed the spot where the
sadly winsome: face of the mountain
girl had flared forth from the copse
that morning and he had picked up
Uncle Nick's trail, Jack Warhope, sit-
ting his horse as only a man trained to
the saddle can and riding for the most
part In silence, darted a quick look
into the bushes—a look that quite es.
caped the others,
The one girl and the two mesa com-
bination of infinite possibilities—had
reached the point where the road left
the hollow and picked Its way through
the broken passes of the bluffs to the
uplands, when the preacher stopped
his horse and sat gazing up and across
the narrow valley.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
A at
Honesty of Friends.
Most men believe in the honesty of
thelr fellows until after they have In
dorsed a few notes for friends
i
large, with mother-of-pearl sticks and
a platinum loop handle set with dia-
trich feathers, the shade of which Is
work, which forms an oval as it opens,
Another fan in which one visualizes
is of
and
fs made of exquisitely fine chantilly
Ince upon a tortoise-gshell frame,
There 1s a tracing of fine gold on the
outer ribs, the handle is of gold and
the rivets are set with emeralds.
The handsome fans are not now cov-
ered with feathers, but have ostrich
feather In sprays or delicate fringe in.
tracing a
pattern or finishing the edge. These
are falry-like and fantastic, and add
a whimsical note to the most elabo-
rate evening toilet.
Brilliant Colors for
Scarfs and Mufflers
The scarfs seen in the shops make
a perfect blaze of color. Every con-
celvable sort of scarf Is dyed vividly
the woolen mufflers and wrap-arounds.
and the filmy chiffon and lace affairs
in many lovely shades. Spanish lace
senrfs are particularly effective, dyed
deep orange, verlilion, green, blue,
violet or flamingo scarlet. These are
pleturesque, and women ove to possess
them, If not to wear, to carry or
|
|
Featured at a recent New York
fashion exposition was this attractive
overblouse made of chenille cloth,
Narrow Bands Used to
Trim Center of Frock |
Narrow bands of solid color, so
{often red bands of Chinese ribbon or
lenuvals embroidery, are used to
trim a frock down the
{and around the: bottom.
{on green leather combine
| with black kasha or rep. Green quite
| outshines other colors this season and
| even competes with black.
| A flat back still the
{ aprons
Nail
in
front. There are limitless possi
{ bilities where a combination
| rics. may be employed and thus with
{ the
‘sway of his Imagination.
Two
recent imports are worth noting and
when well
and a possibility to one who
to add & very new note to a straight
line frock of wool rep. The one is
merely the application
black cire brald about
inches width. Alternating stripes
three-quirter
of
in simple
the pencil silhouette,
on georgette in the same tone
dress itself. A plaiting of the geor
gette lined the cuff in mushroom style,
Sleeves, instead of being long and
ecru lace
fitted In snugly at the wrist by a band
of the fabric. Plaitings of net
insert themselves along the qutside
opening and Yrom thence
hand to break the severity.
The
! sch
self-sufficient plain blue
dress, when it does permit It-
| self to be adorned, has a way of choos
| ing extremely smart accompaniments
ool
i 1 Ady
to have about for the grateful note of
color.
Charming scarfs light as clouds are
cut like a cape or the diagonal fold
| of a small shawl-a trangle that cov-
ers the shoulders well. They are
trimmed around the edge with a wide
feathery fringe of ostrich of the same
shade, One of these sheerest scarfs
furnishes just the necessary bit of pro.
tection required for the shoulders =n
a decollete gown at the theater,
Many Bags and Cases
for Stylish Dressers
It is good fun to follow the styles In
bage and cases, the changes are so
swift and the fancies so many. With
gome of his newest models in evening
gowns and wraps a Paris maker has
sent over an evening “vanity” of black
moire, lined with orchid silk, which
holds in addition to the usual toliet
equipment a tiny pair of opera glasses.
The clasp and fittings of this case are
of gold,
A daytime bag from the same
house is larger, of hlack moire with
sliver frame, and containg a place for
spectacles or lorgnon, a comb for
bobbed locks, and a coin purse. An.
other maker reverses the usual order
and lines his silk purse bags with pat-
ent leather. Some of the largest
bags for street dress are made of the
pretty colored leathers, with the
clasp and monogram upon a little flap
in gold, silver or platinum,
Pull Down Your Hat
Poise your hat securely on your
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there,
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Satisfaction guarasmfieed or money refunded,
Send for frees samples and full directions.
HOME TEXTILE COMPANY
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