The Hennessey Clipper (Hennessey, Okla.), Vol. 22, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 1, 1911 Page: 3 of 8
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PROLOGUE
<A QUARTER OF A CENTURY BE-
FORE.
The Storm Within.
The storm was one of the worst
that had ever burst from the moun-
tain* and swept across the plains.
The wind came in wild bursts of tre-
mendous speed. Even In the lulls,
which were only comparatively such,
It blew perhaps 20 miles an hour. The
fierce blasts were laden with fine
6now—frozen spindrift from a while
ocean of cold! Needles of lc6 sharp-
er than their prototypes of steel cut
the bare flesh of those whom evil for-
tune kept abroad on such a night,
bringing the blood to the freezing
akin. The onslaught of the scream-
ing tempest drove the hapless cattle
mad with pain and terror. The thick
snow compelled them to huddle to-
gether at last, and shelterless to suf-
fer, freeze, and die In the pitiless hur-
ricane
Just where the foothills lose them-
•elves In the prairie lay huddled a llt-
.. tie town or camp. Every door and win-
dow was shut and barricaded against
the searching storm.
In one of the poorest and most mis-
erable shanties on the outskirts of the
town a woman waited alone. A com-
mon kerosene lamp stood on a table
before the window, Bet there as If In
signal.
The house, a mere shack which
shook and quivered under the tre-
mendous assaults of the storm, and
might have been blown down if It had
not been buttressed and protected by
heaps of snow yet threatening to over
whelm it. contained but one room, in
the corner farthest from the door
stood a tumbled, frowzy bed. A rick-
ety chest of drawers, a kitchen table, a
rusty cook stove, a few uncertain
chairs of the plainest and cheapest
quality, were all the rest of the fur-
niture. A few clothes hung from pegs
driven in the boarded wall. A saddle
(n one corner, a pickax and shovel, a
heavy quirt, and a rifle hanging from
pegs beneath a shelf sufficiently
pointed out the avocations of the
owner.
Yet she was a woman who, what-
ever her outward circumstances,
showed no poverty of spirit. She
raged up and down the room as a
prisoned tiger paces the narrow con-
fines of his cage. Sometimes she
paused and stopped by the window, to
rest her head beneath her hand on
the sash and peer eagerly, passion-
ately, out into the falling snow. She
could see nothing, and after having
stared with increased disappointment
and further mutterings of angry
words, she would resume her rest-
less backward and forward march.
Had there been any spectator when
she assumed that picturesque position
at the window, where the light, how-
ever It failed to illuminate the snow,
threw her own face and person in high
relief, the observer would have been
surprised at the coarse and yet not
unattractive beauty of her face and
figure. She was full lipped and deep
bosomed, tall, lithe, strong. Her
cheeks were full of color, her hair
black and coarsely crisp and curly.
Her hands, which she clasped and un-
clasped nervously, were large and
reddened by toil, but they were shape-
ly nevertheless. But there was neith-
er refinement nor goodness in her
face. There were great possibilities
of evil which experience could have
detected. Hers had been a hard life,
and It had made her a hard woman.
She was perhaps twenty-five years
old, but looked older.
For hours the woman had wnlted in
that hut alone. It had been storming
badly when she began her vigil, and
the violence of the tempest had in-
creased until she feared that no hu-
man soul could brave it. That she
very much wanted some one to at-
tempt It. that she very keenly, ardeift-
ly, longed for that, was quite evident.
Great is the power of love. Even
Its counterfeit—that which passes for
it In the eyes of the ignorant and in-
experienced—may stir men and wom-
en to mighty deeds. This woman
waited the arrival of one who fancied
himself a modern Perseus about to re-
lease another bound and helpless An-
dromeda from a devouring monster.
Whether the man who fatuously
filled that role—or the boy, rather, for
he had not reached man's years or
estate—would arrive before her hus-
band, was the problem that filled the
woman's mind. In view of the bllz-
lard raging, she might have wondered
whether, in case either of them
sought the house, they could And it or
reach it alive. If she had stopped to
consider that phase of the possibili-
ties. she would have been profoundly
glad had both ventured and had both
wandered on in the night until beaten
down and mastered by the spirit of
the storm, so that the searchers, after
Its violence had abated, might find
them frozen to death as many another
poor fellow was found frozen there-
after. For while the woman loathed
and hated her .drunken brute of a hus-
band, yet she had no affection for the
foolish young tenderfoot who had wan
dered out west to spend a summer
holiday and had lingered on through
the winter, fascinated by her exuber-
ant attractiveness, and flattered by
her bold and artful pursuit of him.
She had thought to amuse herself In
her dreary, wretched, sordid life by
his fresh, frank, open admiration. The
woman's drunken husband had cared
little at first; but lately, under the
jibes, sneers, and lnnuendos of his
companions, he had become fiercely
Jealous Then In maudlin fury he had
forbidden the boy the house, and had
sworn that he would kill him on
sight.
The woman thereupon swiftly made
up her mind to break the thraldom of
her matrimonial bond, and in the
young stranger's company or by his
agency to leave the country. She
neither desired nor intended to be
tied to the boy a half dozen years
younger than she.
Once In civilization it would be
easy to break away from him, she
knew. Thereafter she had no fear
but with her beauty, her wit, and her
courage, with her utter unscrupulous-
ness, she could make her way in the
east which she had never seen. And
this was the night on which they had
agreed to take their departure.
Since her husband's wild outbreak
of jealousy, she had seen the boy only
once. In that surreptitious interview
they had concocted their plans. Her
husband spent the greater part of the
nights, whenever he had any money,
in gambling and drinking at the sa-
loon. By a lucky chance a short time
before in an all night trial with For-
tune he had won something over
$1,000. The bulk of it in hard cash
gered Irto the room The woman J
tcieamed slightly and stepped tow aid
tho snow covered, Ice Intrusted figure.
The young nian forced tha door shut, j
turned and faced her. He tore off his j
fur cap and threw it on the floor, lie
stretched out his Icy gauntletted
hands toward her. To reach the cabin
he had been compelled to face the
blizzard. Ills face wa9 white yet
bleeding. The woman shrank back
from blni.
"Is this my welcome?" he said hi a
voice manly enough in spite of his
youthful aspect.
"You're so wet and so cold," said
the woman. "The horses?"
"They're outside." returned the
boy. "But you didn't think of ventur-
ing in this blizzard? Why, It's like
hell itself,' or would be if hell was
ciSld!"
"I'd risk anything." said the woman
fiercely, "to get away from him! You
won't fail me now?"
"But, my God, girl!" answered the
boy with that assumption of superior
age which so satisfied his pride, "we'll
die In this blizzard."
"No," persisted the woman. "See,
the storm comes straight from the
north. Our way is due south; we've
only to keep it at our backs."
"All right," said the boy cheerily.
He turned and stared out of the win-
dow. "You've no idea how terrible It
is, though."
"I don't care."
"Get ready, then."
"I'm ready," she replied. "See!"
She lifted the skirt of her dress and
showed him a pair of horseman's
boots with a pair of her husband's
trousers tucked tightly in them. "It's
a good thing he has a small foot," she
sneered.
"Curse him!" said the boy. "I'd
like to settle with him before we go."
"You'll settle with him enough,"
said the woman cynically, "when you
take me away from him."
She turned and took down from
one of the pegs a heavy fur overcoat.
The boy assisted her to put it on.
From a holster hanging on the wall
she drew a small sllver-moiinted 32-
calibered revolver.
"I'm ready," she said again.
"Let us start, then," cried the boy,
stepping forward.
On the instant a whirl of wind dis-
%
"You Are Going on a Longer Journey Than You Planned," He Panted.
still reposed in the chest of drawers.
That, with what the boy could con-
tribute, would provide for the expenses
of the journey. She had got it out
und tied it up in a little canvas bag.
It lay on the table near the lamp.
Fifteen miles south the Union Pa-
cific railroad ran across the continent.
It had been her plan to ride thither
and take the first train eastward,
losing themselves in Chicago, and
thence by whatsoever route pleased
them making their way to New York.
Whether her husband would pursue
her or not, she could not tell. He
would be without the money, since
she meant to take all with her. He
would hardly be able to follow her
very soon. But If he did, that was a
lisle she must take.
Engrossed in the present, the boy
thought nothing at all about the fu-
ture. The woman's predicament
bulked so large to his immature imagi-
nation that there was nothing else on
the horizon. There was no other hori-
zon than she, in fact. And his one
desire was to get her away to free
her.
And now this Btorm bade fair to
render the whole plan Impossible.
Misunderstanding his temper she fear-
ed that the boy would be frightened
by the blizzard. Yet there was more
In the boy than she Imagined; for
when she bad about made up her mind
finally that he would not come, the
door was thrown open and he stag-
closed to them that the door had sud-
denly opened. They turned to face
a drunken, infuriated, leering figure.
He had on a short, thick fur jacket,
which left his hips completely un-
covered. A heavy revolver had dah-
gled in his holster. He dragged it
out as he spoke aud trained it on the
boy.
"You're going for a longer journey
than you planned!" he panted thickly,
as he strove to steady the weapon and
cover the other.
The boy was fumbling at the rasten-
lnga of his coat. His own revolver
was not get-at-able instantly, as It
should have been and would have
been had he been a native to the
west.
"Fumble at 'em, you fool!" cried
the man. "Before you get 'em open,
I'll shoot you dead. I don't do It now,
cause I want you to taste death and
hell as long as possible before you
go into 'em. You thought you'd make
a fool out of me, did you, and you,
too, you—"
He flung a frightful, mordant word
at his wife which stung not less be-
cause It was in large measure unde-
served, at least so far as the boy was
concerned.
"I'll settle with you when I get
through with him. Your time's up!"
he continued, as the boy at last suc-
ceeded In reaching his weapon.
He was game, that boy. although his
face under Its blood was whiter than
It bad been when he entered the
cabin, while tho o'.her mail's, similarly 1
snow wounded, whs red with rage;
and. though he was covered and even
u drunk* n man colild rcnrcely miss at
such range, he 11 vertheless drew his
own weapon. But before he could
raise it there was a sudden movement
beck of him. The man in the door-
way turned sharply.
"What!" he cried to his wife. "You
would, you—"
At that instant the boy was con-
scious of a sudden Hash of light and a
sharp detonation. The room was
filled with noise, a little cloud of
suioke blew down on him. Standing with
his own pistol butt clasped tight In his
hand, lie saw the man In the doorway
reel. The arm that held his weapon
dropped to his side. With a convul-
sive movement he pulled the trigger
The bullet burled itself In tho floor,
while the man sank down on Ills
knees, swayed a moment, a frightful
look In his eyes, and then pitched for-
ward on his face and lay still.
"Good God!" whispered the boy
turning to his companion, "you've shot
him!"
He stared at the woman, who still
clasped the llttlw sliver mounted
weapon she had used with such ter-
rible effect.
"It was his life, or your life or
mine," was the answer. "1 did It for
you," she said quickly, seeing a look
of horror and repulsion spreading over
the face of her companion.
"Yes—yes! I know," he roplled;
"but—"
"Come, we must get out of here
Immediately."
"Of course, of course," whispered
the boy nervously, "we can't stay here
now."
"Drag him Into the room and shut
the door!"
The lad hesitated.
"Are you afraid?" sneered the
woman, making as if to do so herself.
"Certainly not," was the answer;
but the boy nevertheless was afraid—
afraid of death, with more fear than
he had ever felt for any one living.
Yet something had to bo done and at
once.
Forcing himself to the task at last,
he stooped down, seized the man by
the shoulders, turned him over on his
face, and dragged him farther into the
room. Then he shut tho door. The
two stared a moment at the prostrate
figure.
"He's not dead yet," said the hoy
slowly.
"No; but he soon will be." The
woman stooped over and unbuttoned
the man's coat and waistcoat. "There!"
she said, pointing to a ghastly hole.
"I struck him fair in the breast.
Would to God it'd been In his black
heart!" she added. "Don't you see
that we must go now and quick?
Come, we can't delay any longer."
"I'll take the blame on myself If
we're caught," said the boy. "It was
my fault and you saved my life."
"That's noble of you," returned the
woman indifferently; "but we won't be
caught."
"Well, then, I'll save your reputa-
tion before I go," continued the other
quixotically.
There were a few tattered books on
the shelf. He took one down, tore
out the flyleaf, drew a pencil from
his pocket, scribbled on it a few
words, signed It, held it to the woman
to read, laid the leaf down on the
body of the dying man, and then
turned to the door. He opened it, and
the woman followed him out into the
night.
The room was very still. Except
for the long, slow, faint, and fainter
breathing of the man, there was not
a sound within the hovel.
Death hovered over him the long
night through. The morning found
him still alive, yet barely breathing.
He was trembling on the eternal
verge later in the day when men seek-
ing him burst into the room. They
found the letter of confession still
lying where it had been placed. They
revived the man sufficiently by stim-
ulants to enable him to speak a preg-
nant word or two before his lips
closed forever.
The confession, the bullet that had
killed him, the empty revolver, aud
the man's last words, solemnly attest-
ed by those present, were carefully
preserved by the leader of tliem all.
They might be useful some day; who
knew? For the rest it was evident
what had happened. The boy and the
woman were gone from the camp. No
search was made for them; none was
possible. The blizzard had spent it-
self by that time; but the prairie was
covered deep with drifted snow. A
period of Intense cold supervened. It
was hardly within human possibility
that the two fugitives could have got
safely away. They must be buried
somewhere to the southward in the
vast drifts. Spring might reveal tlieir
fate, It might remain forever a secret.
So far as the denizens of the country
were concerned, the tragedy—one of
the numberless ones of the frontier—
was over. In a day or two It was for
gotten.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Three Pretty Styles
TI IK coat and skirt costume on
the figure at the left ia made In
a gray and white flecked tweed
wfth a herringbone stripe, and is in-
tended for girls from fifteen to eigh-
teen years old
The skirt has a panel back and
front and ia cut ofT at the sides and
finished with plaitings. The simple,
half-fitting coat ia made with lapped
' seams and fashioned with three but
I tons covered with the material.
1 The little boy's coat is of cream
! serge, fastening at the side and fin
| ished at the neck with a turnover col-
lar. It is trimmed with silk braid to
match and has a white kid belt. With
this is worn a cream corded silk haL
The little girl's coat iB an entlroljr
new model; this one is inade of
champagne-colored cloth, trimmed at
the bottom with a broad band of
stitched cloth over the ends, of which
the fronts form points, fastened with
i buttons
j The wide collar ia faced with shan-
tung silk to match, on which ara
scattered in an irregular way small
orange-colored spots The buttons on
this coat are covered in a very orig-
inal fashion, partly with the cloth
and partly with the shantung silk.
FROM HEAVY LINEN SKIRT! CHILD'S PUMPS FOR DANCING
Many and Lasting Doilies Made by
One Clever and Resourceful
Woman.
The housekeeper whose Bupply of
doilies is getting low should look over
her summer wardrobe and see if there
are any heavy linen skirts not worth
making over, but whose material will
last for years.
These can be cut into doilies of
various sizes. One woman from the
best parts of a nine-gored skirt cut
an oval centerpiece, twelve plate
dollies and twelve tumbler dollies to
match, with four smaller ovals for
under dishes. The plate doilies were
nine Inches In diameter finished arid
the tumbler doilies five inches.
There was no extra cost for stamp-
ing, as the edges were finished with
a grouped scallop, the central one be-
ing twice the size of that on each,
side. This applied to the doily brought
two of the smaller scallops side by
side, with a large one between every
two.
The scallops were padded with
chain-stitch and worked In No. 30 mer-
cerized white cotton, in a close but-
tonholo Btltch
In the center of each scallop was
worked ah eyelet, that In the big seal
lop being larger than the others. A
second row of the smaller size was
added, placed opposite the point where
the two small scallops join This gives
a pyramidal effect alternating with
the larger eyelets. At one side of
each doily was embroidered initials in
small block letters.
This design is easy to copy if one
experiments with the correct sized
scallop for each dolly.
For a Butterfly Fete.
At the supper lable have a bowl or
bed of flowers with butterflies hover
ing above and i>olsed on the blossoms
as a centerpiece. Let the candle shades
be flower-trimmed, with a brilliant
moth with outspread wings glued to
the side of each. Have the place
cards butterfly outlines cut from art
paper and daintily colored. The des-
sert could he ice cream In butterfly
shape and if so desired the delicious
little "butterfly cream" cakes, which
any baker can supply. Candies in
flower forms are particularly pretty
for the bonbon dishes at such a fete.
Slightly Modified.
Little Viola had dleveioped the habit
cf holding her thumb in her mouth,
even while eating. Mother had re-
sorted to all sorts of methods to
correct the child and finally In despera-
tion said;
"Viola, the first thing you know yon
will swallow your thumb, and then
what will you do?"
"Wall, mother, 1 should hate to swal-
low it because I'd have a heaven of a
time without It."
"Why, Viola," said the astonished
mother, where did you bear an expres-
sion like that?"
"Well, veil," hesitated the little girl.
"I didn't hear It exactly like that,
mother, but 1 thought l would sound
better."
Among the Silks.
Another old-timer which the modes
j are reviving again this season Is gren-
adine. It is soft and filmy of weave,
of silken texture anil charming for the
1 modish draped gowns and veiled ef-
i fects.
Quite new are the two-toned silk
grtnadijies. These are quite wide,
some In numerous color combinations,
and are not extremely expensive.
They are most suitable for afternoon,
recept'on and dinner gowns.
New Idea Has Many Points of Im-
portance That Are Well Worth
Consideration.
A party of young women who were
training to dance In private theatricals
were told by their instructress to buy
children's patent leather dancing
pumps, with rounded toes, low heels
and narrow strap over the instep.
They rather begrudged the money
as they thought the pumps were for
one occasion only. So comfortable
did they prove that every one of those
girls will wear nothing else around
the house in the evening It saves
their handsomer slippers and the low
heels are restful to the back and In-
cidentally to nerves.
For a very tall girl, these pumps
are especially suitable as the lowness
of the heels reduce her height and
bring her Into more normal stature.
BOY'S SERGE SUIT.
Fine Cotton Crepe.
One of the new fabrics which at-
tracts the shopper's eye is a new Jap-
anese crepe in plain colors, as well as
all the fascinating floral patterns.
This differs from the usual run of cot-
ton craps In that the crinkle is ex-
tremely line, In fact, as the most ex-
pensive crepe de chine.
Serge or drill are the material*
generally chosen for a suit like this,
either white or navy; when the suit
Is white, the collar should be blue,
and with a navy suit a white collar
looks well; the singlet may be of fine
flannel or drill, embroidered with an
anchor.
♦laterial required: Two yards 46
Inches wide.
The Newest Sleeves.
Two.-thlrds of the dresses sent out
by smart designers have fancy sleeves,
often transparent, sometimes by no
means so The dimensions of the
sleeves are always small when the
material Is of close weave; and about
half the elaborate evening frocks, par-
ticularly for matrons, are sleeveless,
with Inch-wide bretelles to support the
waists, many of which are astonish-
ingly decollete.—Harper's Bazar
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Sprague, G. E. The Hennessey Clipper (Hennessey, Okla.), Vol. 22, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 1, 1911, newspaper, June 1, 1911; Hennessey, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc105763/m1/3/: accessed April 26, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.