EDITION OF THE 
 FAMOUS STORV BY 
 
 RET HARTE 
 
 PHOTO JPJLAY EDITION
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNI.- 
 
 SAN DIEGO
 
 SALOMY JANE S KISS
 
 (Page 48) 
 HER WAY LAY THROUGH THE FOREST OF GIANT TREES 
 
 Beatriz Michflena as Salotny Jane
 
 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 Photo -Play Edition 
 
 REVISED AND ELABORATED VERSION 
 
 OF THE FAMOUS STORY 
 
 BY 
 
 BRET HARTE 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY BRET HARTE 
 
 COPYRIGHT, IQOO, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN * CO. 
 COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THE photo-play drama of " Salomy Jane s 
 Kiss" was based upon Paul Armstrong s 
 dramatized version of Bret Harte s story, 
 one of the most popular of all the tales told 
 by this greatest writer of the pioneer days 
 in California. Many incidents are intro 
 duced which are not to be found in the 
 original version. In amplifying the story, 
 the photo-play has been followed closely, 
 and the reader will find in the book some 
 of the characters so familiar to lovers of 
 Bret Harte, such as Mr. Jack Hamlin, 
 Colonel Starbottle, and Yuba Bill. There 
 has been no attempt to follow the dramatic 
 version of Mr. Paul Armstrong. 
 
 The illustrations are reproduced from 
 photographs of the photo-play, taken in 
 the famous California redwoods, and used 
 in the book through the kind permission of 
 the California Motion Picture Corporation.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 I. THE PIONEERS 3 
 
 II. A NEW HOME AND AN OLD STORY . 15 
 
 III. A HELPFUL SUITOR 26 
 
 IV. THE STRANGER 34 
 
 V. TROUBLE BREWING 43 
 
 VI. THE HOLD-UP 59 
 
 VII. A LADY S COMMAND .... 70 
 
 VIII. THE VIGILANTES 86 
 
 IX. AN ERRANT BRACELET .... 100 
 
 X. TRAPPED 115 
 
 XI. A Kiss AND AN ESCAPE . . .123 
 XII. SALOMY S REFLECTIONS .... 134 
 
 XIII. THE KlSS REPEATED . . . .14! 
 
 XIV. ANOTHER ESCAPE 155 
 
 XV. INTO THE FUTURE 167
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 HER WAY LAY THROUGH THE FOREST OF 
 GIANT TREES (page 48) . . . Frontispiece 
 Beatriz Michelena as Salomy Jane 
 
 IT HAD BEEN A DAY OF TRIUMPH FOR 
 
 COLONEL STARBOTTLE 16 
 
 COLONEL CULPEPPER STARBOTTLE . 18 
 
 "YES, WE COME FROM K.AINTUCKY," SAID 
 SALOMY JANE 22 
 
 WAS THIS, AFTER ALL, THE MAN? ... 42 
 
 AT RED PETE S HOUSE 48 
 
 YUBA BILL ON THE Box 60 
 
 THE SCORN IN THE GIRL S EYES FLAYED 
 HIM 76 
 
 THE STRANGER IN SEARCH OF FOWLER . . 78 
 
 THE VIGILANTES SWUNG ALONG THE ROAD 
 TO THE SOUTH 98 
 
 "TELL us JEST ONE FAIRY TALE, S LOMY" 106 
 THE Kiss . 128
 
 x ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 "You JUST LIE LOW, DAD, FOR A DAY OR 
 TWO" 144 
 
 IT WAS THE STRANGER THE MAN SHE 
 HAD KISSED 146 
 
 "QUICK! QUICK!" SAID SALOMY HOARSELY. 
 "THEY RE COMIN " 174 
 
 From Photographs supplied by the California 
 Motion Picture Corporation
 
 SALOMY JANE S KISS
 
 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE PIONEERS 
 
 THE grind and rattle of heavy wheels 
 crunching the brittle ground under the 
 white-topped wagons ; the creak of the har 
 ness; the crack of the long whips over the 
 horses heads ; the shouted imprecations and 
 coaxings of the drivers, as the wagons 
 lurched and rolled along the rocky road - 
 all these sounds were borne ahead on the 
 fresh morning breeze to a young girl sitting 
 a white horse with true Kentucky grace. 
 
 The train, consisting of two large prairie 
 wagons and several led horses, belonged to 
 Madison Clay, late of Kentucky, whose 
 middle-aged figure jolted this way and that 
 on the seat of the foremost wagon as he 
 guided his horses along the uneven grade
 
 4 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 of the Sierra slope. He urged his animals 
 with a vehemence and vigor which belied 
 his white hair. 
 
 "S lomy! S lomy Jane," he called, bring 
 ing his team to a halt, and cupping his 
 mouth with his hands so that his voice 
 might carry. The girl ahead turned her 
 horse, and cantered back to her father. 
 
 A lithe, supple young figure she was; 
 straight and vigorous, with head held high, 
 her tumbled brown curls dancing in the 
 breeze. 
 
 "What is it, Dad?" she drawled, and 
 drew up her horse beside him. 
 
 " Thought as how we d better stop and 
 have dinner," her father said. 
 
 "Oh, I dunno, Dad," she demurred. 
 " Reckon we might strike water if we keep 
 on a little farther. S posin I go on and try 
 my luck." 
 
 The old man nodded his assent, and 
 gathering up the reins, urged the tired ani 
 mals forward.
 
 THE PIONEERS 5 
 
 Months before, Madison Clay had heard 
 of the wonderful discovery of gold in Cali 
 fornia. He considered himself too old to 
 join in the mad rush across the continent 
 in search of the yellow metal, but along with 
 the tales of sudden wealth came also stories 
 of the fair pasture lands, and the golden 
 opportunities for cattle-raising. For weeks 
 he had pondered over it, hesitating to give 
 up the home of his fathers for the uncer 
 tainties of this new country. In the end, 
 however, Salomy had settled the matter, 
 if somewhat indirectly. 
 
 The Clays and another family, the Lar- 
 rabees, had been enemies in an old feud 
 which had extended over several genera 
 tions. The bitterness, though smouldering, 
 was just as acute between Madison Clay 
 and Bill Larrabee as it had been between 
 their great-grandfathers. Each man had 
 but one child; Larrabee a son, "Ched," 
 and Madison Clay a daughter, Salomy 
 Jane. By a trick of fate, Ched Larrabee
 
 6 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 had developed a "sneakin regard" for Sa- 
 lomy, but that young lady ignored his ad 
 vances, and snubbed him on every possible 
 occasion, much to her father s satisfac 
 tion, and to the disgust of the elder Lar- 
 rabee. 
 
 The climax came one night, when, re 
 turning from a quilting-bee at which the 
 raw "moonshiners " whiskey had been all 
 too plentiful, Ched met Salomy Jane, and 
 attempted to kiss her. When she told her 
 father of it, the old man, in a rage, swore 
 that he would kill Ched Larrabee. The 
 next morning he fired upon him as the 
 young man was riding by, and the incident 
 put the small village in an uproar. It was 
 just enough to bring all the latent hatred 
 in both families to the surface. 
 
 Luckily for Clay, all the male members 
 of the Larrabee family were away on a pro 
 tracted hunting expedition, with the ex 
 ception of Ched. Whether from cowardice 
 or from regard for the years of the older
 
 THE PIONEERS 7 
 
 man, the boy did not retaliate, and when 
 Clay had cooled down, he decided that it was 
 the best possible time, if ever, to move to 
 California. The idea met with instant favor 
 from Salomy. Arranging with a kinsman to 
 have his farm sold, Clay hastened to pro 
 cure two prairie wagons, spacious and 
 fairly comfortable. These were hurriedly 
 stocked, and on a sunny morning, Salomy 
 Jane sprang into the saddle, Madison Clay 
 to the seat of the first wagon, and a young 
 cousin, Joe, gathered up the reins in the 
 second. With a great waving of hands and 
 shouting of good-byes, the cavalcade moved 
 off, leaving behind their home in the Ken 
 tucky hills. 
 
 They had been traveling for weeks. 
 Starting off, with only the idea of reaching 
 California in mind, they had since settled 
 on, as their destination, Hangtown in the 
 Sierras, the most notoriously celebrated of 
 the many mining-camps that had sprung 
 up, overnight, in the mad rush for gold. In
 
 8 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 the last week every one they had met had 
 asked them if they were "headed for" 
 Hangtown. That seemed to be the Mecca 
 for all travelers, so at length, instead of 
 answering "Dunno" to the question, Madi 
 son had come to answer "Yes." 
 
 The hardest part of the long journey had 
 been the hot, breathless days crossing the 
 plains of the Middle West, and it was a 
 relief to have reached the foothills of the 
 Sierras. They could not be far from their 
 journey s end now, thought the girl. Her 
 tired eyes sparkled with their wonted 
 brightness at the prospect of reaching 
 Hangtown soon, and she spurred her horse 
 forward, patting his neck affectionately. 
 He sniffed and threw up his head; "water 
 ahead " his nose told him, and breaking into 
 a gallop, they came in a few minutes to a 
 rushing little stream. 
 
 Giving him a moment in which to drink, 
 Salomy surveyed the stream, wondering at 
 which point they might be able to ford it.
 
 THE PIONEERS 9 
 
 Then she wheeled and galloped back to the 
 first wagon. 
 
 "Stream ahead, Dad," she called. "Yer 
 better slow up." 
 
 The brakes went on with a nerve-racking 
 screech. 
 
 "All right, S lomy. You go on ag in, 
 and we ll foller yer," her father answered. 
 Then, leaning far out of his seat, he called 
 the warning to the tired boy in the wagon 
 behind. The horses, glad of the respite, 
 slowed down to a walk, and, following the 
 white horse, came in a few minutes to the 
 stream. 
 
 They had been traveling steadily for six 
 hours, and Salomy slipped out of the saddle, 
 and sank onto the cool green grass. 
 
 "Let s stop here for a snack, Dad," she 
 suggested. "We re not likely to find as cool 
 a spot as this later on, and I m gettin hun 
 gry. What about you, Joe?" she called to 
 the boy, who was already wading with bare 
 feet in the limpid water.
 
 io SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 "Oh, I m allus ready to eat, S lomy. 
 Come on and take your shoes and stockin s 
 off, too, fer a minute. You, too, Uncle 
 Mad," he invited. 
 
 Madison was too comfortably settled 
 in the shade of one of the giant redwoods 
 to be allured by the prospect, but Salomy 
 welcomed the suggestion with glee, and in 
 a few minutes she and the boy were splash 
 ing about, making the quiet spot ring with 
 their laughter. Finally, she ended the fun 
 with a reminder that they must eat their 
 midday meal, and be on the road once 
 more. 
 
 When their few utensils were again 
 packed away, Salomy sprang into the sad 
 dle, and urged her horse into the stream. 
 For a moment he hesitated. Then he took 
 the water gallantly, and, finding the ford, 
 began to swim for the other side. Clay 
 whipped up his horses, and the first wagon, 
 followed by Joe s, splashed into the stream. 
 One by one they gained the other side, the
 
 THE PIONEERS n 
 
 horses stamping and shaking and snorting. 
 After a few moments rest the train moved 
 on. 
 
 The road was a clear stretch ahead, and 
 Salomy walked her horse beside her father. 
 
 "Tired, Dad?" she inquired. 
 
 "Not so much, Salomy. You and Joe 11 
 be all wore out, though, gal, when we git to 
 the end." 
 
 "I don t care. It ll be good to git to a 
 place where them durned Larrabees are 
 among the missin . How much further do 
 you reckon we ve got to go, Dad?" 
 
 "They told us this mornin that we 
 ought to be there by noon. Seems like we 
 oughter be gittin thar right soon." 
 
 The conversation lagged, and they rode 
 along in silence. Suddenly, Salomy straight 
 ened up in her saddle. Down the trail she 
 could discern a man on horseback, riding 
 toward them. He reined in as he drew near, 
 and greeted them in the laconic vernacular 
 of the country.
 
 12 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 "Howdy." 
 
 "Howdy," Clay replied. "Kin you tell 
 us how fur we are from Hangtown?" 
 
 1 T ain t more n five miles, now. Is 
 that whar you re headed for? What s your 
 name?" 
 
 "Madison Clay. We come from Kain- 
 tucky. We cal late to settle down in Hang- 
 town. Be you from thar?" 
 
 The man shook his head. 
 
 "No. I m hittin the trail for Three 
 Forks. Gold or cattle-raisin ? " he asked as 
 a final question. 
 
 "Cattle-raisin , I guess. Too old for the 
 gold fever, I be," said Madison. 
 
 The stranger removed his hat, and 
 scratched his head. 
 
 "I dunno as you be. I seen older n you 
 diggin around for the dust. Never could 
 make out why they wanted gold, when they 
 were along in years. Oughter leave it to the 
 young fellers, I say." He replaced his hat, 
 and jerked up his trousers.
 
 THE PIONEERS 13 
 
 "Wall, I ll be meanderin along. You 
 folks 11 git to Hangtown afore the stage if 
 yer push on right smart. So long." 
 
 A touch of the spur to his sensitive horse, 
 and he was gone. Salomy smiled at her 
 father. 
 
 "Come on, Dad. Only five miles more. 
 We ll sleep there to-night, they all say." 
 
 The prospect put new life into the tired 
 group. Joe began to sing at the top of his 
 lusty young lungs, accompanying himself 
 by cracking the whip in time to his melody, 
 and the wagons moved on again. They 
 trundled along, now sinking in a road, white 
 and dusty in the sunshine; now through 
 cool forest aisles, winding among the giant 
 redwoods. Emerging from the forest, they 
 reached the crest of a hill, and looking about 
 them, they could see a straggling settlement 
 of rude shacks, nestling below them in the 
 valley. Salomy pointed to them. 
 
 "I reckon as how that s Hangtown, Dad. 
 Somehow t ain t like I thought it d be,"
 
 i 4 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 she said with thinly veiled disappoint 
 ment. 
 
 "What d you expect, S lomy?" Joe 
 piped up. "Somethin like the Promised 
 Land, with gold n towers and sich? Yer 
 oughter think yer mighty lucky to be here ; 
 we did n t meet no Indians or sich, did we, 
 Uncle Mad? We got a lot to be thankful 
 for." 
 
 "Oh, shut up, Joe," snapped Salomy. 
 "You talk too much for a youngster. I m 
 thankful we re here, same as you be, but 
 thar ain t no call to hold a prayer meetin 
 on the spot. Come on."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 A NEW HOME AND AN OLD STORY 
 
 IT had been a day of triumph for Colonel 
 Starbottle. First for his personality, as it 
 would have been difficult to separate the 
 Colonel s achievements from his individu 
 ality; second for his oratorical abilities as 
 a sympathetic pleader; and third for his 
 functions as the leading legal counsel. On 
 his strictly legal performances in this issue 
 it may be best not to speak; there were 
 those who denied them, although the jury 
 had accepted them in the face of the ruling 
 of the half-amused, half-cynical judge him 
 self. For an hour they had laughed with the 
 Colonel, wept with him ; then stirred to per 
 sonal indignation or patriotic exaltation by 
 his passionate and lofty periods, what else 
 could they do than give him their verdict ? 
 If it was alleged by some that the American
 
 1 6 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 eagle, Thomas Jefferson, and the Resolu 
 tions of 98 had nothing whatever to do with 
 the contest over a doubtfully worded legis 
 lative document; that wholesale abuse of 
 the State Attorney and his political mo 
 tives had not the slightest connection with 
 the legal question raised, it was, never 
 theless, generally accepted that the losing 
 party would have been only too glad to have 
 the Colonel on their side, and Colonel Star- 
 bottle knew this as perspiring, florid, and 
 panting, he rebuttoned the lower buttons 
 of his blue frock-coat, which had become 
 loosened in an oratorical spasm, and re 
 adjusted his old-fashioned, spotless shirt 
 frill above it as he strutted from the court 
 room amidst the handshakings and ac 
 clamations of his friends. 
 
 And here an unprecedented thing oc 
 curred. The Colonel absolutely declined 
 spirituous refreshment at the neighboring 
 saloon, and made his way to the stables, 
 where he procured conveyance to Hang-
 
 A NEW HOME 17 
 
 town, arriving some little time before Yuba 
 Bill and the stage were due. 
 
 Before proceeding to his office, pride bent 
 his steps toward the general store, where by 
 chance he arrived just as the Clays, with 
 Salomy astride the white mare, drew up. 
 
 Madison Clay had just clambered down 
 from his uncomfortable seat and was ac 
 costing Jack Hamlin, who could always be 
 counted on to do the honors of welcoming 
 host, when Colonel Starbottle caught the 
 full round accent which marked the native 
 of his home State. 
 
 "Excuse me, sah," broke in the Colonel. 
 "Excuse me, but am I right in my conjec 
 ture that you belong to the Blue Grass 
 region? If so, sah, permit me to bid you 
 welcome. My name is Starbottle, Colonel 
 Culpepper Starbottle, formerly of Shelby- 
 ville." And the Colonel, removing his tall 
 gray hat, embraced both father and daughter 
 in his profound bow. 
 
 "Right glad to meet up with you, sah,"
 
 1 8 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 replied Clay, with unusual warmth for him. 
 "I am told this is a likely country and I 
 want ter find some one who 11 show me the 
 best place to locate," he added by way of 
 explanation. 
 
 "Well met, sah," the Colonel hastened 
 to add. "We are both in good luck, as I 
 have just returned from Wingdam, where 
 I have been for a few days on a matter of 
 legal importance. Ef you will honor me 
 with a call at my office over yonder, I feel 
 reasonably sure, sah, that I can satisfy you, 
 for beside my profession, which is the law, 
 Mr. er--Mr. " 
 
 "Madison Clay s my name," interposed 
 Clay. 
 
 "Mr. Clay, sah, I handle real estate for 
 the surrounding country. Your daughter, 
 I see, is already occupied, so per aps we 
 may leave her for the moment." So say 
 ing, the Colonel, ceremoniously placing his 
 arm through that of his companion, led the 
 way across the road to the somewhat dilap-
 
 COLONEL CULPEPPER STARBOTTLE
 
 A NEW HOME 19 
 
 idated building which served him as office 
 and temporary home. 
 
 Meanwhile, Salomy Jane was the recipient 
 of a welcome equally warm, but necessarily 
 guarded by the dictates of a decorum which 
 Mr. Jack Hamlin invariably imposed not 
 only upon himself, but upon all men in the 
 presence of ladies. Audacious and self-con 
 fident, few men cared to stand in the way of 
 his pocket derringer, his constant compan 
 ion, while all were in awe of his command 
 of English. In short, Gentleman Jack was 
 at once the idol and the prophet of the 
 Sierras and a hero with the fair sex. It was 
 therefore natural that he should be the first 
 to approach Salomy, who, still perching se 
 curely in the saddle, stroked the drooping 
 neck of her jaded mare, and viewed the 
 motley group of men before her with un 
 concern, chewing sturdily on a piece of well- 
 worn and thoroughly devitalized gum. 
 
 "Miss Clay, I believe I caught the name, 
 permit me to offer you a welcome to our
 
 20 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 country and to hope that you and your 
 father intend to locate near by," said Ham 
 lin, removing his glistening silk hat, reveal 
 ing in the sunlight a handsome, clear-cut 
 face topped with dark shining hair, evenly 
 parted. His figure was tall, well formed, and 
 supple, and he was dressed immaculately in 
 a frock-suit which gave the appearance of 
 just having come from the tailor s. 
 
 "Thanks," replied Salomy, eyeing him 
 indifferently. 
 
 Unabashed, Hamlin continued easily. 
 "You must be tired, and as your father is 
 apt to be some little time with Colonel 
 Starbottle, perhaps you would like to dis 
 mount. May I help you?" 
 
 Again the syllabic "Thanks" was re 
 peated, as Salomy slid to the ground unas 
 sisted. 
 
 "Let me introduce my good friends, Ash- 
 ton Fowler, Rube Waters, Phil Larrabee, 
 and Andy Bartlett," continued Hamlin, in 
 dicating each as he called their names, and
 
 A NEW HOME 21 
 
 then, offering a chair which stood close to 
 the door, he called mischievously, "Kitty, 
 Kitty, new arrivals and a worthy com 
 petitor to you. * 
 
 There was an interval of silence before a 
 young woman of certain attraction and un 
 certain manners appeared at the open door, 
 and, pointing laughingly at Hamlin, said, 
 
 "Another conquest for you, you shy, re 
 tiring creature." There was a general laugh 
 in which Salomy joined, while the other 
 woman approached and held out her hand, 
 man fashion, for the "shake" of welcome 
 which this free-living country, God s own 
 country they claimed it, engendered. 
 
 Fowler, who had remained quiet, his eyes 
 steadily fixed upon Salomy, relaxed his 
 attitude of attention and interposed. 
 
 " Perhaps Miss Clay will tell us where she 
 comes from. I judged from the Colonel s 
 form of welcome that you are from Ken 
 tucky, and if so, I can only say that its 
 horses make a poor second to its ladies."
 
 22 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 "Its horses are good enough, I reckon," 
 said the girl, ignoring the compliment. 
 "Thet thar mare carried me all the way 
 a thout so much as a whinny," indicating 
 the white horse with a jerk of her head 
 which brought into play the wealth of curls 
 carelessly caught together with a brown 
 ribbon. 
 
 "Yes, we come from Kaintucky," she 
 continued; "mebbe yer know some folks 
 thar." 
 
 "N no," replied Fowler, slowly, his 
 eyes taking in the group. "I ve heard so 
 much about Culpepper and Shelbyville and 
 the Blue Grass from the Colonel that I feel 
 as if I might recognize it when I saw it." 
 
 "He don t seem to know any place in the 
 East, though he come from thar," broke in 
 Rube Waters, a silent, callow youth of 
 fairly pleasing appearance, and a noncom 
 mittal manner which might be taken to 
 indicate a lack of self-confidence or the pos 
 session of a jealous disposition.
 
 A NEW HOME 23 
 
 "Come, no inquisition," interposed Ham- 
 lin; "we like to see folks here. This is a free 
 country; no questions asked; help your 
 selves; only stay on your own side of the 
 fence; those are our principles. I bear no 
 man ill-will if he minds his own business 
 and plays fair and honors the ladies ; other 
 wise he runs up against this thing." Here 
 Jack Hamlin tapped his vest pocket with an 
 affectionate gesture, which brought a smile 
 to those who knew how quickly that move 
 ment could be transformed into a dangerous 
 menace. 
 
 Salomy, outwardly stolid and unrespon 
 sive, was quickly observant. Her keen eyes 
 had taken in the group which she realized 
 were soon to be her nearest neighbors and 
 she unconsciously compared these men of 
 action, now indolent, lazy, and openly ad 
 miring, to those sturdy youths at home 
 whose overtures she had always met with 
 fiery refusal. To her, Man denoted an an 
 tagonist. She had never fallen victim to love.
 
 24 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 A proud, handsome girl she had been the 
 coveted treasure of many a youth, but she 
 had never responded to advances even from 
 Ched Larrabee, whose courting had ended 
 in such misfortune. Perhaps he of all the 
 men had been most in her thoughts, but 
 the family feud had interposed to place him 
 beyond the range of possibility. As these 
 thoughts passed through her mind, there 
 came the consciousness that Man was much 
 the same the world over, and even Hamlin s 
 handsome figure failed to arouse a spark 
 of interest. 
 
 Turning, she saw that her father was ap 
 proaching arm in arm with the Colonel, in 
 much the same attitude as they had left the 
 store, and rising she went to meet him. 
 
 "Well, my dear young lady," called the 
 Colonel, with his accustomed salute, "I 
 have persuaded your father to examine a 
 holding which I venture to predict will 
 please you both. It is a farm to be proud of, 
 building er land, and er er in
 
 A NEW HOME 25 
 
 short, it is an estate er a gentle 
 man s estate. I feel confident that your 
 father will take to it as a duck takes to 
 water, Miss, and I suggest that we proceed 
 at once, so that if it suits, you may find 
 time to settle before night falls." 
 
 Without more ado, the colonel clambered 
 up on the seat beside Clay while Salomy 
 mounted with the graceful assistance of 
 Hamlin, and the newcomers took up their 
 final journey amid the vociferous farewells 
 of the admiring group about the store, in 
 response to which, Salomy gave a casual 
 wave of her hand.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A HELPFUL SUITOR 
 
 THE house was about four miles distant. 
 Contrasted with the cabins scattered along 
 the road, it was a superior dwelling, al 
 though somewhat out of repair, with a long 
 " lean-to" at the rear, which brought the 
 eaves almost to the ground and made it 
 look like a low triangle. 
 
 There was a long barn with cattle sheds 
 which rejoiced Clay, for his intention was to 
 raise cattle and not to enter the field as a 
 prospector. 
 
 Assisting his new clients to alight with 
 that flourish of gallantry which inevitably 
 attended his every act in the presence of 
 the fair sex, Colonel Starbottle procured a 
 key which painfully turned a squeaking 
 lock and permitted the door to fall back 
 upon its uncertain hinges.
 
 A HELPFUL SUITOR 27 
 
 "Step right in, Miss er Miss er 
 
 - Young Lady, if you please. I am de 
 lighted er to have the proud distinc 
 tion of er welcoming you to a home I 
 sincerely trust will protect you for many 
 a year," said the Colonel, removing his 
 gray tall hat with the characteristic flourish 
 which had already become familiar. 
 
 "To you, sah, I can only add that the 
 privilege of having a son of old Kaintucky 
 for a neighbor will be a rare treat to me, 
 sah, and I trust er we may become 
 firm friends as well as neighbors. I only 
 wish that we might pledge the thought, - 
 yes, sah, pledge the thought in the er 
 
 - appropriate manner, but that can wait 
 until you are my guest, Mister er- 
 Clay, an honor I soon hope to have." 
 
 During this speech, so reminiscent of the 
 home days, Salomy had peered about her, 
 and while her father was bidding the Colo 
 nel farewell and adjusting certain details 
 regarding the transaction, she had discov-
 
 28 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 ered a sitting-room, already sparsely fur 
 nished with a haircloth sofa and a few 
 dilapidated chairs, out of which led a 
 comfortable kitchen with stove and table. 
 It took her but a moment to scamper up 
 the narrow flight of stairs, to find two sleep 
 ing-rooms, quite bare, but roomy and free 
 from any smell of dampness. Indeed, the 
 whole house was dry and clean, much to her 
 surprise and delight. 
 
 Although weary and spent with the hard 
 ship of the long journey, of the weeks passed 
 in the saddle under the parching sun, of the 
 nights in the close and ill-smelling van, she 
 was eager to have the house in order and 
 delighted to find that with her father and 
 Joe was one of the younger men from the 
 settlement who had followed, drawn by her 
 beauty and the desire for closer acquaint 
 ance. He was leaning on the shaky gate 
 post somewhat moodily puffing on the re 
 mains of a pipe which had seen better days. 
 As Salomy came from the porch he turned
 
 A HELPFUL SUITOR 29 
 
 quickly, and taking off his hat with an air 
 of doing so for the first time, said haltingly: 
 
 "I m Reuben Waters; member meetin 
 me at ther store? Rube they call me, an 
 you kin too ef yer like. I thought mebbe I 
 mought help a little an so I come along, 
 but, o course, I ll go back if you don t 
 want me." 
 
 "You re mighty kind," replied Salomy, 
 between the measured chewing of an un 
 usually generous piece of gum, and, con 
 tinuing - 
 
 "Ef you was to bring in the kitchen 
 things, I reckon we could get a bite to eat 
 and then move in the rest with Dad. He s 
 gettin acquainted with the barn. Tears 
 to me a likely place. Hev you bin here 
 long?" 
 
 " Erbout two years," gasped Rube, strug 
 gling with a load of pots and pans which he 
 managed to deposit in the kitchen without 
 disaster, and then added : 
 
 " I ain t much of a farmer, although my
 
 30 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 folks have a likely herd o cattle over 
 yonder. I bin arter the gold most of the 
 time; the luck s ag in me so far." With 
 which, Rube departed for another load. 
 
 Off and on during the afternoon Rube 
 would pause and deliver a few jerky re 
 marks upon Hangtown and its elite, and in 
 this way Salomy and her father gained much 
 information about their new neighbors and 
 more especially of Jack Hamlin and Fowler, 
 who, to Rube, were types of humanity gen 
 erally to be envied. 
 
 To Larrabee he gave but few words until 
 Clay struck in sharply with - 
 
 "Larrabee? Who s he?" 
 
 "Oh, Phil Larrabee don t amount to 
 much," returned Rube, with the swagger of 
 one who is safe in the knowledge of being 
 free from contradiction. "He s been out 
 here er long while. Don t do much but hang 
 about the store. They s quite a settlement 
 of em. Him an his half-brothers an a par 
 cel o women folks. They come from the
 
 A HELPFUL SUITOR 31 
 
 East when the yellow stuff was first dis 
 covered, but they did n t strike none an 
 they just drift along. Why? What s he 
 to you?" 
 
 "Nothin . I just heerd the name once or 
 twice," returned Clay, musing upon the 
 coincidence which had brought so clearly to 
 his mind the painful cause of his leaving the 
 old home so dear to his thoughts. 
 
 Rube worked hard, at least for him, and 
 once or twice, as he delivered to Salomy 
 some of the lighter articles, their hands met, 
 and the thrill which set his pulses beating 
 spurred him on to greater activities. He 
 fetched and carried well on into the even 
 ing hours and was rewarded with an invi 
 tation to supper, the first meal in the new 
 house, now made partly homelike by the 
 addition of all the worldly belongings Clay 
 had been able to bring from Kentucky. 
 
 " I can t thank you enough, Rube," said 
 Salomy at his parting. 
 
 "Yes, yer ken; yer can let me come
 
 32 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 ag in," returned Rube, getting bolder as 
 he realized that he was first in a field likely 
 to become a hotly contested one; for the 
 glimpse he had of the Clay belongings told 
 him they would add an importance to 
 Salomy which it would take all her reserve 
 and inaccessibility to offset. Her reserve, 
 the result of a cool, lazy Southern tempera 
 ment, was something Rube did not reckon 
 with, and her cheery "Sure, come ag in 
 soon," remained in his mind as an advance 
 on her part which boded good fortune. 
 
 Meanwhile, Madison Clay had sunk into 
 his chair, his pipe cold between his teeth, 
 his head bent in reverie. Salomy s protect 
 ing admiration for him had grown since 
 her mother s death, and the feud, which had 
 been revived by her unfortunate encounter 
 with Ched Larrabee, had brought father 
 and daughter more closely together, and 
 had, at the same time, prejudiced her 
 against men in general. As for Mr. Clay, 
 he accepted her as housewifely, though
 
 A HELPFUL SUITOR 33 
 
 somewhat "interfering" and being one of 
 "his own womankind," therefore not with 
 out some merit. 
 
 "It s bed time, Dad," said Salomy, 
 gently touching his shoulder. "What yer 
 thinkin on?" 
 
 "Larrabee," replied her father. "I don t 
 like the name here any better than I did 
 back home," as he fell back into his atti 
 tude of dejected musing.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE STRANGER 
 
 IT was an unusually hot day. The Hang- 
 town General Store seemed to shrivel with 
 the heat of the sun which beat without let 
 or hindrance upon the warped shingles of 
 the roof. The tin sign, bearing in uneven 
 lettering "Post-Office," glowed with an 
 insufferable light; the pine grove to the 
 right, through which the road ran to the 
 East, was too far away to afford protection. 
 The air seemed rising in measured intervals 
 from the dry arid soil as if slowly impelled 
 by some unseen force. Two dejected-look 
 ing horses were hitched insecurely to the 
 somewhat shaky posts which supported 
 the overhanging roof of the building, but 
 the only sign of the presence of man, 
 woman, or child was a dull murmur of 
 voices from within.
 
 THE STRANGER 35 
 
 The sound of hoofs and the jingle of 
 harness, with its accompaniment of creaks 
 and groans from the approaching coach, 
 failed to arouse those who were inside, 
 until the grating of Yuba s voice broke the 
 spell. 
 
 "Wall, I ain t got much outer yer, 
 stranger." 
 
 The young man addressed turned as he 
 jumped to the ground, and, with a smile 
 which showed a remarkably white set of 
 teeth, replied in a pleasantly modulated 
 voice which bespoke education if not cul 
 ture. 
 
 "Come up to the bar and I ll try and 
 make up for it." 
 
 Although a man or two had sauntered 
 forth from the open door to greet the arrivals 
 and to take a hand with the mail and ex 
 press parcels, the murmur from within still 
 continued, and as Yuba and his companion 
 entered, it soon became evident that the 
 noise proceeded from a corner of the swelt-
 
 3 6 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 ering barroom where a card game of some 
 proportions was progressing with alarming 
 rapidity. 
 
 "Them fellers b n at it all night," ven 
 tured the genial barkeeper as he pushed the 
 customary black bottle toward Yuba. 
 
 "Dodgasted idiot, that Red Pete settin 
 in with Jack Hamlin," returned Yuba, 
 punctuating the remark by a copious ex 
 pectoration accurately delivered at the 
 wooden spittoon some three feet distant. 
 
 "Ain t got er red to his name, cept his 
 head. His wife an kids hungry most o 
 the time, an luk at him gittin skinned. 
 Ben thar myself once or twice," he con 
 tinued. 
 
 "Jack s a slick one. So s thet feller 
 Fowler, I reckon, though he ain t ben here 
 long. He come out bout three months ago; 
 p raps you know him." 
 
 The stranger was inspecting the quartette 
 with casual curiosity. Hamlin, Fowler, 
 Larrabee, and Pete showed how effectually
 
 THE STRANGER 37 
 
 gambling could eliminate all personality 
 when it developed latent characteristics. 
 
 The mutterings stopped abruptly as 
 Hamlin s smooth right hand, with its dia 
 mond ring gleaming on the little finger, 
 swept the pot deftly toward him. 
 
 "Well, boys, any more? It s up to you." 
 Jack Hamlin fixed his keen eyes upon 
 Fowler, whose chalky complexion had grown 
 a shade grayer under the fire of the last 
 hand. 
 
 "By G d, no," rasped Pete, flinging 
 back his chair and turning his back upon 
 the table. 
 
 "Hold on, then; I guess I ve just about 
 credit enough for a round, boys; step up 
 and let s drink to the next time," said 
 Fowler. "And you, Yuba, and your friend; 
 come on, boys, line up. Any mail, Yuba?" 
 
 "Letter for Larrabee and sutthin for 
 Welch. Never had sech a sweatin trip in 
 all my life. You boys ought ter git out an 
 feel the heat down ter Sawyer s Crossin ."
 
 3 8 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 There was little response to Yuba s re 
 marks, for all eyes were turned toward 
 Larrabee, who alone of the group remained 
 seated at the table. The letter which had 
 come lay open before him. His dull face, 
 usually bearing an expression of weak good 
 humor, was distorted by a mixture of fear 
 and rage. His hands opened and shut, the 
 fingers moving over the palms as if to wipe 
 away the sweat which had accumulated 
 there. His head was bent, and his eyes 
 looked up and out into vacancy, evidently 
 forgetful of his surroundings until the 
 thunder of Yuba s voice again broke the 
 stillness. 
 
 "Wot in h ll s the matter with you, 
 Larrabee?" 
 
 Larrabee turned slowly and gazed blankly 
 at Yuba. 
 
 "Read thet thar letter," he said, rising 
 and handing the paper to Yuba, who, with 
 a shake of the head, handed it in turn to 
 Hamlin, who read aloud to the inquisi-
 
 THE STRANGER 39 
 
 tive group the following remarkable docu 
 ment: 
 
 DEAR PHIL:- 
 
 I ain t beared from yer fer some years, but 
 I reckon yer still prospectin , fer ef yer bed 
 struck anything yaller yer d a come East 
 to show yer friends what a great man yer 
 was. And so I m writin to the old Hang- 
 town address yer gev me, in the hope that 
 this 11 reach yer. Yer member down to the 
 forks, bout seven mile frum our house, they 
 was a family of Clays, pretty well-to-do 
 they was, too; well, old Madison Clay lost 
 his wife an they say it soured his disposi 
 tion. Anyhow he would n t have nuthin 
 to do with the neighbors fer some time an 
 his girl, Salomy Jane, was growin into a 
 likely lass, an Ched, my boy, was gettin 
 sweet on her. I told him ter quit, fer Clay 
 was one of them Wilson group what lynched 
 yer old man way back years ago, an I 
 won t have no Clays comin into my family,
 
 40 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 not if I know it fust. Ched he was too far 
 gone, I guess; anyhow he kep right on, 
 though the gal an old Clay they was that 
 uppish thet they did n t want it no more n 
 I did. Wai, one night Ched had a little too 
 much, I reckon, an he came on Salomy at 
 the spring an he kissed her. The old man 
 heared of it an next day, as Ched was 
 ridin by, tried to shoot him. The hull place 
 heared of it afore I did, but when I did, by 
 G d, I swore I d kill him an I would, only 
 he an his gal lit out an t was only yester 
 day we heard thru Ken Wilson thet they 
 had struck your trail. Phil, yer ve got ter 
 uphold the honor of the family and revenge 
 yer Dad s death, an when I hear from yer 
 that Madison Clay is shot, thar ll be re- 
 joicin in the Blue Grass sech as never was. 
 Nothin short o death, you remember. 
 
 BILL LARRABEE. 
 
 There was silence for an instant, and then 
 Hamlin continued quietly:-
 
 THE STRANGER 41 
 
 "Seems a pity to brand a man for pro 
 tecting his daughter and more of a pity to 
 take away a girl s only protector." 
 
 "I guess she can find a protector easy 
 enough," replied Fowler, in a tone that 
 made the stranger turn quickly. 
 
 Until this moment, he had not given 
 any especial attention to this flashily over 
 dressed gambler with his smooth chalky 
 face and somewhat sinister smile. As he 
 watched him there crept into the stranger s 
 face an expression, the result of an idea 
 which, lurking at the back of his brain, 
 became at this moment a concentrated 
 thought. 
 
 The face of his sister fixed itself upon his 
 imagination. A face framed in light-brown 
 curling hair, always dancing with the quick 
 motion of her lithe body; a sweet winsome 
 smile lurking in the corners of her mouth 
 and eyes ; an image which always brought 
 torture to his soul because of the pity of her 
 downfall, the result of her simple trust and
 
 42 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 innocence. Was this, after all, the man? 
 The contraction of his nerves, the sudden 
 chill in his marrow seemed almost to prove 
 the contact. The picture which he had 
 carried for so many months, against the 
 hoped-for meeting, showed a face of what 
 might have been a more robust type, 
 a long mustache hid the mouth, the hair 
 was closely cropped, and yet the general 
 features appeared to be the same. An al 
 most uncontrollable desire to pull forth 
 the picture and compare it line by line with 
 Fowler s saturnine countenance held him, 
 as Hamlin s voice broke in once more. 
 
 "Well, boys, the drinks are waiting, and 
 I am going to drink the health and good 
 luck of Salomy, even if she does not look 
 kindly upon this poor crowd of her loyal 
 slaves." 
 
 But as the glasses clinked, the stranger 
 left his untasted, and made his way blindly 
 toward the patch of light which marked the 
 narrow doorway.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 
 
 IT had been a busy month for Salomy. 
 The long summer days had passed quickly, 
 occupied as she was with settling their 
 household goods, and in making a home in 
 the rambling house. She took delight in 
 arranging the rooms as nearly identical with 
 their old home in Kentucky as possible. It 
 had been one of her father s strongest de 
 sires "back thar" to have the house kept 
 just as her mother had arranged it, and 
 Salomy had always deferred to his wishes. 
 With this thought uppermost in her mind, 
 every familiar piece was placed in accus 
 tomed relation to every other; even the two 
 old clocks that had perched, side by side, 
 on their kitchen "mantel," were placed in 
 the new kitchen. One was always ten min 
 utes slower than the other, and Madison
 
 44 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 Clay, having had one of them before Salomy 
 was born, depended on this favorite, while 
 Salomy "took stock" in the other. Having 
 discovered long before that this was one 
 subject, at least, Upon which they could 
 never agree, they compromised by Madi 
 son telling time with one, and Salomy with 
 the other. Thus peace was restored. 
 
 In the parlor, the horsehair chairs and 
 sofa were arranged with mathematical pre 
 cision. On the marble-topped table the 
 family Bible reposed in state, and between 
 the windows stood Salomy s parlor organ, 
 whose transportation thither had been a 
 marvel of packing. It was a never-failing 
 delight to the children, who stood on tiptoe 
 outside the window to stare into the room. 
 The most constant juvenile friends that 
 Salomy had made were the children of Red 
 Pete, her nearest neighbor, who lived in a 
 tumbledown shack, about a mile away 
 through the woods. She had heard her 
 father speak of Red Pete, and his name had
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 45 
 
 been frequently on the lips of the three men 
 who came to their house most often 
 Rube Waters, Jack Hamlin, and Colonel 
 Starbottle. From what they had told her, 
 she learned that Pete was a worthless in 
 dividual with a sturdy wife upon whom he 
 depended. His wife did most of the wash 
 ing for the unattached men of the settle 
 ment, and for the miners who came in 
 periodically, their chief reason for so doing 
 being of an alcoholic nature. She worked 
 unceasingly in order that her three chil 
 dren, upon whom she lavished a sort of 
 scolding affection, might have a few of the 
 necessities of life. Salomy had the utmost 
 contempt for Red Pete, and pity for his 
 wife. The man was a good worker when he 
 chose to work, but it was rare, indeed, that 
 he did more than loaf around the general 
 store. At times he went off on mysterious 
 excursions, presumably to sell cattle, with 
 his "pal," Bill Gallagher, after which they 
 both returned with pockets clinking with
 
 46 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 the merry sound of gold-pieces. On such 
 occasions the stakes ran high in the games 
 they played in the saloon corner, but Mrs. 
 Pete profited not by these spasms of wealth. 
 
 One Sunday night, Hamlin, Waters, and 
 the Colonel all came to call. Salomy s old 
 parlor organ was a decided novelty in 
 Hangtown, and she had played everything, 
 from the hymns in her hymn book to the 
 rollicking songs, centered on the gold rush, 
 that had leaped into being. Afterwards, as 
 they sat talking, Hamlin said : 
 
 "Well, Red Pete was cleaned out to-day, 
 for fair. That chap is surely a hoodoo. He 
 never seems. to have any luck. He ought to 
 quit the game." 
 
 "Yes, he ought ter," Salomy said. "I m 
 sorry fer his pore wife and those little chil- 
 dern o his. They re real cute youngsters, 
 and so s the little cousin, Willy Smith. 
 They come runnin over here in rags. I 
 kinder like to feed em up, and they dote 
 on hearin the organ."
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 47 
 
 The three men sympathized with Mrs. 
 Red Pete, and Madison Clay broke in, 
 
 "It d be only neighborly for you to run 
 over and see the pore woman, S lomy. Take 
 her over some o them cookies o yourn, for 
 the little ones. T would n t do you a bit 
 of harm, gal." 
 
 "All right, Dad; I ll go to-morrer. I d 
 V gone before, but I bin busy with one 
 thing or nother." 
 
 The next day, Salomy s father developed 
 a touch of the " rheumatis," which left him 
 dependent on her for the whole week, and 
 this so far set her back in her household du 
 ties that it was not for another week that she 
 found opportunity to call on her neighbor. 
 
 This bright morning, however, Salomy 
 put on her yellow nankeen sunbonnet, - 
 a hideous affair that would have ruined any 
 other woman, but which only enhanced the 
 piquancy of her fresh brunette skin, - 
 tied the strings, letting the brown curls 
 escape below its frilled curtain behind.
 
 48 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 Thus adorned, she set out briskly for Red 
 Pete s house, taking a generous supply of 
 the famous cookies. Her way lay through 
 the forest of giant trees, into which the sun 
 light did not filter until almost midday. 
 After a short time, for she was accustomed 
 to covering long distances on foot, and pre 
 ferred to take the short way instead of 
 riding her horse around the road, she came 
 to the clearing, in the midst of which stood 
 Red Pete s house, if house it could be called. 
 A rickety wooden shack set on a rough 
 platform, with no glass in the windows, and 
 a dilapidated door, served as home for the 
 neglected family of this ne er-do-well. Two 
 clothes-lines, well laden, extended from a 
 hook on the side of the house to the nearest 
 sapling, and around the corner of the house 
 Salomy heard the sound of vigorous scrub 
 bing. She started forward, to be met by the 
 little girl, dressed only in her ragged under 
 clothing, to whom Salomy was a fairy god 
 mother.
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 49 
 
 "Howdy, little girl. Is your ma here 
 abouts?" she said cheerily, picking the 
 child up in her strong young arms, and 
 swinging her above her head. The little 
 girl laughed. 
 
 "Yes, she be. You foller me. Ma-a-a! 
 Ma-a-a!" she chirruped, skipping around 
 the platform, and pulling Salomy after her. 
 They rounded the corner, and came face 
 to face with a woman who rose from her 
 tub, and came forward to greet Salomy, 
 wiping her hands on her already drenched 
 apron. 
 
 "Are you Mrs. Pete, ma am?" Salomy 
 inquired, her kindly smile making friends at 
 once with the other woman. 
 
 "Yes. Ain t you Salomy Jane Clay, that 
 I bin hearin about? My man tells me as 
 how you Ve bin makin a hit with the boys 
 down to the store. Don t wonder," she 
 said admiringly, as she gripped Salomy s 
 hand in her own coarse palm. "The young 
 sters bin tellin me bout your givin em
 
 50 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 cookies, and playin the music thing for em. 
 Powerful kind o you, I must say." 
 
 "I took a likin to em. Mighty cute 
 little ones, Mrs. Pete. Me an Jinny thar, 
 we re great friends, ain t we?" she said to 
 the little girl, who smiled up at her. 
 
 "Pore little chicks; they need a friend, 
 Lord knows," sighed Mrs. Pete, as she ran 
 her hand over the child s curls. Salomy s 
 heart ached for her, and she changed the 
 subject. 
 
 "Wai, I made some o my cookies for 
 Dad, and I thought as how you might like 
 to sample em, and so I come over with 
 em. T ain t no use havin neighbors, if 
 folks ain t neighborly. Why, back in Kain- 
 tucky, whar I come frum, me an my neigh 
 bor used to see each other reg lar. O course 
 we went to prayer meetin together, and 
 that helps." 
 
 "Yes, it does. I don t see a woman one 
 end the month to the other, ceptin when 
 I go down to the store," replied Mrs. Pete.
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 51 
 
 She became much interested in the tempt 
 ing cookies that Salomy set down. 
 
 "Right kind o you, Mis Clay. We don t 
 have sech things here; lucky if we git bread, 
 let alone cake. My husband if I do say 
 it as should n t ain t strong on work, and 
 it s as much as I kin do to look arter the 
 youngsters. Car line thar; she s got to 
 stay in till her clo s is dry, and Jinny s 
 waitin fer her dress. Here, Jinny; here s 
 a cake fer you, and take one in ter Car line." 
 
 The child scampered off, and Mrs. Pete 
 resumed her washing. Salomy told her of 
 her life in Kentucky, and of their trip from 
 her native State to California. The other 
 woman listened with interest. 
 
 "You got a fine house, ain t you, Miss 
 Clay? The children tell me you ve got a 
 marble-topp d table, and grand chairs and 
 sofa. Mebbe I 11 come over some day." 
 
 "I wish yer would, Mrs. Pete. Dad and 
 me d be right glad to see yer. Bring the 
 children along, and I ll play the organ for
 
 52 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 you. Come over often," she urged hos 
 pitably. 
 
 "All right. Pete s goin away to-night; 
 huntin up some cattle him and Gallagher 
 heard had strayed away. Mebbe I d come 
 ter-morrer, or the next day. Yer know, 
 Pete means all right, but he s awful lazy," 
 she went on, by way of excusing her better 
 half. 
 
 In the curious way of the primitive 
 woman, she was loyal to this worthless 
 husband of hers, even while most of the 
 day was spent in violent upbraidings, un 
 til he would slouch off in the direction of 
 the Hangtown bar. She talked on, occupied 
 all the time with the many-hued garments 
 under her hands, now wringing out the 
 clothes and hanging them to dry; now el 
 bow deep in suds. Salomy heard enough 
 about Pete in the next half-hour to make 
 her feel as if she had known him for years, 
 and it was with a feeling of familiarity that 
 she heard his voice calling for his wife.
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 53 
 
 "Stop yer yellin , Pete. I got comp ny," 
 his wife answered shortly. 
 
 He lounged around the corner of the 
 house, and glanced sulkily at Salomy, sit 
 ting cool and unconcerned on the bench. 
 
 "All right. No call to git mad about it, 
 is thar?" he retorted. 
 
 He stood leaning up against the door- 
 jamb, whittling a useless piece of wood, and 
 sullenly watched the two women. The si 
 lence became uncomfortable, and finally 
 Salomy, without a glance in his direction, 
 rose to go. 
 
 " Be sure you come over, Mrs. Pete," she 
 said. "Me an Dad 11 be expectin yer with 
 the childern." 
 
 Pete s wife thanked her warmly, and 
 Salomy departed. 
 
 The girl swung along, singing softly to 
 herself. If she hurried she would just be in 
 time to prepare the family dinner. She had 
 walked about half the distance, and had 
 turned a corner in the rough footpath, when
 
 54 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 she thought she heard a branch crack be 
 hind her. She turned, sharply. No one was 
 in sight. She tossed her head, and went on, 
 giving herself a mental scolding for "havin 
 fool notions." But a moment or two later, 
 the same sound was repeated, almost di 
 rectly behind her, and she wheeled to see 
 Ashton Fowler standing there. 
 
 He smiled at her, a slow, crafty smile that 
 but made his face the more sinister. 
 
 "Howdy, Miss Salomy. Reckon it was 
 good luck made me fall in with you," he said. 
 
 "Good luck for you, mebbe. I dunno 
 about my part," she said frigidly, and would 
 have moved on, but that he stepped forward, 
 barring her path. "I reckon as how I ll be 
 gittin on, if you 11 have the manners to let 
 me by," she said sharply. 
 
 "To be sure, Miss Salomy, in a minute. 
 But I got news for you. I just came from 
 the store; the stage just got in. We d been 
 playin cards, and a stranger came with the 
 stage. He stepped up to the bar when I
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 55 
 
 called to the boys to drink on me, but he 
 took his glass and then would n t drink." 
 He scowled at the thought. 
 
 "What s that to me? Is that yer news?" 
 Salomy demanded. "Well, if it is, I don t 
 want to hear no more." 
 
 "No, that is n t all. You know that Phil 
 Larrabee who is n t particularly fond of 
 your pa? Well, he got a letter from his 
 folks back in Kentucky, and he swears 
 he ll get your dad. Somethin bout a love 
 affair of yours," he leered. 
 
 "Oh, he will git dad, will he?" Salomy 
 stormed. "The low-down, sneakin critter. 
 And as fer you, Mister Fowler, I thought as 
 how you and Larrabee was friends? Why 
 are you goin out o your way to tell me, 
 instead o helpin your good friend?" she 
 sneered. 
 
 " I m telling you so that you can warn 
 your pa," he continued. " I m fond of you, 
 Salomy, and I don t want any harm to 
 come to you."
 
 56 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 He paused for a moment, gazing with 
 passionate eyes at the girl before him. 
 
 "The very first day I saw you at the 
 store, you got me," he continued, "and 
 I ve been thinking of you ever since. I 
 want you to care for me as I care for you. 
 I want- 
 
 "You want too much," interrupted 
 Salomy shortly. "You let me by. That s 
 all I want of you." And she turned to go, 
 scenting danger. 
 
 His answer was to snatch her into his 
 arms, and stung to madness by her taunts 
 and her defiant beauty, he crushed her to 
 him, forcing her head back to reach her lips. 
 Gasping with mingled rage and terror, Sa 
 lomy struggled with all her strength; one 
 strong young hand reached out, and struck 
 him full across the mouth, the simple ring 
 she wore bringing the blood in an ugly 
 mark. He only laughed at her, kissing her 
 again and again until suddenly some one 
 crashed down the path; a tall, lithe figure,
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 57 
 
 which leaped at Fowler, tore his arms from 
 about the girl s figure, and with a quick 
 twist hurled him to the ground. It was the 
 stranger who had refused to drink with him 
 at the bar but an hour ago ! 
 
 The stranger turned to Salomy, who was 
 sobbing more with fury than with fright, 
 her face buried in her arms. 
 
 "Don t cry, miss, please. It s all right. 
 That blackguard won t harm you again," 
 he said, trying to comfort her. He lifted her 
 from the log on which she had collapsed. 
 "Do you want me to go along with you?" 
 he said gently. 
 
 She shook her head, her handkerchief 
 over her eyes. 
 
 "No," she sobbed. "Thanks." And 
 turning from him, she ran swiftly in the 
 direction of her home. 
 
 The stranger turned to look for Fowler, 
 but that individual, being unarmed and not 
 wishing again to feel those hands at his 
 throat, had disappeared along the path.
 
 58 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 The stranger clenched his hands; his eyes 
 narrowed, as his mind groped for light. 
 That face ; surely it was the face of the pho 
 tograph he carried with him always. He 
 pulled out the picture from under his shirt ; 
 in the strong light the resemblance was un 
 mistakable, and with a muttered oath, he 
 hastened off along the path down which 
 Fowler had fled.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE HOLD-UP 
 
 YUBA BILL was in a particularly happy 
 frame of mind. In the first place, it was 
 cooler, a fact of real significance to a man 
 of two hundred and twenty-odd pounds 
 whose height was but five feet eight and a 
 half in his socks. In the second, his present 
 matrimonial difficulties were of but a minor 
 character, and the present lady of his choice 
 was at a safe distance, namely, at Stockton. 
 And last, if not least, the night before had 
 been a singularly fortunate one for him de 
 spite the presence of one Oakley, and the 
 clink of the round metal fellows in his capa 
 cious pockets was a constant reminder of 
 his luck. 
 
 The stage had passed the divide and was 
 making good progress toward Hangtown; 
 the leaders, scenting the home stretch, re-
 
 60 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 sponded to Yuba s urging with voice and 
 whip, and the few passengers, shifting their 
 positions of uncomfortable languor for a 
 more rigid state of expectancy, joined in a 
 conversation which up to this time had been 
 conducted almost entirely by Yuba. 
 
 " Dis yer ain t no woman foolishness like 
 down at that Red Horse Gulch," quavered 
 Larrabee, whose appearance betokened an 
 unusually protracted visit to the Wingdam 
 Hotel bar, and whose dejected manner 
 bore evidence to his troubled and clouded 
 state of mind. 
 
 "Your statement," replied Hamlin, who 
 was on the box beside Yuba, "emanates 
 from a moral sentiment, debased by love- 
 feasts and camp-meetings, and an intellect 
 weakened by rum and gum and the contact 
 of lager-beer jerkers. It is worthy of a short- 
 card sharp and a keno-flopper, which I 
 have, I regret to say, long suspected you to 
 be. I may be wrong, mind you, and if so, my 
 apologies will be as sincere as my satisfac-
 
 THE HOLD-UP 61 
 
 tion keen in having discovered a man in 
 place of a cur." 
 
 Larrabee gazed with watery eyes at the 
 fresh, immaculate figure before him for 
 some moments before replying. Then, with 
 a shrug of his shoulders, he relapsed into 
 an attitude of dispirited gloom, and mum 
 bled :- 
 
 "Yer don t know nothin about it. Yer 
 kin slam erround words thet no other man 
 could an live. I may be wors n some, but I 
 ain t thet black as you indercate. I got sut- 
 thin on m mind I can t seem ter fergit, 
 even when I ain t sober, an it ain t no 
 woman." Larrabee slunk down in his seat, 
 effectively closing his remarks by a well- 
 aimed expectoration which just cleared the 
 wheel. 
 
 "Why in all the hells of an ill-gotten 
 world don t yer git it out er yer system," 
 interposed Yuba, in a tone that could be 
 heard in spite of the creak and rumble of 
 the coach. "I ain t preventin yer, be I?"
 
 6i SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 " Yerknow swell as I do," said Larrabee, 
 clutching the back of the seat in front, and 
 drawing himself up until his head was be 
 tween the two men in front. "It s thet 
 cussed letter wot come frum Bill. It s thet 
 blamed feud as wot I ve got ter end. It s 
 thet ole man Clay and his gal. Thet s wot 
 t is." 
 
 "Ha, then! It is a woman after all," re 
 marked Hamlin with a smile of cynical phi 
 losophy. Not that he depreciated the sex, 
 but that he recognized therein a deceitful 
 element, the pursuit of which sometimes 
 drew mankind away from the equally un 
 certain blandishments of poker of which, 
 it may be remarked, Mr. Hamlin was a pro 
 fessional exponent. 
 
 In the case of Salomy he had already 
 noted an exception, and he had further de 
 tected upon his own part a growing feeling 
 which he viewed with alarm. Salomy was 
 free from those qualities so apparent in her 
 sex, qualities of coquetry, of craft, of what
 
 THE HOLD-UP 63 
 
 might be embraced by the term of feminine 
 wile, and in their place she possessed an 
 open disregard of sex allurement and a 
 healthy, free love for fairness which struck 
 home. Mr. Hamlin fast felt vanishing the 
 barriers which breeding and education had 
 placed between him and Salomy, a distinc 
 tion which counted for so little in a country 
 which he had adopted as his own. He was 
 curious to know how Larrabee, weak, sod 
 den, and bereft of all finer instincts, could 
 recognize the qualities this girl possessed, 
 and so asked : - 
 
 "Well, what are you going to do about it, 
 - carry a curse across the continent, fight 
 a man old enough to be your father, de 
 prive a girl of her only protector, and then 
 be hung for the satisfaction it gave you?" 
 
 "I dunno," ruminated Larrabee. 
 
 " I dunno, either," broke in Yuba, " but ef 
 yer tech her, by G d, thar ll be no trial, 
 yer can bet yer last dollar; thar ll be a 
 lynchin , sech as this State never seed afore.
 
 64 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 The hull place 11 rise up an knock yer ter 
 Kingdom Come fur Salomy Jane, even if 
 she don t take up with the boys." 
 
 As Yuba s outburst spent itself, the trio 
 fell back into silence. A subdued turn of 
 conversation, and the absence of cigar 
 smoke and boot heels at the windows, 
 proved that at least one of the inside pas 
 sengers was a woman. 
 
 Colonel Starbottle, returning from one 
 of his periodic conflicts with the legal fra 
 ternity of the county seat, was talking 
 with a flashily dressed woman of uncertain 
 years. 
 
 "Ah, I am relieved, madam. I could 
 scarcely conceive a man ignorant enough 
 to er er throw away such evident 
 good fortune or base enough to deceive 
 the trustfulness of womanhood matured 
 and experienced only in the chivalry of our 
 sex, ha " 
 
 The lady s reply was suddenly drowned 
 in the noises of grinding, hissing brakes as
 
 THE HOLD-UP 65 
 
 the coach came to a sudden stop, jarring the 
 whole frame, and throwing the occupants 
 onto the front seat as the vehicle ran up on 
 and recoiled from the taut pole-straps of 
 the now arrested horses. The murmur of a 
 voice in the road was heard, followed by a 
 bellow of rage from Yuba. 
 
 "Wot ther hell is this - Yes! my hands 
 are up, yer cowardly skunk." Yuba Bill, 
 dropping the reins, followed the command 
 of a masked figure, whose gun was aimed 
 at him, not four yards away. 
 
 The Colonel, righting himself with some 
 effort, turned to the coach window to be 
 confronted by a second weapon pointed at 
 his head, the muzzle within a foot of his 
 ruddy nose, held by some ruffian whose face 
 was shaded by a handkerchief just below 
 the eyes. 
 
 "Hands up ! Both on yer," said the muf 
 fled voice, followed by a scream from the 
 Colonel s companion, so shrill and so sus 
 tained that even the Colonel s glance wav-
 
 66 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 ered from the glinting barrel of the gun be 
 fore him. 
 
 "You are er perfectly safe, my dear 
 - er perfectly safe. There is some mis 
 take here. This is the coach from Wing- 
 dam to Hangtown, my dear fellah. I m 
 Colonel Starbottle," - addressing the high 
 way man, "er Colonel Culpepper Star- 
 bottle. I beg you, sir, to remove your 
 obnoxious weapon and explain what all this 
 means." 
 
 "Hands up!" repeated the voice, "and 
 be damned quick, too." The Colonel as 
 sumed the required attitude with a rapidity 
 which, under ordinary circumstances, would 
 have alarmed his friends. 
 
 Without, there was a stillness which be 
 came ominous. The three men on the top 
 were silently watching the second of the 
 hold-up party, each side waiting for an op 
 portunity to attack. 
 
 Larrabee, suddenly aroused from his 
 brooding, was sitting directly behind Yuba,
 
 THE HOLD-UP 67 
 
 whose pistol hung from his belt at his hip 
 within reach of Larrabee s hand. His eyes 
 became fascinated with it, as, with hands 
 raised, an idea framed itself slowly in his 
 clouded brain. Could he but seize it with a 
 sudden grasp, he could turn the tables. He 
 possessed a certain brute courage at times, 
 but lacked judgment or reason. 
 
 Watching until he saw the man s eyes 
 turn upon Hamlin in their roving from one 
 to the other, he carried out his half-drunken 
 purpose so far as getting his hand on the 
 revolver, when, with a flash and report, 
 Yuba slid from his seat, and, catching on 
 the wheel, fell heavily with a thud to the 
 grass beside the coach. The detached revol 
 ver hurtled through the air behind him, and 
 landed at the feet of the man who, panting 
 as if from heavy exertion, still continued to 
 hold his smoking pistol at the two remain 
 ing men. Not a word was spoken for some 
 moments, when the leader of the gang called 
 out in a muffled voice, "Git out an line up."
 
 68 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 His orders were quickly carried out, the 
 Colonel assisting the now weeping woman 
 with his accustomed gallantry. 
 
 What money there was quickly changed 
 hands ; a few trinkets, a pin of little value, 
 one or two tawdry rings, and a gold brace 
 let of vulgar pattern were all the effects 
 which the lady possessed beside a purse, 
 whose contents consisted largely of hand 
 kerchiefs, smelling-salts, and the remains of 
 a sandwich. 
 
 Yuba s gains of the night before were the 
 only substantial results of the hold-up, and 
 without a further glance at the unarmed 
 party, the two men turned and sought the 
 woods as silently as they had come. 
 
 "Colonel, you and your friend had better 
 go inside the coach while we see what we can 
 do for Yuba," said Hamlin quietly, turning 
 to the prostrate form. 
 
 It was but the work of a moment to turn 
 back the shirt and find the wound. The 
 bullet had entered the fleshy part of the
 
 THE HOLD-UP 69 
 
 upper arm; not a serious injury, and it was 
 evident that the driver was suffering more 
 from his fall than from the shot. 
 
 As Hamlin and Larrabee, together, were 
 in the act of raising him, the sound of hoofs 
 reached their ears, and in a moment a ca 
 valcade broke from the woods, approaching 
 at a gallop. 
 
 "H m, the sheriff and his gang," re 
 marked Hamlin, "and just about ten min 
 utes too late as usual."
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 A LADY S COMMAND 
 
 COMING back from a round of his pas 
 tures, Madison Clay stepped into the sunny 
 kitchen of his home, and called, "S lomy!" 
 There was no answer. The kettle sang 
 cheerfully over the blazing fire; an impri 
 soned fly buzzed against the window pane, 
 and Madison went into the sitting-room, 
 expecting to find his daughter there. 
 
 One of the squaws came padding in on 
 silent feet. 
 
 "Whar s S lomy?" Clay asked. 
 
 The woman told him that his daughter 
 had gone over to Red Pete s house, with 
 some of the cookies she had made the day 
 previous. Satisfied with this, Clay took his 
 hammer, glue, and nails, and proceeded to 
 mend a chair that had been broken in the 
 moving, of which he was particularly fond.
 
 A LADY S COMMAND 71 
 
 He had made but little progress when a 
 shadow darkened the door, and he looked 
 up to see Rube Waters standing watching 
 him. 
 
 "Howdy, Rube. Come in and make your 
 self to home, stead of standin there like 
 you was bashful. S lomy ain t here." 
 
 "Howdy, Mr. Clay," Rube answered, as 
 he shambled in, and sat down gingerly on 
 one of the stiff chairs. He sat idly watching 
 the other man, speaking only in monosyl 
 lables, and every so often, shifting his po 
 sition uneasily. Finally, as if inaction were 
 intolerable, he offered to help Clay. 
 
 "Wall, I dunno as there s anythin you 
 kin do, Rube. What you got on your mind ? 
 You act nervous like." 
 
 This seemed to startle Rube, for he turned 
 white and dropped his hat. 
 
 "Nuthin ," he said. "I bin thinkin " 
 He stopped short again, and swallowed hard. 
 
 "Wall," chuckled Clay, "that won t do 
 you no harm, seein as how you don t in-
 
 72 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 dulge often. What you bin thinkin so hard 
 about?" 
 
 "S lomy," Rube managed to answer. 
 With a desperate clutch on his courage, 
 he dashed ahead. "I want ter marry her, 
 Mister Clay." 
 
 Madison removed the tacks from his 
 mouth, slowly and with deliberation. 
 
 "I dunno what you come tellin me fur. 
 If you think it d do any good fur me to 
 speak to S lomy, yer mistaken. That gaPll 
 marry who she sees fit, and when she sees 
 fit, too. Why don t you speak up to her yer- 
 self?" 
 
 " She gits me fussed up. Started to yiste- 
 day, when I was puttin up some curtains 
 fur her, but I slipped off the ladder, and she 
 only laffed at me, and I lost my nerve. I 
 wish you d tell her as how I think a power 
 ful lot o her, Mister Clay. She d listen to 
 you, and she d only laff at me," Rube said 
 miserably. 
 
 "You durn fool, Rube. Won t do you no
 
 A LADY S COMMAND 73 
 
 harm to be laffed at, I reckon. She s laffed 
 at a heap sight better men than you ; some- 
 thin like her mother useter," Clay said 
 proudly. He launched off into tales of the 
 old days in Kentucky, and Rube s petition 
 was side-tracked. 
 
 The morning wore on, and, the chair 
 being finished, Madison put away his tools 
 and glanced at his clock. 
 
 "Time S lomy was gittin home. She 
 went over to see Mrs. Red Pete this mornin . 
 Have n t seen Pete round for the last 
 couple o days, Rube. Hev you?" 
 
 "I seed him this mornin . That feller 
 must be pretty near the end o his rope, 
 Mister Clay. When I left the store, they all 
 was sittin in to a game, then. If Pete loses 
 ag in, I m sorry fur him." 
 
 Madison had no time to reply, for just at 
 that moment Salomy burst into the room, 
 hair disheveled, and sobbing violently. 
 Both men looked up, startled at her ap 
 pearance. Her father sprang toward her.
 
 74 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 "What s the matter, S lomy? Tell your 
 dad," he pleaded. 
 
 Her only answer was to fling herself down 
 into a chair, deaf to the questions both men 
 hurled at her. When the storm of sobs had 
 subsided, she rose suddenly, her eyes blazing. 
 
 "I met up with that coward, Ashton 
 Fowler, on my way home from Red Pete s. 
 He caught hold o me, and kissed me. Ef it 
 had n t bin for a stranger what come along, 
 and knocked him down - She broke off, 
 and rushed out of the room, and upstairs, 
 where she threw herself on her bed in a 
 paroxysm of of sobs. 
 
 In the room she had just left, her father 
 stamped around, swearing that he would kill 
 Fowler on sight ; cursing his age, which pre 
 vented him from going after the man. 
 Finally, as he started upstairs to Salomy, 
 Rube called him back. He had been stand 
 ing uneasily, shifting from one foot to the 
 other, and, seeing his opportunity, made the 
 most of it.
 
 A LADY S COMMAND 75 
 
 "Say, Mister Clay. You tell S lomy now 
 as how I want to marry her. You kin say 
 as how Fowler knows yer ain t as young as 
 yer might be, and that if she was married to 
 a young man like me, it d kind o frighten 
 him." He swelled with importance. 
 
 Clay turned for a last shot. 
 
 "Wall, I dunno as Fowler d be much 
 more afeerd o you than he would be o me, 
 but I 11 tell S lomy and she kin decide. You 
 wait here." 
 
 Salomy had recovered her composure, 
 but the fire still flamed in her eyes. She 
 listened to her father quietly. Then an 
 idea occurred to her. She sat up straight. 
 
 "Listen, Dad. I don t set much store by 
 that weak-kneed Rube Waters, but if he 11 
 go out and put that sneak, Ashton Fowler, 
 out of the way, I ll marry him. But not 
 unless he does," she said firmly. 
 
 "Don t be a fool, S lomy. That ain t no 
 reason to marry a man," her father reasoned 
 with her.
 
 76 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 But the girl was obstinate. 
 
 "It s as good a reason as any. You tell 
 him that," said Salomy, her mind centered 
 upon the thought of Kentuckian revenge. 
 
 Her father gave up, and went down 
 stairs to where Rube was waiting. Clay 
 had just started to tell of Salomy s astound 
 ing proposition when she herself appeared 
 in the doorway. 
 
 " I told Dad as how I d marry yer, Rube 
 Waters, if you d go out and use yer gun on 
 Ashton Fowler. I won t listen to yer unless 
 yer do. That s the only way." 
 
 She stood looking at him. Waters was 
 too taken aback to say a word. He shifted 
 from one foot to the other, and smiled un 
 easily. 
 
 "Oh, listen to reason, S lomy. What good 
 would it do yer for me to go after Fowler. 
 Yer marry me and he won t bother yer any 
 more," he finished lamely. 
 
 The scorn in the girl s eyes flayed him. 
 
 "Why don t yer tell the truth, for a
 
 A LADY S COMMAND 77 
 
 change, and say as how yer afeered o Fow 
 ler?" she demanded. 
 
 "I ain t afeerd o him," he protested. 
 "But it d do no good." 
 
 "Good ? It d do no good to get a cur like 
 him out o j the way ? " she said. " It d be the 
 best thing yer ever did in yer hull life." 
 
 She waited a moment. 
 
 "Well, what are yer goin to do?" she 
 said with ominous quiet. 
 
 Waters picked up his hat. 
 
 "I ll think about it, S lomy." And with 
 out looking at her, he shuffled out. 
 
 He had no idea of carrying out her wish, 
 but for some reason, impossible to explain, 
 he started off in the direction of Fowler s 
 cabin, along the path which Salomy had 
 taken after the struggle. 
 
 He had come to within a hundred yards 
 or so of Fowler s cabin when a turn in the 
 path showed him a crouching figure, just 
 ahead. Waters dropped behind a bush, and 
 watched the man. He was a stranger, and
 
 78 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 the idea came to Rube that this man must 
 be Salomy s champion. When the stranger 
 moved on a bit, Waters gained a few feet 
 also. At last the man reached the cabin, 
 and Waters saw him draw himself up and 
 look through the small window ; then drop 
 to the ground, and make his way around to 
 the door. Rube hurried along and was just 
 in time to see the stranger push in the door 
 of the cabin and enter quickly. 
 
 There was silence for a moment, and then 
 the sound of voices, Fowler s and the strang 
 er s, in dispute. Waters, listening outside, 
 climbed to a tree from which he could look 
 into the cabin and hear the words of the two 
 men. 
 
 They were standing, looking steadily at 
 each other, from opposite sides of the rough 
 table in the center of the cabin. Both were 
 armed. Neither moved. 
 
 It was apparent that Fowler had con 
 templated flight. Scattered garments lay 
 upon the bed and chairs, and a half-filled
 
 A LADY S COMMAND 79 
 
 bag upon the table showed that the owner 
 had been in the act of hasty packing when 
 interrupted. Beside it were the remains of 
 a hasty meal, a hunting-knife, and several 
 books, the latter unusual accompaniments 
 of a miner s life and an indication of Fow 
 ler s polished veneer. 
 
 Finally the stranger broke the silence. 
 
 "Do you know what I m here for?" 
 
 "Well, I suppose it s about Salomy. 
 What s she to you?" said Fowler. 
 
 "What s your name?" continued the 
 stranger, ignoring the question. 
 
 "It s none of your business," Fowler re 
 torted, breathing shortly. " But just to give 
 you a lesson in politeness, I 11 tell you that 
 it s Fowler Ashton Fowler. Does that 
 satisfy you?" 
 
 "No, it does n t. It s a damned lie, and 
 you know it. Your name s Thomas Ken 
 dall. I ve been looking for you for a long 
 time. Been trailing you all the way from 
 St. Louis, and now I ve got you."
 
 8o SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 Fowler s face was ashen, but he brazened 
 it out. 
 
 " You Ve got the wrong man," he panted. 
 "My name s Fowler, all right, I tell you. 
 Look here; see, my name s in these books." 
 
 He turned to the table to take up one of 
 the volumes as proof. With apparent in 
 terest, the stranger approached as if to look 
 at the inscription, but with a lightning 
 spring, quick as a cat, he threw himself upon 
 Fowler, pinning both arms to his side. The 
 force of the blow sent Fowler s pistol spin 
 ning to the floor, while, with a sudden 
 twist, the stranger released his victim and 
 sent him crashing against the wall of the 
 cabin. 
 
 In silence, never letting his eyes leave 
 the other s face, he picked up the weapon, 
 weighed it in his hand for a moment, and 
 finally pitched it through the open window, 
 followed by his own gun. Content with his 
 action, he then reached inside his shirt and 
 drew out two photographs, one of a man and
 
 A LADY S COMMAND 81 
 
 the other of a girl. He flashed them before 
 Fowler s terror-stricken gaze. 
 
 "Did you ever see those two faces be 
 fore?" he asked, in a voice so low and tense 
 that Waters could scarcely hear. "One s 
 Elizabeth Dart, my sister, God help her, 
 and the other one is Thomas Kendall, one 
 of the lowest sneaks in God s creation." 
 
 The stranger s voice shook with the fury 
 of his suppressed emotion as he continued: 
 
 "You can tell me your name is Fowler or 
 Smith or any other alias under which you 
 have led your rascally existence, but this 
 picture proves you the betrayer of my sis 
 ter s honor, and I swore I d kill you for it. 
 Get away from that table," he cried, as 
 Fowler approached the center of the room. 
 
 Fowler s nerve broke. Frantic as had 
 been his desire for escape, the terror of 
 the impending conflict was greater, and 
 with the full realization upon him, Fowler 
 welcomed what he thought was an open 
 ing in his adversary s defense. As Dart
 
 82 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 was in the act of replacing the photo 
 graphs inside his shirt, Fowler sprang at 
 him, upsetting the table in his onslaught, 
 and scattering his possessions over the 
 floor. 
 
 Neither man was armed, now. Some 
 vague fury in the back of the stranger s 
 mind had urged him to wreak vengeance in 
 the elemental way on this man he hated, 
 and with bare fists he and Fowler closed in. 
 
 Round and round the tiny room they 
 struggled, crashing against table, chairs, 
 and bunk. Now Fowler was sent spinning 
 to the floor ; now the stranger was forced to 
 his knees. Blow after blow fell with that 
 peculiar, sickening sound of flesh striking 
 bare flesh. On they fought, both possessed 
 of a fury which ignored caution or fear. The 
 desire for revenge in the one and the struggle 
 for life with the other leveled both to the 
 stage of primitive savages. 
 
 Fowler was bleeding fast from a deep 
 gash in his cheek, the result of contact with
 
 A LADY S COMMAND 83 
 
 the corner of the table, but he did not 
 waver in his return to the onslaught of his 
 opponent whose burning eyes never left his 
 face for a moment. 
 
 They clenched in deadly embrace. Dart, 
 with his left hand at Fowler s throat, was 
 gradually strangling the victim, whose 
 hoarse gasping for breath became audible 
 to Waters as he watched the scene with 
 horror-stricken eyes. 
 
 Now Fowler was on his knees half bent 
 back. To steady himself he placed one of 
 his hands on the floor behind him. As he 
 did so, his ringers touched the hunting- 
 knife which had fallen to the ground when 
 the table had been overturned. 
 
 A ray of hope flickered through his cloud 
 ing brain. He grasped the hilt, and, ex 
 erting all his strength, tried to drive the 
 weapon into Dart s heart. But the stranger 
 saw the flash of steel, and, catching Fow 
 ler s wrist in his free hand, quickly forced 
 the knife from him. With a rage beyond all
 
 84 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 control, Dart plunged the blade deep into 
 his victim s back. As he collapsed, Dart, 
 losing his balance, fell prone upon the body 
 of the man whose life he had sworn to take 
 just two years before. 
 
 Outside, Waters waited for no more. Leap 
 ing down from his vantage-point, he rushed 
 back to Salomy s house. His brain, usu 
 ally so slow, rapidly formulated a plan. He 
 would tell Salomy that he, Rube Waters, 
 had killed Fowler. She would never know 
 the truth. The stranger would, of course, 
 make his escape and never return to Hang- 
 town, so that difficulty would not have to 
 be surmounted. 
 
 Once back at the Clay house, Rube 
 knocked at the door. There was no an 
 swer. He rapped again, but, having failed 
 to elicit any response, he called Salomy s 
 name. One of the squaws glided out, and 
 in her halting English, and with a sweep of 
 her arm, conveyed to him the knowledge 
 that Salorny and her father had gone some
 
 A LADY S COMMAND 85 
 
 distance. Surmising that they had ridden 
 to the General Store, Rube turned without 
 a word and bent his steps in that direction, 
 steadily gaining courage to follow out his 
 plan of winning the girl s promise to marry 
 him.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE VIGILANTES 
 
 JOE HALL, the sheriff, handled the rib 
 bons with the same assurance and dexterity 
 as Yuba Bill, with perhaps less regard for 
 the comfort of the occupants of the coach. 
 As the horses ran free along the curving 
 road which followed the contour of the 
 slopes, their sweating flanks glistening from 
 the shafts of sunlight which, piercing the 
 thick foliage, ribboned the shaded road with 
 almost mathematical precision, the coach 
 lumbered behind, making the turns with 
 protesting sound. Its passengers were 
 thrown first one way and then another, a 
 matter of small concern to all except Yuba 
 Bill, whose wound caused him some pain. 
 
 Yuba had regained consciousness as the 
 others lifted him into the coach and with it 
 the power of invective.
 
 THE VIGILANTES 87 
 
 "Of all the dodgasted sons of slinkin 
 Peter, them ouch them two cowardly 
 skunks beat hell. If I can git my hands on 
 em, or even one hand, by G d, I 11 make 
 em sorry they ever see the light o this yer 
 world," exclaimed Yuba, between gasps of 
 pain which shot from his arm through his 
 tremendous bulk. 
 
 The Colonel edged in between the lady 
 and the wounded man, and during the in 
 tervals of adjusting his somewhat unruly 
 ruff and guiding his tall hat on an even keel 
 with each lunge of the vehicle, remarked : 
 
 "The Vigilantes, my dear sah, the Vigi 
 lantes er will take immediate steps 
 to track those dastardly ruffians. I shall 
 pledge myself, as I consider it my duty, to 
 arouse our committee to immediate action. 
 This poor lady, you, madam, have 
 every right to the consideration and er 
 - to the services of the Vigilantes, who, 
 I trust, ere long will return to you, intact, 
 your possessions."
 
 88 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 "My all," sobbed the victim, who, 
 through the loss of her reticule, and con 
 sequently her handkerchief, was forced to 
 apply her dust-covered sleeve to remove the 
 tears which had already lined her face as 
 they trickled down her cheeks. 
 
 Her remark suddenly recalled to Yuba 
 his winnings of the night before, and as he 
 painfully felt of his empty pockets, there 
 broke forth a volley of oaths which did 
 honor to a country well versed in profan 
 ity. 
 
 The way to Hangtown seemed long, de 
 spite the speed with which the sheriff drove. 
 The road appeared endless with its varied 
 curves, now up and over deeply wooded 
 rises, fragrant and still, except for the oc 
 casional sound of water, running free amid 
 the waving ferns and grasses of the open 
 land. The riders kept pace, talking loudly 
 and always of the hold-up, while Hamlin 
 and Larrabee perched in silence on the top 
 of the coach lost in thought, the latter still
 
 THE VIGILANTES 89 
 
 brooding with a slowly dawning idea be 
 coming fixed in his mind. 
 
 As the Hangtown General Store came 
 into sight at the turn of the road leading to 
 the little settlement, an unusual number of 
 persons appeared gathered in knots on the 
 porch and in the road. An excitement pre 
 vailed which seemed to indicate other news 
 than that of the hold-up. 
 
 As the sheriff drew up, the volley of ques 
 tions fired at him were offset by the shrill 
 notes of Mother Brayley s voice conveying 
 the amazing information, "Fowler s kilt, 
 Fowler s kilt. The foin gintleman he was, 
 too, and ther blackguard what done it, 
 runnin free." 
 
 "She s right," "T is a fact, Joe," chimed 
 in several others ; while questionings as to 
 the hold-up, Yuba s condition, the extent 
 of the robbery, the appearance of the rob 
 bers, and many others of less importance 
 filled the air. 
 
 Mr. Hamlin had alighted, and, with his
 
 90 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 closely buttoned figure and self-contained 
 air, was a marked contrast to those about 
 him. He never allowed his philosophy to 
 interfere with decisive and prompt action. 
 With a glance toward Joe Hall, the sheriff, 
 and with a sweep of the arm which em 
 braced all, he began : - 
 
 "It appears that Hangtown has met with 
 a double disaster. The coach has been held 
 up, robbed, and our excellent friend, Yuba, 
 has been wounded by two unknown men, 
 who, it is my misfortune to state, have 
 escaped. Mr. Fowler has met with an un 
 timely end in a manner which I am told 
 leads to the belief that it was the work of 
 one man and a mighty strong one at that. 
 Upon us is placed the duty and honor to dis 
 cover these criminals and to deal with them 
 in accordance with justice, and I suggest 
 that we part for the time being to call to 
 gether the Vigilantes and discuss how best 
 this miserable business can be soonest 
 settled."
 
 THE VIGILANTES 91 
 
 "A suggestion that does you honor," ex 
 claimed the Colonel, ineffectively trying to 
 assist Yuba to the ground. "Let us by all 
 means call a meeting of the Vigilantes and 
 all attend who may shed light er or 
 knowledge on this sad catastrophe." 
 
 Meanwhile, Hamlin quietly opened the 
 door of the coach, and, taking the lady s 
 hand in his, with that decision of character 
 a hesitating and undecided sex knows how 
 to admire, gracefully assisted her to the 
 ground. 
 
 "You fellers better be darned quick, er 
 the sneakin rascals will be outer here fore 
 yer know it," remarked Yuba wisely. And 
 so it was determined to meet in half an 
 hour, an interval passed in gleaning the full 
 particulars of both mysteries, and more 
 especially an itemized and slightly exag 
 gerated description on the part of the un 
 fortunate lady of her personal losses. 
 
 The Clays, father and daughter, chanced 
 to be on their way to the settlement when
 
 92 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 a passing rider told them of the happenings, 
 and hastened their pace. To Salomy the 
 report of the murder came as a bolt from 
 the blue. Her rage at Fowler s sudden pas 
 sion and brutality, and her desire for in 
 stant retaliation and revenge, had given 
 place to a hatred which only those who have 
 lived in the open places, where punishment 
 cannot be adequately secured by law, can 
 understand. Her command to Rube Waters 
 had not taken effect at the time, she thought, 
 and she had not felt any security in his halt 
 ing words. She did not love him and it was 
 only the blind desire for vengeance that led 
 her into a promise of marriage. Now that 
 the deed was done, her mind immediately 
 reverted to Waters, and she began to real 
 ize what her rash act meant. It was with 
 chilled heart and stony face that she con 
 tinued on her way, replying in monosyl 
 lables to her father s few remarks on the 
 subject. 
 Arrived at the store, they found it de-
 
 THE VIGILANTES 93 
 
 serted by all except Peleg, the faithful, who 
 told them that the Vigilantes were meeting 
 up beyond the three pines, and without 
 waiting for their supplies, they continued 
 on until the sound of voices, both shrill and 
 rumbling, told that the meeting was already 
 in progress. 
 
 "One at a time, my good friends." The 
 voice was that of Colonel Starbottle. "One 
 at a time, please. In order to conduct this 
 meeting in all fairness, I beg of you to 
 adopt er a proper method of proce 
 dure." 
 
 "Thet s all right, Cunn el, but fer G d s 
 sake, let s git somewhar," said Yuba, "else 
 them fellers 11 soon be outer reach." 
 
 As the Clays came into view, Mr. Ham- 
 lin, his hand raised bespeaking silence, 
 spoke with firm authority : 
 
 "I suggest that, without further delay, 
 ten of the boys ride to the point this side of 
 the Gulch where the coach was held up, and 
 track in from there; that three others take
 
 94 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 the Wingdam road and block off any chance 
 the rascals have of getting out of the woods ; 
 the rest can beat in from here and round 
 up at the Gulch. They cannot remain in 
 these woods without food, and it will be a 
 surprise to me if we don t strike their trail 
 before night, heading for the Forks or 
 Wingdam. Any one fool enough to hold up 
 Yuba s outfit with the small chance for 
 booty must be pretty hard up or else 
 locoed." 
 
 There was general assent, except from 
 Larrabee, who stood on the outside of the 
 ring vehemently chewing at the end of a 
 pine chip, his hands thrust deep into his 
 pockets. Since the Clays arrival, his eyes 
 had been glued upon the old man. He 
 seemed forgetful of every one else until 
 Hamlin had finished. 
 
 Quickly shifting his position to one of 
 menace, he spoke haltingly: 
 
 " I don t believe yer need ter go through 
 all them motions ter get them fellers what
 
 THE VIGILANTES 95 
 
 robbed the coach. Instid, why don t yer 
 ask Clay whar he s bin all day." 
 
 There was a moment of silence, and then, 
 as the accusation dawned upon the crowd, 
 the old man, with an oath, launched his 
 body at Larrabee, clutching him by the 
 throat. So sudden was the attack that 
 Larrabee, caught off his guard, lost his 
 balance and fell, carrying, not only Clay, 
 but the Colonel, as he pitched to the ground. 
 Almost simultaneously, Hamlin and the 
 sheriff were upon the prostrate forms, and 
 with the aid of others, soon tore them 
 apart. 
 
 "Lemme git 5 im," panted Clay. "That 
 God should ever create sech a mean liar - 
 Hands off, d yer hear, you!" And the old 
 man struggled with all his might to free 
 himself from the friendly hands that held 
 him back, while the crowd joined in their 
 appraisals of the contending parties. 
 
 " Larrabee s a dirty liar." 
 
 "He s nuthin but er coward."
 
 96 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 "Thinks he can settle his feud with yer 
 by gittin some one else ter do the trick." 
 
 "A sneak, a sneak," piped in a childish 
 voice. 
 
 The sheriff ended the discussion as his 
 voice thundered out : - 
 
 "Thar 11 be no settlin o Kentucky feuds 
 in this here country, not so long as Joe 
 Hall s sheriff. Don t none o you fergit it, 
 either." 
 
 Salomy, meanwhile, a forced spectator, 
 her ringers burning into her palms, the 
 color gone from her face, had forgotten all 
 thought of Fowler until a hand stole around 
 her arm, drawing her away from the center 
 of the group, which, with every act of friend 
 liness, was showing her father the absurdity 
 of Larrabee s assertion. 
 
 "I want ter tell yer somethin , Salomy," 
 whispered Rube in her ear. "Don t yer 
 mind Larrabee; he s nuthin but a lyin 
 coward an he s bin drunk for two days." 
 
 "Wait, wait," pleaded the girl.
 
 THE VIGILANTES 97 
 
 "I can t, I ve got ter go with the Vigi 
 lantes. They re goin now." And he drew 
 her toward his horse a few yards away. 
 
 "I dun it," continued Rube shakily, his 
 eyes shifting as he spoke. 
 
 "How?" asked Salomy, the word com 
 ing huskily, with a catch in her throat, as 
 she thrust him before her with searching 
 gaze. 
 
 "I crept in upon him at his cabin last 
 night. He was readin some papers with his 
 back to the door. I got in afore he heard 
 me, or leastways, he turned so sudden-like 
 thet he knocked my gun outer my hand an 
 we clinched." Rube paused and moistened 
 his parched lips. 
 
 "Then we fought, Salomy. My G d! 
 how we did fight. His hands at my neck, 
 but I threw him again and again. Ther was 
 a knife on the table an he grabbed it, an 
 I thought as how I wuz done fer, but we 
 clinched again, an I bent back his wrist, an 
 byme by, slow-like, I forced his hand an
 
 98 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 got it, an back he came at my throat. G d ! 
 I was all in. I could n t see nuthin , but as 
 he held my throat, I got my right arm 
 around behind an struck ez hard ez I could, 
 an he fell. I killed him same ez I said I 
 would. An J now, Salomy, will yer marry 
 me?" Rube glanced falteringly into the 
 clear, searching eyes which seemed to read 
 his mind with terrifying accuracy. 
 
 "Will yer?" he pleaded. 
 
 "Mebbe," replied Salomy thoughtfully. 
 "But" 
 
 Before either she or Rube could continue 
 the discussion, the sheriff broke in on them. 
 
 "If you cal late to come at all, Rube, git 
 into yer saddle, and quit yer philanderin ," 
 he said sharply. "Scuses to yer, Miss Sa 
 lomy, but we gotter be off." 
 
 The first and second detachments of the 
 Vigilantes had already started in search of 
 the robbers of the stage-coach, and as Rube 
 scrambled into the saddle, the third group, 
 with the sheriff in the lead, wheeled their
 
 THE VIGILANTES 99 
 
 horses and swung along the road to the 
 south. 
 
 Salomy watched them until they had 
 passed out of sight in a cloud of dust. Then, 
 joining her father, who was still in excited 
 conversation with one of the older men, she 
 suggested that they start. Their horses 
 were secured, and father and daughter took 
 the road for home.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 AN ERRANT BRACELET 
 
 IT was a quiet, subdued Salomy Jane who 
 went about her household duties the next 
 morning. Now that she had had time to 
 reflect during the long hours of the night, 
 she had come to the conclusion that it was 
 a serious affair for her, this killing of Fowler 
 in cold blood and for personal revenge. Rube 
 would certainly never have killed him had 
 she not insisted in her fury, she said to her 
 self, over and over again as the recollection 
 haunted her. She was not easily fright 
 ened, but a cold fear struck at her heart 
 every time the possibility of the Vigi 
 lantes discovering Rube to be the murderer 
 flashed through her mind. There was no 
 reasonable doubt, if this happened, that 
 he would be hung to the nearest tree, in 
 quick time. It was a life for a life in that
 
 AN ERRANT BRACELET 101 
 
 country, and motives were not considered. 
 It would be just like Rube to tell the whole 
 story if he were caught, she thought, and 
 then what? The whole countryside would 
 consider her the murderer of both men. 
 Added to all this mental torture was the 
 realization that, even if Rube were not 
 accused of the crime and punished for it, 
 she had given him her word of honor to 
 marry him. The little line between her 
 brows deepened. How she despised him! 
 Even with his assurance that he had com 
 plied with her wish, Salomy was not con 
 vinced. She could not picture him in hand- 
 to-hand conflict with a man so greatly his 
 physical superior as Fowler, and it was even 
 more of a mystery that he had been the 
 victor in the struggle. The thought of her 
 father brought but little solace. He might 
 not consider Waters an ideal husband for 
 her, but he would be sure to take the view 
 that, having made a bargain, it was her 
 duty to keep it. The whole affair was a dis-
 
 102 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 tressing tangle, and for the first time in her 
 life, the girl was thoroughly sick at heart. 
 
 Her train of thought was broken by the 
 clatter of hoofs, and hurrying out, she met 
 her father as he rode up to the door. 
 
 "Any news, Dad?" she hastened to ask. 
 
 "Not yet, S lomy. None o the Vigilantes 
 is back yet. They bin beatin about all 
 night, but they ain t found none o the 
 rascals. We d a heared them if they 
 had." 
 
 "Who do yer suppose held up the coach, 
 Dad ? Don t no one have any idea down to 
 the store?" 
 
 "Wall, S lomy, if thar s any one with 
 any ideas, he s keepin em to himself, thet s 
 sure. But don t you worry your head with 
 the hold-up. Fowler s all you got ter think 
 over." 
 
 Salomy sighed, and went on with her 
 work again. A few minutes later she stood 
 up decisively, and put down the braid mat 
 she was mending. She would go over to see
 
 AN ERRANT BRACELET 103 
 
 Mrs. Red Pete. Any settled work for the 
 morning was out of the question with this 
 tumult in her brain, and it would do her 
 good to "talk it over" with a woman. Call 
 ing to the squaw in the kitchen that she 
 would be back in an hour or so, she set out 
 for her neighbor s. 
 
 Just before she reached the house, she 
 met two of the children, Jinny and Caroline. 
 They had been playing around one of the 
 fallen trees, which, in its immensity con 
 stituted a playhouse for them. Part of one 
 side had been gouged out, and the children 
 were snugly ensconced, dressing their rag 
 dolls in nondescript garments, and croon 
 ing softly to themselves. Catching sight of 
 Salomy, they sprang up, calling to her joy 
 fully, and tumbling to meet her. There was 
 a scramble of arms and legs for a moment, 
 as both children threw themselves into her 
 arms, and both begged her to stop and play 
 with them. 
 
 "I m goin over to see your mother, chil-
 
 104 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 dren. I can t stop now to play with you," 
 Salomy said shortly. 
 
 The disappointment on each little face 
 was acute ; the rag dolls lay in a disconsolate 
 heap, until Jinny had a bright idea. 
 
 "Wall, Ma won t be able to pay no ten- 
 tion to you, noways. She shooed us away 
 cause she had so much to do. Told us to 
 git out o the way. Mebbe, most likely, 
 she ll tell you that, too. You better stay 
 here with us for a little bit, anyway. 
 Please do, S lomy." 
 
 Salomy laughed, welcoming a brief dis 
 traction. 
 
 "You little trickster, Jinny. All right. 
 I 11 stay a bit. What 11 we play ? " 
 
 Jinny wanted to play an hilarious game 
 of "I Spy," and Caroline, being in the habit 
 of giving in to her elders, was agreeable. 
 Thereupon the forest rang with the shouts of 
 the three of them for the next hour, as one 
 game led to another, until Salomy sank 
 down breathless, and said she must be off.
 
 AN ERRANT BRACELET 105 
 
 "Tell us jest one fairy tale, S lomy, be 
 fore you go. Please, please," they pleaded, 
 and Salomy gathered them both onto the 
 huge log. Never before had these children 
 heard of such things as she told them. Back 
 in Kentucky, her father had once brought 
 her a gayly colored book of fairy tales, and 
 as a child she had devoured them. Now she 
 passed them on, in her own quaint versions, 
 to these children, starving for them. 
 
 The story was finished, and Jinny settled 
 back with a sigh of content. The tale had 
 been of a beautiful princess, who had tossed 
 her golden ball into the fountain, and of the 
 frog who had saved it for her. The little girl 
 laughed. 
 
 "Wall, S lomy, that princess had a gold 
 ball, but me and Car line has somethin jest 
 as good, ain t we, Car line?" 
 
 Caroline nodded placidly. "Show it to 
 her, Jinny." 
 
 Jinny dived into the recesses of their 
 treasure-house and brought out a bauble
 
 io6 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 that glittered and flashed in the sunshine. 
 She wiped it on her dress, and then proudly 
 showed it to Salomy. It was a thick brace 
 let of gold, ornately carved, and sparkling 
 with garish imitations of precious stones. 
 No one in that section of the country had 
 anything so gorgeous as this, and Salomy 
 looked at it in wonder. 
 
 "Whar on earth did yer git this, Jinny? 
 Ain t it beautiful?" she said. 
 
 "Oh, Dad guv it to Ma, and she lowed 
 as it war n t no good to her, she guv it to 
 me and Car line. Car line s goin to wear it 
 one day and me the next. You put it on, 
 now. You kin wear it whenever you want 
 to, S lomy. Can t she, Car line ? " 
 
 Salomy slipped it over her rounded arm. 
 "How pretty it looks, don t it, children?" 
 she asked, slipping it up and down. "But 
 whar on earth did your pa git such a thing ? " 
 
 "Oh, we heared him tellin Ma how he d 
 made a heap o money on some cattle he 
 sold t other day. Ma lowed how some o
 
 AN ERRANT BRACELET 107 
 
 the money d do her more good and us 
 kids, too, so she did n t want no bracelet." 
 
 "Wall, you re mighty lucky young uns 
 to git such a handsome thing. You want to 
 hang onto it until you re growed up, and 
 then it 11 do you more good. Come along 
 to your house, now. We spent a lot o time 
 here, and I won t have much time with 
 your ma." 
 
 The three of them started off, the children 
 skipping along on either side of Salomy. 
 Hardly had they covered any ground, when 
 they heard the sound of shots, the beating 
 of hoofs, and the excited shouts of riders. 
 
 Salomy gathered the children to one side 
 of the path just as a group of horsemen tore 
 by. Catching sight of the little party, they 
 pulled rein, and brought their animals up 
 standing, and turning, cantered back. The 
 leader slipped to the ground, and Salomy 
 recognized him as Andy Bartlett, the head 
 of one squad of the Vigilantes, whom she 
 had last seen the day before at the store.
 
 io8 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 "Howdy, Miss S lomy," he said. "Reckon 
 as how we give you a start. Sorry; didn t 
 mean to frighten you." 
 
 "Oh, you ain t no call to worry. You 
 did n t frighten me. But I low as how these 
 yer children is scared out n their boots by 
 the racket you Vigilantes make. Ain t yer 
 found them fellers yet?" Salomy inquired 
 with as much unconcern as she was able 
 to command. 
 
 "Not a sign o them," he said. "An 
 what s more, we ain t found the chap what 
 knifed Fowler yet. We got a big day s work 
 ahead o us." 
 
 Among the riders Salomy saw Yuba Bill, 
 his arm bound up, but sitting his horse stol 
 idly as if he were glued there. 
 
 "Hullo, Yuba," she called. "Did n t git 
 a chance to speak to you yisterday. Sorry 
 them chaps got you. Your arm any better 
 to-day?" 
 
 "Guess I ll live through it, S lomy. It 
 ain t any worse, nohow, so I m able to be
 
 AN ERRANT BRACELET 109 
 
 around, anyway." He hesitated for a min 
 ute, then said, " Long as you re here, 
 S lomy, would yer mind doin sutthin 
 fer me ? This here rag round my arm has 
 come undid and slid down. Will yer tie it 
 up fer me ? This gang here is like a pack of 
 Injuns when it comes ter hospital service." 
 
 " Course I ll do it, Yuba. Slide down 
 here, and I ll fix it for yer," she said 
 warmly. 
 
 Yuba slid his ponderous bulk from the 
 saddle, and stood waiting for her to arrange 
 the bandage. But as she lifted her hands to 
 his arm, the sun glinted on the bracelet she 
 wore, and before he could repress it, he 
 blurted out, "Whar on earth d you git 
 that thing, S lomy?" pointing to the orna 
 ment in amazement. 
 
 The next moment he cursed himself for 
 his foolishness. The attention of the whole 
 group was drawn to the girl s arm, and they 
 crowded closer. Instantly the truth flashed 
 on her. That bracelet; the children; Red
 
 no SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 Pete having a lot of money and this bauble. 
 She turned white. 
 
 "Never mind whar I got it, Yuba. Had 
 it a long time," she said, as she went on with 
 the bandage. 
 
 He looked at her steadily, wavering be 
 tween his affection for her and his duty. 
 Finally the former sentiment won, and he 
 said no more. But the others were not to 
 be put off so easily. They had noticed the 
 startled expression in the girl s eyes, and 
 one of them took the matter up. 
 
 "Whar d you ever see it afore, Yuba?" 
 
 Before Yuba had a chance to reply, 
 Jinny spoke up: 
 
 T aint none o your business, Luke. I 
 guv it to S lomy. She kin have anythin 
 that belongs to me and Car line, can t she, 
 Car line?" 
 
 "And whar d you git it?" The question 
 snapped from six tongues at once. 
 
 " Dad guv it to me," Jinny said proudly, 
 and Salomy groaned.
 
 AN ERRANT BRACELET in 
 
 Bedlam broke loose. The men all shouted 
 different questions at each other. Yuba, 
 satisfied that Salomy had nothing to do 
 with it, swore that it was the bracelet the 
 woman had been robbed of on his ill-fated 
 coach, and, wild with fury, the Vigilantes 
 swept off, hard on the trail of Red Pete. 
 There was now no doubt that he had had a 
 hand in the hold-up. He had been absent 
 for two days before; he had returned with 
 an abundance of gold-pieces ; and now here 
 was one of his children wearing the very 
 bracelet the unfortunate woman had lost. 
 
 Salomy did not even wait to answer the 
 questions of the puzzled children, but hur 
 ried off with them to their home. 
 
 Meanwhile, riding at a furious clip, the 
 Vigilantes swept around to the further end 
 of Red Pete s straggling pastures. Hiding 
 in the wood, they looked across, and saw 
 him with his boon companion, Bill Galla 
 gher, pretending to plough a piece of land. 
 Both men s horses were tied to a tree near
 
 ii2 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 them, and it could be seen that they were 
 deep in conversation. 
 
 Suddenly the leader of the Vigilantes 
 touched his horse with his spur, and gal 
 loped toward Pete and Gallagher. Quick 
 as a flash, they realized their crime had 
 been discovered and they ran for their 
 horses. Bartlett fired, but missed, and at 
 the signal the rest of the Vigilantes raced 
 after him. On they came, when Bartlett s 
 horse stumbled, causing them all to slow up 
 for the space of a second. 
 
 It was just enough to give Red Pete and 
 Gallagher the advantage. With a shout 
 they were off, the Vigilantes in hot pursuit, 
 and, gaining the open road, they raced for 
 the state line. 
 
 There followed such a desperate chase 
 as has rarely been equaled in excitement 
 even in that country of ever-present dan 
 ger. Up over the hills the horses galloped, 
 through dense forest ground, and over the 
 scrub. Pete and Gallagher were gaining
 
 with their fresher mounts, and coming to 
 a steep embankment, shelving down to the 
 river, they turned their horses toward the 
 stream. 
 
 Spurring the maddened animals over the 
 edge, they slid down, straining every nerve 
 to gain the river. Down went the horses, 
 amid the choking dust and sliding gravel. 
 Gallagher had already reached the river; 
 Pete was close behind, when the ground un 
 der his horse gave way, pitching the poor 
 beast forward, and headlong into the stream 
 below, and throwing the rider, half stunned, 
 on the bank. 
 
 Up above, the Vigilantes had halted. 
 Five revolvers were pointed at Gallagher 
 on the swimming horse. Five shots were 
 fired in quick succession. Three took effect, 
 and toppling over, the figure of Gallagher 
 slid under the swift-running current. 
 
 They picked up Red Pete, too stunned to 
 offer resistance, and, binding his hands se 
 curely, put him on his horse. He knew only
 
 ii4 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 too well just what was in store for him. He 
 asked no questions, realizing the futility of 
 explanation with these relentless men, and 
 so, without a word, the small procession 
 moved back along the road in the direction 
 of Red Pete s house.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 TRAPPED 
 
 THE sound of his own hard breathing, the 
 hum of the insects, and the occasional twit 
 tering of the birds in the trees outside, ac 
 centuated the intense stillness which fell 
 upon the cabin, as Dart painfully rose from 
 the prostrate form of Fowler, and gazed 
 upon the dead man. 
 
 Now that the deed, which had been in his 
 mind, to the exclusion of all else, was ac 
 complished, a feeling of utter weakness and 
 nausea seized him. He sat with bowed head, 
 his hands covering his eyes to blot out the 
 terrible sight before him, while the thin red 
 line of blood trickled its way across the floor 
 until it almost reached his outstretched 
 foot. 
 
 How long he remained there he never 
 knew. The glinting rays of the setting sun,
 
 n6 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 finding their way through the small panes 
 of the cabin window, played upon his face, 
 and finally woke him to action. He must 
 escape. The news would travel quickly in 
 that country and he must put many miles 
 between himself and Hangtown. The sudden 
 return of the instinct of self-preservation 
 reacted upon him vigorously, and he arose 
 with an effort, to shake himself free from the 
 morbid terror to which he had given way. 
 Adjusting his clothes, which had become 
 torn in the encounter, he hastily gathered 
 together what food he could find, and 
 stepped forth cautiously, listening for any 
 sound which might indicate the presence of 
 an intruder. Convinced that he was alone, 
 he looked about for his revolver, the barrel 
 of which glistened where the weapon had 
 fallen. Slipping it in the holster, he struck 
 through the woods, intent upon avoiding 
 the settlement. 
 
 Night soon fell, making further progress 
 impossible. Selecting a spot well hidden by
 
 TRAPPED 117 
 
 underbrush, he settled himself for a night s 
 vigil, for, despite his exhaustion, the memory 
 of his deed banished all thought of sleep. 
 And so the weary hours of darkness were 
 spent in mental anguish, at one time accus 
 ing himself bitterly ; at others, defending the 
 deed, going over and over in his mind his 
 sister s weakness and downfall ; his decision 
 to ignore the law of the land, and to carry 
 out his vengeance in his own way. Of one 
 thing he was certain ; he had killed the right 
 man. Never did he feel a doubt upon this 
 point, notwithstanding the fact that Fowler 
 had denied his identity to the end, or that 
 Dart had never laid eyes on his victim be 
 fore. 
 
 With these thoughts still in his mind came 
 the first chill of the dawn; the first lifting 
 of the vast grayness, and the breath of the 
 morning breeze. By the time the sun was 
 up, Dart was well on his way. Unaccus 
 tomed to the country, and to the landmarks 
 about him, he took a direction which led,
 
 n8 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 not away from Hangtown, but diagonally 
 across the road leading from the settlement 
 to Wingdam. As he came full upon the 
 beaten path, he heard the far-away, stac 
 cato click of horses hoofs. Quickly retreat 
 ing behind the bushes which skirted the 
 road, he watched, unseen, as Red Pete and 
 his companion tore by, a party of the Vigi 
 lantes in hot pursuit. 
 
 Dart did not move for several minutes. 
 Then being reasonably sure that the danger 
 was past, he sped along the road, watching 
 closely for other chance horsemen, and now 
 and again taking to the woods, as stray 
 members of the posse passed. At the end of 
 an hour, quietly picking his way through 
 the brush, a hundred yards or so from the 
 road, he heard a rustle of leaves and crack 
 ling of boughs. Jumping to one side, and 
 crouching low, he waited with bated breath 
 for the oncomer. To his relief and joy he 
 saw a riderless horse, water dripping from 
 his flanks, browsing in deep contentment.
 
 TRAPPED 119 
 
 Although Dart was ignorant of the fact, 
 the horse was the same animal Gallagher 
 had been riding when he had met his death. 
 Unfamiliar as Dart was with the fine points 
 of a horse, he could see readily that this was 
 an exceptional animal in every way. As a 
 matter of fact, this horse of Gallagher s had 
 been long a source of suspicion and envy in 
 the community. It was the popular belief 
 that Gallagher had stolen him, for that 
 worthless individual would hardly have 
 been able to purchase such an extraordi 
 nary animal. It was, by far, the finest 
 mount in the district ; a thoroughbred from 
 his well-poised head to his fleet, dainty feet. 
 Here was a means of escape, and with 
 great caution Dart crept upon the animal. 
 Seizing the bridle, he mounted, guiding the 
 horse still farther into the woods, thinking 
 and hoping to avoid the Vigilantes and to 
 keep clear of the highways. Without realiz 
 ing the fatality of the move, he went in the 
 direction of the ravine, close to which the
 
 120 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 Hangtown coach had been held up the day 
 before a region well patrolled by Joe 
 Hall s gang, who were still engaged in the 
 hunt for the bandits. 
 
 And so, unconsciously, Dart stepped into 
 the trap set for Red Pete. The crackling of 
 twigs ahead caused him to turn and spur 
 into a furious gallop, but hardly had his 
 horse got into his stride than two riders 
 broke from cover behind him. Once more 
 he turned ; the crack of a gun from one of his 
 pursuers failed to bring him to a halt. The 
 bullet tore through the leaves of the trees 
 overhead and went singing on its way. 
 Over stones and decaying stumps of trees, 
 up and down the uneven country, the chase 
 continued, an occasional shot urging Dart 
 to greater speed. Pace by pace he increased 
 the distance between them, and soon the 
 hope of ultimate escape seemed brighter. 
 
 To his despair, however, even as the 
 sounds of his pursuers were growing fainter 
 and fainter, Dart suddenly found himself
 
 TRAPPED 121 
 
 confronted by six other horsemen who came 
 galloping toward him, guns leveled. They 
 had heard the shouts and pistol shots, and, 
 dashing across the country, had headed 
 him off. The game was up. 
 
 "Hands up!" shouted the leader. 
 
 Mechanically, Dart raised his arms, and 
 his exhausted horse came to a halt. 
 
 "H 11 of a fine feller you be," remarked 
 one of the group, dismounting, "comin 
 out here to Hangtown an holdin up the 
 coach fer a few dollars. Ef yer was thet 
 hard up, we d a given yer the cash." 
 
 "But now, by G d, yer 11 swing fer it," 
 interposed another. "Yes, sir, yer 11 find 
 out why our place s called * Hangtown, 
 sure nough." 
 
 The group had now surrounded Dart, who 
 gazed in amazement at them. Could it be 
 that they took him for a common highway 
 robber? A bitter little smile just touched 
 his lips and was gone as he considered how 
 much more monstrous his real crime had
 
 122 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 been, and he was on the point of denying 
 the charge they made against him when it 
 came to him how utterly useless it would be. 
 No one would believe him, and to confess 
 the murder of Fowler would be folly. So, 
 without a word, he submitted while they 
 bound his arms tightly behind him, and 
 set off at a slow pace for the settlement.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 A KISS AND AN ESCAPE 
 
 WHEN Salomy and the frightened chil 
 dren reached the house, Mrs. Red Pete was 
 nowhere in sight. In vain they called to her. 
 Finally they concluded that she must have 
 taken some of the washing back to its 
 owners. There was nothing to be done but 
 wait, and Salomy set herself to the task of 
 calming the children s fears, forcing herself 
 to tell them a story until such time as their 
 mother should return. 
 
 She had almost finished, when the sound 
 of firing in the distance brought her up 
 straight. Nearer it came, and in a moment 
 the second detachment of the Vigilantes 
 swung into view, with a man, whose hands 
 were bound behind him, in their midst. 
 Salomy glanced at their captive. It was 
 the man who had saved her from Fowler
 
 i2 4 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 in the wood, and, speechless, she stood 
 gazing at him. Was it possible that he 
 was Red Pete s confederate? As conjec 
 tures raced through her brain, the second 
 party, with Red Pete in their midst, rushed 
 up, just as Mrs. Red Pete, with her hus 
 band s little nephew, Willie, came through 
 the woods in back of the cabin. 
 
 Without a word the wife took in the situ 
 ation, and with the despair of hopelessness, 
 asked not a question. 
 
 "Ef you ve got anything to say to your 
 folks, say it now, and say it quick," said the 
 sheriff. 
 
 Red Pete glanced around him. All the 
 spectators were accustomed to scenes of 
 violence, blood-feud, chase, and hardship; 
 it was only the suddenness of the onset and 
 its quick result that had surprised them. 
 They looked on with dazed curiosity and 
 some disappointment; there had been no 
 fight to speak of - - no spectacle ! The 
 wide-eyed, small nephew got upon the rain-
 
 A KISS AND AN ESCAPE 125 
 
 barrel to view the proceedings more com 
 fortably; Salomy, tall and handsome, leaned 
 against the doorpost, chewing gum. Only 
 a yellow hound was actively perplexed. He 
 could not make out if a hunt were just over 
 or beginning, and ran eagerly backwards 
 and forwards, leaping alternately upon the 
 captives and the captors. 
 
 The sheriff repeated his challenge. Red 
 Pete gave a reckless laugh and looked at 
 his wife. 
 
 At which Mrs. Red Pete came forward. 
 It seemed that she had much to say, in 
 coherently, furiously, vindictively, to the 
 sheriff. His soul would roast in hell for 
 that day s work ! He called himself a man, 
 skunkin in the open and afraid to show 
 himself except with a crowd of other " Ki- 
 yi s" around a house of women and chil 
 dren. Heaping insult upon insult, inveigh 
 ing against his low blood, his ancestors, 
 his dubious origin, she at last flung out a 
 wild taunt of his invalid wife, the insult of
 
 126 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 a woman to a woman, until his white face 
 grew rigid, and only that Western-Ameri 
 can fetich of the sanctity of sex kept his 
 twitching ringers from the lock of his rifle. 
 Even her husband noticed it, and with a 
 half-authoritative "Let up on that, old 
 gal," and a pat of his freed left hand on 
 her back, took his last parting. The sheriff, 
 still white under the lash of the woman s 
 tongue, turned abruptly to the second cap 
 tive. "And if you ve got anybody to say 
 good-bye to, now s your chance." 
 
 The man looked up, Nobody stirred or 
 spoke. He was a stranger there, known to 
 no one. 
 
 The unexpected question stirred him for 
 a moment out of the attitude of reckless in 
 difference, for attitude it was. But it may 
 have touched him that at that moment he 
 was less than his companions. However, he 
 only shook his head. As he did so, his eye 
 casually fell on the handsome girl by the 
 doorpost, who was looking at him. She was
 
 A KISS AND AN ESCAPE 127 
 
 the same girl he had saved from Fowler s 
 advances the previous day in the wood, and 
 he warmed toward her as he reflected that 
 she had given him the chance to find Fowler. 
 The sheriff may have been touched by his 
 complete loneliness, for he hesitated. At 
 the same moment he saw that the girl was 
 looking at his friendless captive. 
 
 A grotesque idea struck him. 
 
 "Salomy Jane, ye might do worse than 
 come yere and say good-bye to a dying 
 man, and him a stranger," he said. 
 
 There seemed to be a subtle stroke of 
 poetry and irony in this that equally struck 
 the apathetic group. It was well known 
 that Salomy Jane Clay thought no small 
 potatoes of herself, for had she not held off 
 the local swain with lazy, nymph-like scorn ? 
 Nevertheless, she slowly disengaged herself 
 from the doorpost, and, to everybody s 
 astonishment, lounged with languid grace 
 and outstretched hand toward the prisoner. 
 The color came into the gray, reckless mask
 
 128 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 which the doomed man wore, as her right 
 hand grasped his left, just loosed by his 
 captors. Then she paused; her shy, fawn- 
 like eyes grew bold, and fixed themselves 
 upon him. She took the chewing-gum from 
 her mouth, wiped her red lips with the back 
 of her hand, by a sudden lithe spring placed 
 her foot on his stirrup, and, bounding to the 
 saddle, threw her arms about his neck and 
 pressed a kiss upon his lips. 
 
 They remained thus for a hushed mo 
 ment the man on the threshold of death, 
 the young woman in the fullness of youth 
 and beauty linked together. Then the 
 crowd laughed ; in the audacious effrontery 
 of the girl s act the ultimate fate of the two 
 men was forgotten. She slipped languidly 
 to the ground ; she was the focus of all eyes 
 - she only ! The sheriff saw it and his op 
 portunity. He shouted: "Time s up For 
 ward!" urged his horse beside his captives 
 with a menacing gesture, and the next 
 moment the whole cavalcade was sweep-
 
 A KISS AND AN ESCAPE 129 
 
 ing over the clearing into the darkening 
 woods. 
 
 Their destination was Sawyer s Crossing 
 Ford, where the council were in the habit 
 of sitting, and where each culprit was to 
 expiate the offense of which that council 
 had already found him guilty. They rode in 
 great and breathless haste a haste in 
 which, strangely enough, even the captives 
 seemed to join. That haste possibly pre 
 vented them from paying any attention to 
 the second prisoner. Ever since his cap 
 ture, he had maintained an attitude of 
 scornful indifference. Nor did they notice 
 the singular change which had taken place 
 in him since the episode of the kiss. His 
 high color remained, as if it had burned 
 through his mask of recklessness; his eyes 
 were quick, alert, and keen, his mouth half 
 open as if the girl s kiss still lingered there. 
 And that haste had made them careless, for 
 the horse of the man who led him slipped 
 in a gopher-hole, rolled over, unseated his
 
 130 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 rider, and even dragged the bound and help 
 less second captive from the horse he rode, 
 without doubt, the fleetest mount in the 
 cavalcade. In an instant they were all on 
 their feet again, but in that supreme mo 
 ment the second captive felt the cords 
 which bound his arms had slipped to his 
 wrists. By keeping his elbows to his sides, 
 and obliging the others to help him mount, 
 it escaped their notice. By riding close to 
 his captors, and keeping in the crush of the 
 throng, he further concealed the accident, 
 slowly working his hands downwards out 
 of his bonds. 
 
 Their way lay through a sylvan wilder 
 ness, mid-leg deep in ferns, whose tall fronds 
 brushed their horses sides in their furious 
 gallop and concealed the flapping of the 
 captive s loosened cords. The peaceful vista, 
 more suggestive of the offerings of nymph 
 and shepherd than of human sacrifice, was 
 in a strange contrast to this whirlwind rush 
 of stern, armed men. The westering sun
 
 A KISS AND AN ESCAPE 131 
 
 pierced the subdued light and the tremor 
 of leaves with yellow lances; birds started 
 into song on blue and dove-like wings, and 
 on either side of the trail of this vengeful 
 storm could be heard the murmur of hid 
 den and tranquil waters. In a few moments 
 they would be on the open ridge, whence 
 sloped the common turnpike to " Sawyer s," 
 a mile away. It was the custom of returning 
 cavalcades to take this hill at headlong 
 speed, with shouts and cries that heralded 
 their coming. They withheld the latter that 
 day, as inconsistent with their dignity; but, 
 emerging from the wood, swept silently like 
 an avalanche down the slope. They were 
 well under way, looking only to their horses, 
 when the second captive slipped his right 
 arm from the bonds and succeeded in grasp 
 ing the reins that lay trailing on the horse s 
 neck. A sudden vaquero jerk, which the 
 well-trained animal understood, threw him 
 on his haunches with his forelegs firmly 
 planted on the slope. The rest of the caval-
 
 i 3 2 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 cade swept on; the man who was leading 
 the captive s horse by the riata, thinking 
 only of another accident, dropped the line 
 to save himself from being dragged back 
 wards from his horse. The captive wheeled, 
 and the next moment was galloping furi 
 ously up the slope. 
 
 It was the work of a moment ; a trained 
 horse and an experienced hand. The caval 
 cade had covered nearly fifty yards before 
 they could pull up; the freed captive had 
 covered half that distance uphill. The road 
 was so narrow that only two shots could be 
 fired, and these broke dust two yards ahead 
 of the fugitive. The fugitive realized this 
 in his extremity also, and would have gladly 
 taken a shot in his own leg to spare that of 
 his horse. Five men were detached to re 
 capture or kill him. The latter seemed in 
 evitable. But he had calculated his chances; 
 before they could reload he had reached the 
 woods again; winding in and out between 
 the pillared tree-trunks, he offered no mark.
 
 A KISS AND AN ESCAPE 133 
 
 They knew his horse was superior to their 
 own; at the end of two hours they returned, 
 for he had disappeared without track or trail. 
 
 Salomy Jane had watched the riders un 
 til they had disappeared. Then she became 
 aware that her brief popularity had passed. 
 Mrs. Red Pete, in stormy hysterics, had 
 included her in a sweeping denunciation of 
 the whole universe, possibly for simulating 
 an emotion in which she herself was defi 
 cient. The children admired her as one who 
 had undoubtedly "canoodled" with a man 
 "a-goin to be hung" - a daring flight be 
 yond their wildest ambition. Salomy Jane 
 accepted the change with charming uncon 
 cern. She put on her yellow nankeen sun- 
 bonnet, jumped on her mustang with a cas 
 ual display of agile ankles in shapely white 
 stockings, whistled to the hound, and, with 
 a "So long, sonny!" to the lately bereft 
 but admiring nephew, flapped and fluttered 
 away in her short brown holland gown.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 SALOMY S REFLECTIONS 
 
 "Woi s this yer I m hearin of your 
 doin s over at Red Pete s? Honey-foglin 
 with that feller they ketched along with 
 Pete?" said Mr. Clay the next morning at 
 breakfast. 
 
 "I reckon you heard about the straight 
 thing, then," said Salomy Jane uncon 
 cernedly, without looking round. 
 
 "What do you kalkilate Rube will say to 
 it? What are you goin to tell him?" said 
 Mr. Clay sarcastically. 
 
 " I 11 tell him that when he s on his way 
 to be hung, I 11 kiss him not till then," 
 said the young lady brightly. 
 
 This delightful witticism suited the pa 
 ternal humor, and Mr. Clay smiled; a mo 
 ment afterwards, he said, -
 
 SALOMY S REFLECTIONS 135 
 
 " But this yer chap got away arter all, so 
 they tell me." 
 
 Salomy Jane sat up straight. This was 
 certainly a new and different phase of the 
 situation. She had never thought of it be 
 fore, and, strangely enough, for the first 
 time she became interested in the man. 
 "Got away?" she repeated. "Did they let 
 him off?" 
 
 "Not much," said her father briefly. 
 "Slipped his cords, and going down the 
 grade pulled up short, just like a vaquero 
 ag in a lassoed bull, almost draggin the 
 man leadin him off his hoss, and then 
 skyuted up the grade. For that matter, on 
 that hoss he mout have dragged the whole 
 posse of em down on their knees ef he liked ! 
 But arter all, I don t know as I m sorry. 
 The feller had a durned good excuse for 
 what he did, I m thinkin . Them Vigilantes 
 are allus hangin onto some scrap of law. 
 If it d been my sister, I d have killed 
 Fowler myself."
 
 136 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 Salomy s fork dropped with a clatter, and 
 her heart stopped beating. White-faced, 
 she stood before her father. 
 
 "What are you talkin about, Dad? Who 
 killed Fowler?" 
 
 "Did n t yer know? Ain t Rube told yer? 
 What d yer suppose they ketched the feller 
 for? He killed Fowler, of course. I thought 
 yer d heard. Pears like back in the East, 
 Fowler had acted the skunk toward this 
 feller s sister, and so the feller killed him 
 when he had the chance. I m glad he got 
 away." 
 
 Clay rose from the table, and strolled 
 into the other, room to inspect his gun. 
 
 Salomy dropped into a chair and buried 
 her face in her hands. So it was he, and not 
 Rube, who had killed the man she hated. 
 Utter contempt for her weakling lover con 
 sumed her; then the white fury that had 
 engulfed her the day when Fowler had way 
 laid her in the wood rushed over her again, 
 and with it came a strange gratitude to-
 
 SALOMY S REFLECTIONS 137 
 
 ward this man. She caught her breath as 
 the picture flashed before her of the hand 
 some young fellow, sitting his horse so 
 calmly, facing death; she felt again the 
 cling of his desperate lips, and the crush of 
 his arms. And he had gotten away! She 
 threw back her head, her color burning, and 
 with an effort pulled herself together. 
 
 When her father came in again, she was 
 her natural self. 
 
 "Did he get clean away, Dad?" 
 
 "He did, and unless he s fool enough to 
 sell the hoss he kin keep away, too. So ye 
 see, ye can t ladle out purp stuff about a 
 dyin stranger to Rube. He won t swaller 
 it." 
 
 Madison Clay smiled grimly, pushed back 
 his chair, rose, dropped a perfunctory kiss 
 on his daughter s hair, and, taking his 
 shotgun from the corner, departed on a 
 peaceful Samaritan mission to a cow who 
 had dropped a calf in the far pasture. In 
 clined as he was to Reuben s wooing from
 
 138 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 his eligibility as to property, he was con 
 scious that he was sadly deficient in certain 
 qualities inherent in the Clay family. It 
 certainly would be a kind of mesalliance. 
 
 Left to herself, Salomy Jane stared a long 
 while at the coffee-pot, and then, calling 
 the two squaws to clear away the things, 
 she went up to her own room to make her 
 bed. Here she was confronted with a pos 
 sible prospect of that proverbial bed she 
 might be making in her willfulness, and on 
 which she must lie, in the photograph of a 
 somewhat ordinary young man of weak 
 features Reuben Waters stuck in her 
 window-frame. Good Lordy! Fancy Reu 
 ben hearing that the feller was alive and 
 going round with that kiss of hers set on his 
 lips! He had returned it like a man, hold 
 ing her tight and almost breathless, and 
 he going to be hung the next minute! Sa 
 lomy Jane had been kissed at other times, 
 by force, chance, or stratagem. In a cer 
 tain ingenuous forfeit game of the local-
 
 SALOMY S REFLECTIONS 139 
 
 ity known as "I m a-pinin ," many had 
 "pined" for a "sweet kiss" from Salomy 
 Jane, which she had yielded in a sense of 
 honor and fair play. She had never been 
 kissed like this before she would never 
 again ; and yet the man was alive ! And be 
 hold, she could see in the mirror that she 
 was blushing! 
 
 She should hardly know him again. A 
 young man with very bright eyes, a flushed 
 and sunburnt cheek, a kind of fixed look in 
 the face, and no beard; no, none that she 
 could feel. She turned suddenly and tore 
 Reuben s picture to shreds. What a sneak 
 he had been! Too weak to carry out her 
 wl \ he had, nevertheless, sought to claim 
 his reward. And to think she did not even 
 know this other young man s name ! That 
 was queer. To be kissed by a man whom 
 she might never know! Of course he knew 
 hers. She wondered if he remembered it and 
 her. But of course he was so glad to get off 
 with his life that he never thought of any-
 
 i 4 o SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 thing else. Yet she did not give more than 
 four or five minutes to these speculations, 
 and, like a sensible girl, thought of some 
 thing else. Once again, however, in opening 
 the closet, she found the brown holland 
 gown she had worn on the day before; 
 thought it very unbecoming, and regretted 
 that she had not worn her best gown on 
 her visit to Red Pete s cottage. On such 
 an occasion she really might have been more 
 impressive.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE KISS REPEATED 
 
 WHEN her father came home that night 
 she asked him the news. No, they had not 
 captured the fugitive, who was still at large. 
 Red Pete s body had been delivered to his 
 widow. Perhaps it would only be neigh 
 borly for Salomy Jane to ride over to the 
 funeral. But Salomy Jane did not take to 
 the suggestion kindly, nor yet did she ex 
 plain to her father that, as the other man 
 was still living, she did not care to undergo 
 a second disciplining at the widow s hands. 
 Nevertheless, she contrasted her situation 
 with that of the widow with a new and sin 
 gular satisfaction. It might have been Red 
 Pete who had escaped. But he had not the 
 grit of the nameless one. She had already 
 settled his heroic quality. 
 
 "Ye ain t harkenin to me, Salomy." 
 
 Salomy Jane started.
 
 142 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 " Here I m askin ye if ye Ve seen that 
 hound Phil Larrabee sneaking by yer to 
 day?" 
 
 Salomy Jane had not. But she became 
 interested and self-reproachful. 
 
 " He would n t dare to go by here un 
 less he knew you were out," she said 
 quickly. 
 
 That s what gets me," he said, scratch 
 ing his grizzled head. "I ve been kind o 
 thinkin o him all day, and one of them 
 Chinamen said he saw him at Sawyer s 
 Crossing. He was a kind of friend o Pete s 
 wife. That s why I thought yer might find 
 out ef he d been there." Salomy Jane grew 
 more self-reproachful at her father s self- 
 interest in her "neighborliness." "But that 
 ain t all," continued Mr. Clay. "Thar was 
 tracks over the far pasture that warn t 
 mine. I followed them, and they went 
 round and round the house two or three 
 times, ez ef they mout hev bin prowlin , 
 and then I lost em in the woods again.
 
 YOU JUST LIE LOW, DAD, FOR A DAY OR TWO"
 
 THE KISS REPEATED 143 
 
 It s just like that sneakin hound Larra- 
 bee to hev bin lyin in wait for me and 
 afraid to meet a man fair and square in 
 the open." 
 
 "You just lie low, Dad, for a day or two 
 more, and let me do a little prowlin ," said 
 the girl, with sympathetic indignation in 
 her dark eyes. "Ef it s that skunk, I ll 
 spot him soon enough and let you know 
 whar he s hiding." 
 
 "You ll just stay where ye are, Salomy," 
 said her father decisively. "This ain t no 
 woman s work though I ain t sayin you 
 have n t got more head for it than some 
 men I know." 
 
 Nevertheless, that night, after her father 
 had gone to bed, Salomy Jane sat by the 
 open window of the sitting-room in an ap 
 parent attitude of languid contemplation, 
 but alert and intent of eye and ear. It was 
 a fine moonlit night. Two pines near the 
 door, solitary pickets of the serried ranks of 
 distant forest, cast long shadows like paths
 
 144 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 to the cottage, and sighed their spiced 
 breath in the windows. The moon added 
 a vague elusiveness to everything, softened 
 the rigid outlines of the sheds, and gave 
 shadows to the lidless windows. Salomy 
 Jane was affected by it, and exhaled some 
 thing between a sigh and a yawn with the 
 breath of the pines. Then she suddenly sat 
 upright. 
 
 Her quick ear had caught a faint "click, 
 click," in the direction of the wood; her 
 quicker instinct and rustic training enabled 
 her to determine that it was the ring of a 
 horse s shoe on flinty ground; her knowl 
 edge of the locality told her it came from 
 the spot where the trail passed over an out 
 crop of flint scarcely a quarter of a mile 
 from where she sat, and within the clearing. 
 It was no errant "stock," for the foot was 
 shod with iron ; it was a mounted trespasser 
 by night, and boded no good to Clay. 
 
 She rose, threw her shawl over her head, 
 more for disguise than shelter, and passed
 
 THE KISS REPEATED 145 
 
 out of the door. A sudden impulse made her 
 seize her father s shotgun from the corner 
 where it stood not that she feared any 
 danger to herself, but that it was an excuse. 
 She made directly for the wood, keeping in 
 the shadow of the pines ,as long as she 
 could. At the fringe she halted; whoever 
 was there must pass her before reaching 
 the house. 
 
 Then there seemed to be a suspense of all 
 nature. Everything was deadly still even 
 the moonbeams appeared no longer trem 
 ulous; soon there was a rustle as of some 
 stealthy animal among the ferns, and then 
 a dismounted man stepped into the moon 
 light. It was the stranger the man she 
 had kissed! 
 
 For a wild moment a strange fancy seized 
 her usually sane intellect and stirred her 
 temperate blood. The news they had told 
 her was not true ; he had been hung, and this 
 was his ghost! He looked as white and 
 spiritlike in the moonlight, dressed in the
 
 146 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 same clothes, as when she saw him last. He 
 had evidently seen her approaching, and 
 moved quickly to meet her. But in his 
 haste he stumbled slightly; she reflected 
 suddenly that ghosts did not stumble, and a 
 feeling of relief came over her. And it was 
 no assassin of her father that had been 
 prowling around only this unhappy fugi 
 tive. A momentary color came into her 
 cheek; her coolness and hardihood returned ; 
 it was with a tinge of sauciness in her voice 
 that she said : 
 
 "I reckoned you were a ghost." 
 "I might have been," he said, looking at 
 her fixedly; "but I d have come back here 
 all the same." 
 
 "It s a little riskier comin back alive," 
 she said, with a levity that died on her lips, 
 for a singular nervousness, half fear and 
 half expectation, was beginning to take the 
 place of her relief of a moment ago. "Then 
 it was you who was prowlin round and 
 makin tracks in the far pasture ? "
 
 THE KISS REPEATED 147 
 
 "Yes; I came straight here when I got 
 away." 
 
 She felt his eyes were burning her, but 
 did not dare to raise her own. "Why- 
 she began, hesitated, and ended vaguely. 
 " How did you get here?" 
 
 "You helped me!" 
 
 "I?" 
 
 "Yes. That kiss you gave me put life 
 into me gave me strength to get away. 
 I swore to myself I d come back and thank 
 you, alive or dead." 
 
 Every word he said she could have an 
 ticipated, so plain the situation seemed to 
 her now. And every word he said she knew 
 was the truth. Yet her cool common sense 
 struggled against it. 
 
 "What s the use of your escaping, ef 
 you re comin back here to be ketched 
 again?" she said pertly. 
 
 He drew a little nearer to her, but seemed 
 to her the more awkward as she resumed her 
 self-possession. His voice, too, was broken,
 
 148 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 as if by exhaustion, as he said, catching his 
 breath at intervals : - 
 
 "I ll tell you. You did more for me than 
 you think. You made another man o me. 
 I never had a man, woman, or child do to 
 me what you did. I have n t a friend this 
 side of the Rockies only chance pals. I 
 want to do the square thing to you " He 
 stopped, breathed hard, and then said brok 
 enly, "My horse is over there staked out. 
 I want to give him to you. He s worth a 
 lot of money. Take him, and I 11 get away 
 afoot. Take him. It s the only thing I can 
 do for you, and I know it does n t half pay 
 for what you did. Take it ; your father can 
 get the money for you, if you can t." 
 
 "I don t want your hoss, though I 
 reckon Dad might; but you re just starv- 
 in . I ll get sutthin ." She turned toward 
 the house. 
 
 "Say you ll take the horse first," he said, 
 grasping her hand. 
 
 At the touch she felt herself coloring and
 
 THE KISS REPEATED 149 
 
 struggled, expecting perhaps another kiss. 
 But he dropped her hand. 
 
 She turned again with a saucy gesture, 
 said, "Hoi on; I ll come right back/ and 
 slipped away, the mere shadow of a coy and 
 flying nymph in the moonlight, until she 
 reached the house. 
 
 Here she not only procured food and 
 whiskey, but added a long dust-coat and hat 
 of her father s to her burden. They would 
 serve as a disguise for him and hide that 
 heroic figure, which she thought everybody 
 must now know as she did. Then she re 
 joined him breathlessly. But he put the 
 food and whiskey aside. 
 
 "Listen," he said; "I ve turned the horse 
 into your corral. You ll find him there in 
 the morning, and no one will know but 
 that he got lost and joined the other 
 horses." 
 
 Then she burst out. " But you you 
 what will become of you? You ll be 
 ketched !"
 
 150 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 "I ll manage to get away," he said in a 
 low voice, "if if - 
 
 "Ef what?" she said tremblingly. 
 
 "If you ll put the heart in me again - 
 as you did!" he gasped. 
 
 She tried to laugh to move away. She 
 could do neither. Suddenly he caught her 
 in his arms, with a long kiss, which she re 
 turned again and again. Then they stood 
 embraced as they had embraced the day 
 before, but no longer the same. For the 
 cool, lazy Salomy Jane had been trans 
 formed into another woman a passionate, 
 clinging savage. Perhaps something of her 
 father s blood had surged within her at that 
 supreme moment. The man stood erect and 
 determined. 
 
 "Wot s your name?" she whispered 
 quickly. It was a woman s quickest way 
 of defining her feelings. 
 
 "Dart." 
 
 "Yer first name?" 
 
 "Jack."
 
 THE KISS REPEATED 151 
 
 "Let me go now, Jack. Lie low in the 
 woods till to-morrow sunup. I ll come 
 again." 
 
 He released her. Yet she lingered a mo 
 ment. " Put on those things," she said, with 
 a sudden happy flash of eyes and teeth, 
 "and lie close till I come." And then she 
 sped away home. 
 
 But midway up the distance she felt her 
 feet going slower, and something at her 
 heartstrings seemed to be pulling her back. 
 She stopped, turned, and glanced to where 
 he had been standing. Had she seen him 
 then, she might have returned. But he had 
 disappeared. She gave her first sigh, and 
 then ran quickly again. It must be nearly 
 ten o clock ! It was not very long to morn 
 ing! 
 
 She was within a few steps of her own 
 door, when the sleeping woods and silent 
 air appeared to suddenly awake with a 
 sharp "crack!" 
 
 She stopped, paralyzed. Another " crack !"
 
 1 52 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 followed, that echoed over to the far corral. 
 She recalled herself instantly and dashed off 
 wildly to the woods again. 
 
 As she ran she thought of one thing only. 
 He had been "dogged" by one of his old 
 pursuers and attacked. But there were two 
 shots, and he was unarmed. Suddenly she 
 remembered that she had left her father s 
 gun standing against the tree where they 
 were talking. Thank God! she may again 
 have saved him. She ran to the tree; the 
 gun was gone. She ran hither and thither, 
 dreading at every step to fall upon his life 
 less body. A new thought struck her; she 
 ran to the corral. The horse was not there ! 
 He must have been able to regain it, and 
 escaped, after the shots had been fired. She 
 drew a long breath of relief, but it was 
 caught up in an apprehension of alarm. 
 Her father, awakened from his sleep by the 
 shots, was hurriedly approaching her. 
 
 "What s up now, Salomy Jane?" he 
 demanded excitedly.
 
 THE KISS REPEATED 153 
 
 "Nothin ," said the girl with an effort. 
 "Nothin , at least, that / can find." She 
 was usually truthful because fearless, and 
 a lie stuck in her throat; but she was no 
 longer fearless, thinking of him. "I was n t 
 abed; so I ran out as soon as I heard the 
 shots fired," she answered in return to his 
 curious gaze. 
 
 "And you ve hid my gun somewhere 
 where it can t be found," he said reproach 
 fully. " Ef it was that sneak Larrabee, and 
 he fired them shots to lure me out, he might 
 have potted me, without a show, a dozen 
 times in the last five minutes." 
 
 She had not thought since of her father s 
 enemy ! It might, indeed, have been he who 
 had attacked Jack. But she made a quick 
 point of the suggestion. " Run in, Dad, run 
 in and find the gun; you ve got no show 
 out here without it." She seized him by the 
 shoulders from behind, shielding him from 
 the woods, and hurried him, half expostu 
 lating, half struggling, to the house.
 
 154 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 But there no gun was to be found. It was 
 strange ; it must have been mislaid in some 
 corner ! Was he sure he had not left it in the 
 barn ? But no matter now. The danger was 
 over ; the Larrabee trick had failed ; he must 
 go to bed now, and in the morning they 
 would make a search together. At the same 
 time she had inwardly resolved to rise be 
 fore him and make another search of the 
 wood, and perhaps fearful joy as she 
 recalled her promise ! find Jack alive and 
 well, awaiting her!
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 ANOTHER ESCAPE 
 
 SALOMY JANE slept little that night, nor 
 did her father. But toward morning he fell 
 into a tired man s slumber until the sun was 
 well up the horizon. Far different was it 
 with his daughter: she lay with her face to 
 the window, her head half lifted to catch 
 every sound, from the creaking of the sun- 
 warped shingles above her head to the far- 
 off moan of the rising wind in the pine trees. 
 Sometimes she fell into a breathless, half- 
 ecstatic trance, living over every moment 
 of the stolen interview ; feeling the fugitive s 
 arm still around her, his kisses on her lips; 
 hearing his whispered voice in her ears- 
 the birth of her new life ! This was followed 
 again by a period of agonizing dread that 
 he might even then be lying, his life ebbing 
 away, in the woods, with her name on his
 
 156 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 lips, and she resting here inactive, until she 
 half started from her bed to go to his succor. 
 And this went on until a pale opal glow came 
 into the sky, followed by a still paler pink 
 on the summit of the white Sierras, when 
 she rose and hurriedly began to dress. Still 
 so sanguine was her hope of meeting him, 
 that she lingered yet a moment to select the 
 brown holland skirt and yellow sunbonnet 
 she had worn when she first saw him. And 
 she had only seen him twice ! Only twice! It 
 would be cruel, too cruel, not to see him 
 again ! 
 
 She crept softly down the stairs, listening 
 to the long-drawn breathing of her father 
 in his bedroom, and then, by the light of a 
 guttering candle, scrawled a note to him, 
 begging him not to trust himself out of the 
 house until she returned from her search, 
 and leaving the note open on the table, 
 swiftly ran out into the growing day. 
 
 Three hours afterwards Mr. Madison 
 Clay awoke to the sound of loud knocking.
 
 ANOTHER ESCAPE 157 
 
 At first this forced itself upon his conscious 
 ness as his daughter s regular morning sum 
 mons, and was responded to by a grunt of 
 recognition and a nestling closer in the blan 
 kets. Then he awoke with a start and a 
 muttered oath, remembering the events of 
 last night, and his intention to get up early, 
 and rolled out of bed. Becoming aware by 
 this time that the knocking was at the outer 
 door, and hearing the shout of a familiar 
 voice, he hastily pulled on his boots, his 
 jean trousers, and fastening a single sus 
 pender over his shoulder as he clattered 
 downstairs, stood in the lower room. The 
 door was open, and waiting upon the thres 
 hold was Colonel Starbottle. 
 
 "You are a cool one, my dear Clay!" 
 said the latter in half-admiring indignation. 
 
 "What s up?" said the bewildered Madi 
 son. 
 
 "You ought to be, and precious quick 
 about it," said the Colonel grimly. "It s 
 all very well to know nothing, my dear
 
 158 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 sah, but this Phil Larrabee has just been 
 picked up, sah; drilled through with slugs, 
 and deader than a door nail. And what is 
 more to the point, his friends er have 
 found him on your land, not ten minutes 
 walk from this house. They are now letting 
 loose Larrabee s two half-brothers on you. 
 I may also add, sah, that for you to leave 
 these articles behind you er was, to say 
 the least, inexpedient." The Colonel paused 
 for breath; then lifting Madison s dust- 
 coat, hat, and shotgun from the ground 
 beside him and spreading them before the 
 astonished man, Starbottle went on. 
 
 " Luckily for you, sah, I picked them up 
 in the woods comin here. You have n t 
 more than time to get over the line before 
 they ll be down on you. Hurry, hurry, my 
 dear friend. Don t stand there staring." 
 
 Madison Clay had stared amazed and 
 bewildered horror-stricken. The inci 
 dents of the past night for the first time 
 flashed upon him clearly hopelessly ! The
 
 ANOTHER ESCAPE 159 
 
 shot; his finding Salomy Jane alone in the 
 woods; her confusion and anxiety to rid 
 herself of him; the disappearance of the 
 shotgun ; and now this new discovery of the 
 taking of his hat and coat for a disguise! 
 She had killed Phil Larrabee in that dis 
 guise, after provoking his first harmless 
 shot ! She, his own child, Salomy Jane, had 
 disgraced herself by a man s crime; had 
 disgraced him by usurping his right, and 
 taking a mean advantage, by deceit, of a 
 foe! 
 
 "Gimme that gun," he said hoarsely. 
 
 The Colonel handed him the gun in won 
 der and slowly gathering suspicion. Madi 
 son examined nipple and muzzle ; one barrel 
 had been discharged. It was true! The gun 
 dropped from his hand. 
 
 "Look here, m dear sah," said Star- 
 bottle, with a darkening face, " there s bin 
 no foul play here. There s bin no hiring of 
 men, no deputy to do this job, sah. You 
 did it fair and square yourself?"
 
 160 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 "Yes, by God!" burst out Madison Clay 
 in a hoarse voice. "Who says I did n t?" 
 
 Reassured, yet believing that Madison 
 Clay had nerved himself for the act by an 
 over-draught of whiskey, which had af 
 fected his memory, Starbottle said curtly, 
 "Then wake up and lite out, if you want 
 me to stand by you, sah, as one Kaintucky 
 gentleman should by another." 
 
 " Go to the corral and pick me out a hoss," 
 said Madison slowly, yet not without a cer 
 tain dignity of manner. "I ve sutthin to 
 say to Salomy Jane afore I go." He was 
 holding her scribbled note, which he had 
 just discovered, in his shaking hand. 
 
 Struck by his friend s manner, and know 
 ing the dependent relations of father and 
 daughter, Starbottle nodded and hurried 
 away. Left to himself, Madison Clay ran 
 his fingers through his hair, and straight 
 ened out the paper on which Salomy Jane 
 had scrawled her note, turned it over, and 
 wrote on the back :
 
 ANOTHER ESCAPE 161 
 
 You might have told me you did it, 
 and not leave your ole father to find it out 
 how you disgraced yourself and him, too, by 
 a low-down, underhanded, woman s trick! 
 I Ve said I done it, and took the blame my 
 self, and all the sneakiness of it that folks 
 suspect. If I get away alive and I don t 
 care much which you need n t foller. 
 The house and stock are yours; but you 
 ain t any longer the daughter of your dis 
 graced father, MADISON CLAY. 
 
 He had scarcely finished the note when, 
 with a clatter of hoofs and a led horse, Star- 
 bottle reappeared at the door elate and 
 triumphant. 
 
 "You re in luck, I must say, sah, in ex- 
 tr ord nary luck. I found a horse had got 
 away and strayed among your stock in the 
 corral. Best piece of hoss flesh I Ve seen 
 since I left Kaintucky, sah. Take him and 
 you re safe; he looks as if he can t be out 
 run this side of the state line."
 
 1 62 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 "I ain t no hoss-thief," said Madison 
 grimly. 
 
 "My dear sah, I should be the last per 
 son in the world to insinuate such a thing. 
 But I will say, that you would be worse than 
 a horse thief if you did n t take him, you 
 would be a fool. I m testimony that you 
 found him among your horses. Now, sah, 
 if you ve written to Salomy Jane, come." 
 
 Madison Clay no longer hesitated. Salo 
 my Jane might return at any moment, it 
 would be part of her "fool womanishness," 
 - and he was in no mood to see her before 
 a third party. He laid the note on the table, 
 gave a hurried glance around the house, 
 which he grimly believed he was leaving for 
 ever, and, striding to the door, leaped on 
 the horse, and swept away from the Colonel. 
 
 But that note lay for a week undisturbed 
 on the table in full view of the open door. 
 The house was invaded by leaves, pine 
 cones, birds, and squirrels during the hot, 
 silent, empty days, and at night, by shy,
 
 ANOTHER ESCAPE 163 
 
 stealthy creatures, but never again, day or 
 night, by any of the Clay family. It was 
 known in the district that Clay had flown 
 across the state line, his daughter was be 
 lieved to have joined him the next day, and 
 the house was supposed to be locked up. 
 It lay off the main road, and few passed that 
 way. The starving cattle in the corral at 
 last broke bounds and spread over the 
 woods. And one night a stronger blast than 
 usual swept through the house, carried the 
 note from the table to the floor, where, 
 whirled into a crack in the flooring, it slowly 
 rotted. 
 
 But though the sting of her father s re 
 proach was spared her, Salomy Jane had no 
 need of the letter to know what had hap 
 pened. For as she entered the woods in the 
 dim light of that morning, she saw the fig 
 ure of Dart gliding from the shadow of a 
 pine toward her. The unaffected cry of joy 
 that rose from her lips died there as she 
 caught sight of his face in the open light.
 
 1 64 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 "You are hurt," she said, clutching his 
 arm passionately. 
 
 "No," he said. "But I wouldn t mind 
 that if" 
 
 "You re thinkin I was afeared to come 
 back last night when I heard the shootin , 
 but I did come," she went on feverishly. 
 "I ran back here when I heard the two 
 shots, but you were gone. I went to the 
 corral, but your hoss was n t there, and I 
 thought you d got away." 
 
 "I did get away," said Dart gloomily. 
 "I killed the man, thinking he was hunting 
 me, and forgetting I was disguised. He 
 thought I was your father." 
 
 "Yes," said the girl joyfully, "he was 
 after Dad, and you you killed him." She 
 again caught his hand admiringly. 
 
 But he did not respond. Possibly there 
 were points of honor which he felt vaguely 
 with her father. "Listen," he said grimly. 
 "Others think it was your father killed him. 
 When /did it for he fired at me first
 
 ANOTHER ESCAPE 165 
 
 I ran to the corral again and took my horse, 
 thinking I might be followed. I made a clear 
 circuit of the house, and when I found he 
 was the only one, and no one was following, 
 I came back here and took off my disguise. 
 Then I heard his friends find him in the 
 wood, and I knew they suspected your 
 father. And then another man came through 
 the woods while I was hiding and found the 
 clothes and took them away." He stopped 
 and stared at her gloomily. 
 
 But all this was unintelligible to the girl. 
 " Dad would have got the better of him ef 
 you had n t," she said eagerly, "so what s 
 the difference?" 
 
 "All the same," he said gloomily, "I 
 must take his place." 
 
 She did not understand, but turned her 
 head to her master. "Then you ll go back 
 with me and tell him all?" she said obedi 
 ently. 
 
 "Yes," he said. 
 
 She put her hand in his, and they crept
 
 1 66 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 out of the wood together. She foresaw a 
 thousand difficulties, but, chiefest of all, 
 that he did not love as she did. She would 
 not have taken these risks against their 
 happiness. 
 
 But alas for ethics and heroism. As they 
 were issuing from the wood they heard the 
 sound of galloping hoofs, and had barely 
 time to hide themselves before Madison 
 Clay swept past them, unseeing, hatless 
 and coatless, the bent figure of a courageous 
 old man bowed by grief rather than anger.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 INTO THE FUTURE 
 
 SALOMY JANE turned to her lover. 
 
 "They re arter Dad a ready." 
 
 "They re after us all," Dart exclaimed 
 quickly. "Come, we must find a mount 
 and get out of this," he continued, taking 
 her arm and guiding her deftly in the direc 
 tion of Fowler s cabin, for he feared to re 
 turn to the paddock, although it was some 
 distance from the house. 
 
 Now stopping to listen to the oft-recur 
 ring sound of galloping hoofs, now hasten 
 ing on through the silent stretches of the 
 woods, they ran, stumbling over fallen tim 
 ber, and tripping over vines and loosened 
 stones. Coming to the ravine which bord 
 ered Clay s quarter-section, Dart gathered 
 Salomy into his strong arms and, without 
 pausing, dashed through the running water,
 
 1 68 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 waist-deep. The crossing took only a mo 
 ment, but the current was strong, and as 
 Dart tenderly put his charge down upon the 
 opposite bank, he was breathing hard. To 
 gether they ran, Salomy, first, her unerring 
 instinct for direction leading straight for the 
 cabin which soon came into view, shaded 
 by the trees which grew close to its walls, 
 for Fowler had never attempted to clear the 
 land since his arrival. 
 
 Beyond the hut was a small enclosure. 
 Fortunately Fowler s horse was there, qui 
 etly grazing. No one had given a thought 
 to the animal since the death of his master, 
 in the excitement of the tragedy and of sub 
 sequent events. 
 
 It took but an instant to find saddle and 
 bridle, and Dart, mounting quickly after 
 cinching the girth securely, lifted Salomy 
 up behind him and they were off at full 
 gallop. 
 
 With the instinct of preservation keenly 
 developed by the occurrences of the past few
 
 INTO THE FUTURE 169 
 
 days, he guided the nervous steed with un 
 erring skill. Avoiding the roads, he wound 
 here and there through seemingly impass 
 able country, now clambering up the rocky 
 side of a steep ravine, now picking his way 
 through the brambles and fern which often 
 hid treacherous stones or covered hollows of 
 uncertain depth ; and always Salomy Jane, 
 her arms around her lover, clung securely 
 to the sweating gray flanks of the faithful 
 beast, who seemed to feel the full responsi 
 bility of his charge. Never a word was 
 spoken. The crackling of the branches 
 alone gave sign of their passing. 
 
 After what seemed many hours of riding, 
 their way brought them abruptly to the road 
 and Dart drew up, tossing the reins over 
 the drooping head of the panting animal, 
 and turned to help Salomy to alight from 
 her uneasy seat behind him. So cramped 
 were her limbs that it was with difficulty 
 she was able to stand. 
 
 With a glance up and down the shaded
 
 1 7 o SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 road, he led the horse some few feet into 
 the underbrush, with Salomy following, un 
 til they were well protected from those 
 who might chance to pass, and there they 
 stretched themselves at full length in utter 
 exhaustion. 
 
 "Do you know what this means, Sa 
 lomy?" said Dart, still breathing heavily. 
 
 " S long as we re together, it don t matter 
 wot it means," replied Salomy, gazing at 
 her lover with an admiration which shook 
 his whole being. 
 
 "Listen, Salomy," choked the stranger. 
 " It means it means we must go on to 
 the end alone." 
 
 " I ain t skeered," returned Salomy with 
 a light in her eyes, "an I ll go anywhar 
 with yer." 
 
 " It means we must marry," continued 
 Dart, watching the love-light in her eyes as 
 they burned into his very being, and seizing 
 her two hands in his. 
 
 "Yes," she whispered obediently, as he
 
 INTO THE FUTURE 171 
 
 gathered her to him, in a long, passionate 
 embrace. 
 
 The sound of approaching horses caused 
 the lovers to spring apart, silent and tense, 
 as the riders passed at a leisurely trot, intent 
 upon noting any sign which should indicate 
 the direction which the fugitives had taken. 
 From a concealed position Dart watched 
 the cavalcade of four pass out of sight. 
 
 "We must get out of this before they be 
 gin to beat the brush," he exclaimed. " Bet 
 ter wait until they re out of hearing and 
 then take to the road in the opposite direc 
 tion, and make for Red Horse Gulch, if 
 that s its name. * 
 
 "Yes," exclaimed Salomy, sensing dan 
 ger ; " let s strike for the crossroad an go ter 
 Mother Brayley s until we kin find er way 
 to git outer the country. She s that loyal, 
 she won t blab on no one, leastways on no 
 one what s goin ter marry me" she con 
 cluded with a low, rippling laugh. 
 
 Dart willingly assented, and they mounted
 
 172 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 once more, turning their steed into the road, 
 and, with ears strained to catch the slight 
 est sound, sped swiftly along the shaded 
 glade. 
 
 It was a matter of nearly two miles before 
 the road to the Brayley cabin led off to the 
 right, and they had traversed, perhaps, two 
 thirds of the distance, before they heard the 
 clatter of hoofs behind them. The road now 
 chanced to run between high banks, densely 
 wooded. There was nothing to do but press 
 on, but their mount was unequal to a race 
 in his exhausted condition, handicapped as 
 he was by bearing two riders, as had long 
 been evident to Dart. 
 
 "We re done for unless we take to the 
 woods on foot," he whispered quickly over 
 his shoulder. 
 
 "No, no, wait," gasped Salomy. "Let s 
 try the river. I know jest whar a boat is 
 tied. Keep on a space." 
 
 They pressed on, Salomy beating the 
 flanks of the exhausted mare with her bare
 
 INTO THE FUTURE 173 
 
 hand, while Dart drove his spurs until the 
 red blood, merging with the sweat, flowed 
 under the belly of the poor beast. 
 
 "Here s the place! Quick, after me," 
 breathed Salomy, sliding off without as 
 sistance and running to a break in the bank 
 which showed a narrow path; while Dart, 
 with a slap on the mare s back, sent her 
 speeding and riderless along the road. As 
 they ran, pitching headlong in their flight, 
 the sound of the pursuers horses came dan 
 gerously near. 
 
 By good luck the boat, a rough flat-bot 
 tomed affair was floating just where Sa 
 lomy had expected. It took but a second 
 for Dart to untie the rope from the tree and 
 push off, Salomy scrambling breathlessly 
 into the stern. 
 
 The current ran fast. Dart, unaccus 
 tomed to navigation in any form, was 
 clumsy at the oars, first pulling to the right 
 and then to the left, unable to maintain a 
 straight course for the opposite bank. To
 
 i 7 4 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 Salomy the slow progress of the craft was 
 torture as she watched for the approaching 
 horsemen. They had covered but a short 
 distance before a shout from the bank pro 
 claimed their discovery. 
 
 The shout was soon followed by the report 
 of a gun. 
 
 "Quick, quick," said Salomy hoarsely. 
 "They re comin ." 
 
 The riders were now urging their horses 
 into the river. It was apparent that they 
 had no intention of shooting the woman. 
 Indeed, the shot fired was aimed high in 
 order if possible to frighten the runaways, 
 but failing to alter their decision, the riders, 
 headed by Joe Hall, the Sheriff, forced the 
 horses into the foaming current. 
 
 The river was deep and the animals made 
 slow progress ahead, for the current carried 
 them downstream, below the boat, which 
 was now rapidly nearing the other side. 
 
 "Salomy, listen!" gasped Dart, speaking 
 between each stroke of the oars. "When we
 
 INTO THE FUTURE 175 
 
 land, let the boat swing clear; get in the 
 water close to me under the bank. 
 They ll think we ve run on when they re 
 gone to hunt our trail we ll follow the 
 river and lose ourselves downstream." 
 
 "Yes, yes, I understand," said Salomy 
 tensely. "I ain t afeared s long s you re 
 by," she whispered. 
 
 The boat soon grounded and Dart pulled 
 Salomy into the shadows of the birches, to 
 deceive the horsemen, who were now floun 
 dering in mid-stream nearly a quarter of a 
 mile below them, and quickly passing out of 
 sight around a bend in the river. 
 
 A few feet beyond the spot where the 
 boat had grounded, the bank had fallen 
 away leaving exposed the gnarled root of a 
 huge tree just above the running water. It 
 was this spot that Dart had selected, and, 
 with both arms about Salomy, he guided 
 her again into the water which came well 
 above their waists. By bending slightly, 
 they were both able to stand in the water
 
 176 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 almost completely hidden by the roots and 
 hanging moss, which draped itself upon the 
 underbrush and floated up and down with 
 the vagaries of the current. 
 
 The clatter of hoofs and the panting of the 
 exhausted horses told that the riders were 
 close at hand. 
 
 "Thar s the boat," sounded Joe Hall s 
 voice, apparently right above them. Dart 
 could feel the beating of Salomy s heart as 
 she clung to him, her head and full bosom 
 silhouetted against the shining waters, her 
 face pale, but without a trace of fear. 
 
 "They ve probably tried to hide their 
 trail by walkin in the water," declared an 
 other voice. " Let s follow up the bank fer a 
 while afore we beat up the brush." 
 
 For what seemed an eternity the lovers 
 remained in the chilled mountain waters, 
 locked in each other s arms, fearing to speak 
 or scarcely to breathe while the hunt went 
 on about them. With dismay they watched 
 their boat caught by a change in the wind,
 
 INTO THE FUTURE 177 
 
 drift slowly downstream, and with the con 
 viction that time must surely bring these 
 crafty woodsmen to their last refuge, hope 
 slowly gave way to despair, until the length 
 ening shadows on the waters told of the set 
 ting sun. With night to cover their escape, 
 perhaps a chance remained. 
 
 And as they watched the fading light, the 
 voices became but a distant murmur, until 
 the welcome silence started Dart into ac 
 tion. Cautiously bending back the roots, 
 he half carried, half dragged Salomy with 
 him to a spot where they could wade 
 ashore. 
 
 "We must keep on, dear love," he said, 
 with a heart full of suffering for the hard 
 ships which Salomy bore with such forti 
 tude. 
 
 "I m all right. I m cold, but I m all 
 right. I 11 foller yer, Jack, to the end o the 
 earth," chattered Salomy, her fine courage 
 undaunted. 
 
 Dart skirted the shore about them until
 
 1 78 SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 he discovered a fallen tree which had been 
 partly trimmed of its branches by some 
 chance woodsman. By exerting all his 
 strength, Dart was able, with Salomy s 
 help, to push its huge bulk into the water. 
 It floated, solid and steady, prevented from 
 rolling by the stumps of its once massive 
 branches. 
 
 He turned to Salomy, who was watching 
 him with questioning yet trustful eyes. 
 
 "We can float downstream on this log 
 until we re out of danger," he explained. 
 "It s our only chance, dearest. Will you 
 take it?" 
 
 She turned toward him mutely, and he 
 lifted her onto the primitive craft, settling 
 her securely in a deep notch made by two 
 great stumps. One final effort, and, as he 
 sprang to a place beside her, the log shot 
 out into the swift-flowing stream. 
 
 The lingering rays of the sun glinted on 
 the smooth, shining waters, as the shadow 
 of the floating tree, with its precious burden
 
 INTO THE FUTURE 179 
 
 in close embrace, passed slowly into the 
 gray of the evening. 
 
 And here I might, as a moral romancer, 
 pause, leaving the heedless, passionate girl 
 eloped with her fugitive lover, destined to 
 lifelong shame and misery, misunderstood 
 to the last by a sorrowing, fastidious parent. 
 But I am confronted by certain facts, on 
 which this romance is based. A month later 
 a handbill was posted on one of the sentinel 
 pines, announcing that the property would 
 be sold by auction to the highest bidder 
 by Mrs. John Dart, daughter of Madison 
 Clay, Esq., and it was sold accordingly. 
 Still later by ten years the chronicler 
 of these pages visited a certain "stock" or 
 breeding-farm in the "Blue-Grass Coun 
 try," famous for the popular racers it has 
 produced. He was told that the owner was 
 the "best judge of horse-flesh in the coun 
 try." "Small wonder," added his inform 
 ant, "for they say as a young man he lived
 
 i8o SALOMY JANE S KISS 
 
 out in California. Some say he killed a man 
 and only saved himself by eloping with some 
 rich farmer s daughter. But he s a straight- 
 out and respectable man now, whose word 
 about horses can t be bought ; and as for his 
 wife, she s a beauty! To see her at the 
 Springs, rigged out in the latest fashion, 
 you d never think she had ever lived out 
 of New York or was n t the wife of one 
 of its millionaires." 
 
 THE END
 
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