6F &ESTINY %
1 *SNCS L6UISE PRAVAST
CHAPTER VI
Synopsis
Lee Hollister, returning: un
expectedly from a trip abroad
to the Circle V ranch, his home
from childhood, is troubled by
signs of neglect. Joey, an old
prospector friend of Matt Blair,
Lee's foster father and owner
of the ranch, tells Lee that
Matt bas killed hinwelf, prob
ably discouraged by hard times.
The ranch is going to ruin and
Virginia, Matt's daughter, is
visiting the Archers, her aunt
and uncle, in New York. Her
uncle wants her to sell the
place to Milton Bradish, old as
sociate of Matt's. Lee persuades
Virginia to return to the ranch.
Mrs. Archer follows her, ac
companied by Stanley, son of
Milton Bradish. Stanley thinks
he may be able to discredit Lee
in Virginia's eyes.
The recollection of the intend
ed slur made her kinder to Lee
than she had meant to be. She
danced three more times with
him. Toward the end of their
last dance Virginia turned her
head and laughed softly.
"Look, Lee! Just outside the
door. I'm going to bring her in."
His eyes followed hers. Beyond
them was an open door, its shaft
of light cutting into the outer
shadows and, caught in the edge
of the light, they saw a gay little
figure, with a dark, vivid face,
Mack eyes that burned with ex
citement, and a scarlet mouth.
The slim body swayed slightly to
che music, with a rippling animal
grace.
As Lee looked at her she slid
hastily out of sight with an imp
udent lift of her chin. He laugh
ed.
"The little devil! She's Josefa
Ramirez, and her father is Fran
cisco Ramirez who used to be a
sheep herder and has new risen
to the dignity of his own ranch
ito. Matt helped him to 'get it.
You can count on Francisco.
His father was a servant to Don
Luis Ceballos." /
hope
it isn't
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i
"Very inteersting," said Vir
ginia sweetly. "But not much of
it seems to be about the girl.
You're holdine out on me, Lee."
"Nothing to hold." Lee was a
little curt about it.
Someone else claimed her and
she left him, her smile cool and
sweet. Lee hesitated, a trifle
ruffled by the uncertain ways of
women, and then went out by the
door where the girl Josefa had
stood.
There was no sign of her. Lee
leaned comfortably against the
side of the house and rolled a
cigarette.
Voices drifted to him, a man's,
low and laughing, a girl's in
smothered remonstrance, more
coquettish than angry. Lee flick
ed out his match and strode
lightly around the corner of the
house.
He thought he saw a flitting
shadow, but it vanished and he
could not be sure. A cigarette
made a point of light in the
darkness about ten feet away;
Stanley Bradish strolled toward
him. •
"Hello, Hollister," he said in
differently. "That you? I thought
I heard voices out her©."
"Did you?" Lee was noncom
mittal, but his eyes searched the
darkness back of the house.
"I was probably mistaken.
Coming in?" Stanley tossed his
lighted cigarette aside and start
ed on.
Lee's eyes were on the half
smoked cigarette where it had
landed, still glowing.
"When you've been in this part
of the country a little longer," he
said evenly, "you'll use better
judgment than that. A fire, like
some other things, is easy to
start, but not so easy to put out."
Stanley's annoyed stare follow
ed him as he strode off.
"Now what the devil," he
mused thoughtfully, did the cow
hand mean by that?"
• * •
The next day Stanley made a
trip to Saunders alone and found
his way to the office of Gideon
Morse, Counselor-at-Law.
"I'm Stanley Bradish," he said
casually. "I'm staying at the
Circle V ranch. That little mat
ter of the other woman—suppose
you leave it to me."
Gideon blinked, but forebore
comment. He had a letter from'
the elder Bradish, as definite as
a letter could be, considering how
much of it lay between the lines.
"My son is spending a few
weeks at the Blair place. He
is not yet associated with me in
business and is not acquainted
with the details of the proposed
purchase."
It looked like a bad leak some
where . . .
At fifteen Josefa Ramirez was
a beauty, with glowing black eyes,
a dusky flush under an olive
skin, and a slim, gay, dancing
body. Young Mexicans arrayed
themselves in holiday best and
rode miles out of their way to
spend an hour or so at Francis
co's ranchito and knives flashed
more than once /or /ier /arar.
Only when Lee Hollister stop
ped at the sheep ranch was there
something noticeably different
about her, like the sultry stillness
before a storm. He had known
Francisco for years; the entire
household exploded into hospi
tality at his approach and poured
its joys and troubles into his
ears. Josefa was merely Fran
cisco's pretty kid to him.
Josefa pouted and sulked, and
consoled herself with the others.
Therefore she was flattered, but
not particularly surprised when
THE ELKIN TRIBUNE, ELKIN. NORTH CAROLINA
an agreeable young man caught
her hands and said teasingly
pretty things to her when she was
fleeing discovery on the night of
the dance, nor even when a swift
grey car, a long, fascinating
monster that was a haughty rich
relation of all the cars Josefa had
ever seen, appeared out of shifn
mering distance a few days later.
It stopped before the straggling
adobe buildings where a pretty
girl leaned against the plastered
wall. The young man apparent
ly had no other errand than to
ask his way, but he lingered,
talking to the vulnerable Maria,
and left presently with a quick,
oblique glance at girl.
A day or two later the car pass
ed that way again, and yet again.
Once someone was with the
agreeable driver—that girl, fav
ored among mortals, with the
shining hair and rose-leaf skin,
the girl with riches in her hands
and Lee Hollister at her feet.
Josefa let the car pass with a
sulky stare, but the next day it
came again, and this time Stan
ley was alone. They were con
veniently out of sight of the
ranch house, and he stopped and
invited her for a ride. She went,
thrilled with luxuriousness and
arrogant speed.
After that there were other
meetings, boxes of sweets, small
gifts which Josefa prudently hid.
He was amusing and gay, an ar
dent young man, with a facile
tongue for compliment and a
taste for kisses. He teased Josefa,
not very delicately.
"I'm jealous of that fellow Hol
lister; you like him better than
you do me. He was coming to the
Circle V this morning when I left.
He's there a good deal, isn't he?
You're no Spanish girl, Josefa, or
you'd never let another girl walk
off with your man like that."
"How you know I worry my
head with Lee Hollister? I got
plenty fella—ten, twenty, hon
dred! Eeef I love, I fight for my
man —fight any woman!"
"That's because you're Span
ish," he said persuasively. "But
eastern girls are different.
They're cold, Josefa. They'd
throw over the best kind of a
chap if they caught him making
a little harmless love to another
girl. Why I know a case . . ."
Amusing for Stanley, and not
without the flavor of adventure;
dangerous enough for Josefa,
storm swept by jealousy of a girl
from another world.
If Mrs. Archer was firmly con
vinced, and Stanley Bradish cyni
cally sure, that Lee Hollister was
working to establish himself
comfortably at the Circle V,
either by marrying Virginia or
otherwise making himself indis
pensable to her, certainly his ac
tions did not go far to disprove
their suspicions. He seemed to
be merely hanging around, with
no apparent affairs of his own
that demanded attention nor any
disposition to acquire them. He
had established himself in an
abandoned miner's cabin just be-
Turkey Nuking* 'it'
weather-tig h t and' sufficiently
ship-shape for simple needs, and
came and went at will.
There were no bolts nor bars,
and in his absence the curious
could inspect as they pleased.
Slanty Gano did it. So did Law
ler. nursing a grievance and only
too anxious to find something to
satisfy it. So, quite privately,
had Stanley Bradish, critically
surveying the ground for reasons
of his own. None of them found
evidences of dark motives or hid
den activities, unless, perhaps, the
large rough chunk of quartz lying
in full view on a shelf might be
so classified. On it was pasted a
bit of paper with this simple leg
end:
Matt Blair
A Man
Died October 15, 1933
Slanty Gano knew what that
sample was. He had watched Lee
Hollister swinging a pick to get
it. It had come from the spot
where Matt Blair's will-o'-the
wisp samples had been dug.
Slanty stood glowering at it for
some minutes before he slid out,
cautiously, with no wish to meet
a man he both hated and feared.
If Slanty Gano was curious
enough to pry into Lee Hollister's
affairs, Lee was equally observant
of Slanty's. He did not like
Slanty and he did not trust him.
He did not care for Lawler,
either. Therefore, when he
caught a glimpse of Slanty and
Lawler slipping behind the shel
ter of a cedar thicket one day, he
picketed his horse a safe distance
away and followed. Moving light
ly, with an eye for betraying
stones underfoot, Lee swung
down to a shelf just above the
point where they had disappear
ed, dropped flat on it and worm
ed cautiously out to the edge.
Voices came to him. He could
just see the two men about
thirty feet below. Both men were
half drunk, Lawler morose,
Slanty argumentative and boast
ful. Lee heard Slanty's taunting
voice.
"Takin' orders from Lee Hollis
ter yet? Ye've been keepin' your
self so scarce I thought he must
have fired ye."
"I ain't takin' anybody's or
ders. I'm boss around there. I
take notice that you keep toler
able scarce yoreself when that
hombre is around."
"Don't worry about me!"
I Slanty warned him belligerently.
J
"I'm goto' to be rich some day,
you see if I ain't. And I ain't
aimin' to work like a dog for it,
neither. I'm going to use my
brains. I know a man that's go
ing to hand me anything I say.
I got him just where I want him.
I got—"
He checked himself abruptly,
as if realizing that he was talk
ing too much.
"I got a big idea," Slanty fin
ished craftily. "That's what
brings the money in. Come on.
le's be movin'."
He yawned and stretched, the
sobered man of the two. The
watchful face above drew back
just in time, as Slanty looked up
and around.
When the two men went on
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down the slope the rock shelf
was empty.
For nearly a week Lee's cabin
had been empty. Virginia began
to wonder why she had no daily
glimpses of a tall figure riding
her range as if he owned it, or
going calmly past her door to visit
old friends in the bunk house.
She rode over v to see Joey and
dropped a diplomatic question or
two, but Joey had not seen Lee
for days. Odd that he had not
said anything to Joey about his
plans. Perhaps he was ill up there
in his cabin, and alone. Some
one ought to go . . .
She turned Black Lightning's
head and touched him into quick
er action.
The little cabin looked lonely
and deserted as she neared it.
Inside were orderliness and sim
plicity. The bunk on the other
side of the room was nearly made
and a Navajo blanket lay across
She went around slowly, look
ing at this thing and that. Be -
fore the shelf where the lump of
quartz lay she paused with a
startled exclamation. She knew
how Lee cherished her father's
memory, but still that was an
odd thing to do, to put her
father's name and the date of his
death on that piece .of quartz,
like an epitaph—or a grim re
minder.
(Continued Next Week)
\
Thursday, February S, IHQ
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