Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 12, 1927 — page 141: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ALKALI, 135 Jennie Mason laughed softly. ‘See, pa? Love is greater’n courage; it makes courage. You fought a good fight an’ all the time God had placed the thing here that you needed most! Gold! Yes, we need gold. We need it to tear up here an’ git back into the world. To git back where Betty an’ Jimmie can marry an’ where we’ll have a home an’ mebbe there'll be a new Jimmie to love an’ to teach all the things we taught our own Jimmie. “Tt’s Jimmie’s turn to fight now. It’s his right to fight an’ our right to help him. We'll dig this gold an’ then Brant an’ Jim- mie’ll git into the cattle business off over the hills where there ain’t salt alkali. You an’ me’ll rest, pa. “JT want to rest. I’m about done in, pa. We ain’t had time fer the love that’s our’n. I want to love you; want to make you let go the alkali that’s had you so’s we can sit together an’ look back an’ see that all the time, even in our mistakes, it was love that kept us goin’—not just strength an’ courage an’ brawn.” As she spoke, Jennie Mason rose to vast heights. The others gazed upon her as they might have upon a direct heavenly manifestation. Her face seemed transfig- ured by the revelations she made. Her stooped and worn figure seemed to have as- sumed a new life, a new power that gripped them and held them and shamed them. “Pa” she said then, “ do you love me?” “Yes, “yes,” Mason said hoarsely, “I love you, Jennie!” “ More’n the valley, pa?” the woman in- sisted. “ More’n the valley,” he said in tones of a school child answering a simple question, then, on his own volition, ‘‘ more’n every- thin’ else on earth, Jennie! All I been work- in’ fer is to make a place fer you!” ‘““T knew it,” she said happily, “all the time, I knew it! That’s why I was happy. I guess it paid, pa. Alkali is everywhere fer everybody—we kin be thankful we found our’n!”’ Then she turned to Jimmie. “Your pa an’ me ain’t goin’ to work no more, Jimmie,” she said evenly. “ We’re Dig all you can carry, then ride to town an’ change it into money. Buy a wagon that'll take the rest 0’ us in. ‘When you come back, we'll mine what gold there is, then we’ll buy cattle an’ find a new place an’ if I knows a single thing about each o’ us—that new place ’ll be heaven!” She waved Jimmie and Brant from the room with a significant gesture. Silently they left, mounted their horses and Brant led the way toward the hills. They had ridden but a short distance when the man | spoke. ‘* Jimmie, life is queer—damn queer!” he muttered. “ Ain’t it funny that jest ‘cause yore father paid me arter I tried to rob him—I ~—should meet up with you an’ pull a gun against Gambel jest to see Ma- son’s son git a square deal? Look at all what come of it!” ‘“T know it,” Jimmie said, “ queer—even queerer’n queer!” “ Yore mother is an angel!” Brant said. “I bet I won’t ever do her a wrong deal! . Her or anybody else!” It was nearing dark when they returned to the valley. Jimmie had seen for him- self that the gold strike was genuine; that fate had finally intervened to lead them from the valley. A vast sense of freedom gripped him. He was infinitely thankful to God for that which had been given them. In that mood he slipped from the saddle at the door and cast hopeful eyés about for his father. He stepped into the room and at first thought the place was empty. However, a second glance showed him that his father was seated before the fire in the great log chair. Jimmie stopped short and the man rose. They gazed steadily into each other’s eyes for several seconds, then Mason smiled: a different smile than Jimmie had ever seen upon his father’s face. “Jimmie, lad,” Mason said as he held forth his hand in greeting, ‘“‘ men are made to work—-women are made to run the world and kinda represent God on earth!” Jimmie seized his father’s hand eagerly, a glad cry crossing his lips. Before either worked out. You 2 an? Brant £0. = this. Tealed | it, nas were in each other's arms, comicbooks.com