Wildest Dreams - By Rosanne Bittner Page 0,214

only are his origins a mystery, but his choices since settling in Montana must also be examined. Should we bring a man into the territorial legislature who was once a vigilante? Has anyone asked Luke Fontaine how many men he has killed, what he thinks of true law and order? Does he believe in a system of justice, or is he too quick to throw a rope over a tree? He professes to be a family man, yet his adopted son chose to live among the Sioux rather than with his father. Does the man rule like a vigilante at home? Or could this mean something else? Perhaps Luke Fontaine has a soft spot for the Indians because his son lives among them. With someone like Fontaine in our legislature, will Montana end up granting favors to the very Indians who have caused our citizens so much heartache over the years? Is Luke Fontaine really fit to help run our now-civilized territory, a representative we can be proud of? Is this a man we truly want people in Washington to look at as an example of Montana's best? Luke Fontaine knows ranching, but that is all he knows. He is not qualified, either in knowledge of government, in background, education, or in honorable personality, to represent our great territory, or to lead us to statehood. His wife, on the other hand, is the picture of poise, elegance, intelligence and refinement. How sad that it is not Mrs. Fontaine who is running for office, but a woman's place is at home... and so is Luke Fontaine's.

She laid the paper down, still finding it difficult reading, even though she had been over the article a hundred times in the last three days. She was surprised at Luke's self-control in answering every charge. People here in Helena had been good to him, but since the article they had been cooler. Luke had attended several public meetings, and was doing a superb job of showing his worth, his love for Montana, explaining how he would fight for protection of both farmers and ranchers in the areas of price setting and bank loans. He had remained calm on the outside, proving to the public that he could stand up against such slander, coming back at them with clear answers. But she knew that he had been deeply hurt, and she knew who had done the hurting. No names had been mentioned, but she had no doubt that Nial Bentley was behind most of the ugly words. Perhaps he had not directly written the article, but he had dropped enough of the wrong information to other opponents to fuel the fire.

She turned from the desk in their hotel room and watched out the window for a few quiet moments, studying the activity below. Luke was at a breakfast meeting this morning, speaking with Helena's most prominent businessmen, many of them much wealthier than they, their fortunes made on gold and silver. The article had put Luke on the defensive, had forced him to have to answer personal questions rather than being able to focus on what he wanted to do for Montana. She felt a deep anger, not just at Nial, but at herself for ever trusting and befriending the man. How many newspapers besides this one in Helena had run that garbage? Another newspaper in town had been very supportive. For that much she was grateful, but she felt the article denigrating Luke's qualifications and reputation needed to be answered.

She turned from the window and took out pen and paper and began writing. Luke would be gone most of the morning. She would be meeting all the wives tonight at a ball one of the businessmen was to hold in his home for Luke and for the two candidates from the Helena area. It was going to be rather awkward mingling with the competition, after the awful article, but Lettie welcomed the chance to show what she and Luke were made of. She wasn't sure what part of the territory Nial had gone to for his own campaign, but she suspected it was a good thing he would not be at the ball tonight, or Luke just might show some of that old, rough side of himself. There was a rage behind those blue eyes, and it was against Nial Bentley.

She began writing, determined to set the record straight.

In response to the slanderous allegations against one of Montana's finest citizens, I feel, as that man's