The Lure of the Dim Trails

hout intent. But it did seem unfortunate that just as he was waxing eloquent and felt sure of himself and something of a her

elieve it; he just opened his eyes wide and stared. When he came to a sense of his rudeness, Mona was back in the kitchen helping with the supper dishes, just as though nothing had happened-unless one observed the dee

hey are mad. If yuh go at 'em right yuh can talk 'em over easy. It done me good to hear yuh talk right up to 'em, Bud." Mrs. Stevens had called hi Bud from the first time she laid e

the chilly smile, actually giggled-giggled like any ordinary girl, and shot him a glance that had in it pure mirth and roguish teasing,

his conscience to swallow or not, as it liked. Hank Graves had the same privilege; as for the Stevens trio, he blessed their hospitable souls for not wanting any excuse

aves, for some reason, it seemed very funny. When Thurston told him, Hank was taken with a fit of strangling that turned his face a dark purple. Afterward he explained brokenly that something had got down his Sunday throat-and Thurston, who had never heard of a man's Sunday t

ng this particular brand uh female girl myself. She's out uh sight, Bud-and I don't believe any uh the boys has got his loop on her so fa

e going to paint a picture of those mountains off there, you'd want to be where you could look at them-wouldn't you? You wouldn't n

his keen eyes searchi

h about a girl just because I-hang it! what the Dicke

Bud. I'll bet Mona thinks so, too and when yuh get growed up you'll know a whole lot more than yuh do right now.

nd there would be no lack of the deed if only they wore skirts that could rustle indignantly in sympathy wit

he sat him down by the window-where he could see the kitchen door, which was the one most used by the family-and nibbled the tip off one of the pencils like any school-girl. For ten minutes he bluff

nd nearly stood on his head trying to reach his Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms without getting out of his chair. While he was clawing after it-it lay on the floor, where he had thrown it that morning because it refus

emples and at the nape of her neck-Jove, what a tempting white neck it was!) "Um-m. 'Ripple; wave; undulat

dly guessed that Mrs. Stevens leaned far more upon Mona than she did upon Jack, although he coul

Stevens had promised him warm doughnuts for supper. Perhaps Mona was frying them at that identical moment-and he had never seen anyone frying doughnuts.

Park, and even went so far as to supply Thurston with considerable data which went to prove that Park would not be averse to figuring in a love st

it went. On each and every visit to the Stevens ranch-and they were many-Hank, learning by direct inquiry that the story still suffered for lack of a hero, suggested some fel

y imaginary, but he had a trick of making his characters seem very real to himself and sometimes to other people as well. So that, after

tiful evening, reverted to the day of the hold-up and apologized for not obeying her comm

her a good deal in the next two minutes that he might better have kept to himself just then. But a man generally makes a glo

en-hearted that day, and you know it; you've just admitted it. Why, in another minute I'd have had that gun myself, and I'd have shown you-but Park got it before I really had a chance. I h

ose, that I'm not on

ou see. Maybe you've got nerve; you haven't shown much, so far as I know-except when you talked to the boys that night. But you must have known th

liked him?" his s

im!" Mona declared, an

the stable and borrowed a horse of Jack, who had jus

join the roundup again-he didn't say a word for full five minutes

Hank could not swear positively to the reply he got.