, 1876-01-09
ssTuE BULLS OF THE BLESSED
TIINITF.o

"TuE BULLS OF THE BLESSED
TRINITY"
A keuu TOR Lilo Over the Plains.
Fret Hurte.. u st,t Cynroy" from, adrnAcs sae<s o
StrtbMer's fer february.
The aheoiute freedom OF illiInitable epace, tie
exhllara.1on Of lhe spa, kllog sunlight. aud the
excitement OF the Opposing wnd, which Was
strong enough to obllse Arthur 10 exert certain
degree VI physical strength to ove!cnme 1t. 80
wrought upon him that III & few moments lie hat
thrown off the myste1ioa. spell which the rancuo
Of the Blessed Trinity appeared 10 have cas-:
over Ills Hpirlta. aud had placed material dis
lance between bmssn and Its gloomy towers.
The landscape. Uh.ch had hitherto seemed
,nouotouuus and un,uspring, now tecane
suggestive; in the Low; do1ne-saared bills
bevond that were huddled together like
half-blown earth bubbles 1aisej by. the
iery breath OF gone long-dead volcano
he tanciod he saw theor1slnof the Mission a:chl-
lecture. Iu tie Lung sweep of the !eVel pia!n Aa
recognized the calm, uneyentful life tuat had
left i:s ezpsessicn in the uaslen: gravity OF the
neopie In the fierce, rcstiess wind that be"
over lt-a wlad SO persistent and perpetual that
all uubrage. except narrow fringe VI d~arfeo
willows defining: the line OF an extinct w1tar-
course, WAS h1docn in sheltered cauous and the
leeward slopes of the hills.Ae recognized some
thing CT his own restless race, aud no longer
won Tered st the ba.reuness OF the tie th:t was
turned toward the invader. ~ dare say, he
rlutterei to himself, ''scmewhere III the leewatd
OF these ptople's natures may exist q luxurious
I growth that ne shall never know. Wonder II
| tha donna has not "-lrt here stopped, angry:
and, ii the truth mnst be toc, little frightened
! 1t tho persistencY with WHICH Donna Dolores
obsruded herself iato nis abstract philosophy and
sentiment.
| Possibly something else caused him for the
; moment TO dismiss her from his mind During
? his rapid wala he had nouced al an accidental.
| and By no mears al essential feature OF tho
bleak lauuscape, tie Tast herds OF crawling, pur-
! poseless cattle. An entirely new ana distinct
! impression was now forming iteslf iii his cou-
| sciousness-name1y. that thev ITO lou5er weie
| purposeless. vag ant and wandering. but were
actually obeylng certan oenn'ts law o. a.; "
! an equally definite object Aud that object was
| himself!
/ Look where be would; before, behind. on
! either silc.-norsh, east, south, weston the
the drled-np arroyo, there wore the came con-
I 7srgipg lines OF elow1y-moViDs Objects toward
si:,g!e focus-hi1nsslf! Although walking brsk!s
and With certain deiEitencss OF purpose, he
limited point iu the now active. landscape.
Everything that rose above the dead barren
zeycI was now moving slowly irresstib.v, in
stinctiveiy but numistakaolv, toward one com-
non ceutre-himselfl Alone and unsupported.
he was the helpless, urconcloua nucleus OF
ita lmmansty aud power!
At first the idea was amusing and grotesque.
Then it became. picturesque. Then It became
something for practical consideration. aud then
-l,ut no! with the quick and uncrliug instincts
OF powerful will, be choked down the next
consideration before It had time to fasten upon
or parayzo his strength. he storped and suEued:
Th, rancho OF the Blessed Trinity WAS gone!
Had it suddenly sunk IL The earth. or mad "a
d4verged from has atL Neither; be had SIMPLY
walked over the little elevation in tho plain be-
side tho arroyo aad corrEl, and Lad already left
the rancho 2 miles behind him.
It was not the only eur1r1se that ca1no uoon
him suddenly like blow betwcea the oyes. The
same MYSTERIOUS attraction had been operating
in his rear, aud when he tTrned to retrace Ills
steps toward the Mission. he faced tue Starring
eyee OF LOO bulis not SO ynrds away. AS be
faced them, the nearest turned the neat rank
followed their example, the next tue same. and
tho nox:, uu'll in the d.atance ho could see tile
movement repeated with military precision and
sequence. With Eense OF relief, that ne rut
aside~as quickly as he had the sense OF lear, hc
uu,ckered his pace, until the nearest ball ahead
broke into gentle t5o., which was coumnulcat-
ed line by line to tho cattle beyond until the
whole herd before him uu1u'ated lite vast.
1uono,onons sea- aa continued on across the
arrvyo aud rast the corral until the bliudins nud
penetrating cloud OF dust, raised BY The pluuE1nG
hoots OF the moving macs before him. caused
him to stop. 4 dull 1eve:bcratlou Of the PLAIN
= souEd that ct first might have tecn attributed
that be turned. Not twenty yards behind him
ruso tile advance wall OF another vast tumuitu-
Gus eea or tossing horns and uEduIas1nS hae1s
that bad been slowly following his retreat. Ho
had forgotten that he wa sui7ouhaeu. ne
nearest we're now go close upon hin that ho ;
could observe them separately iheV we're |
neither large, powerful. vindcsl=e, nor tefo-
c,ous. On the contrary, they we're TIM, wasted,
la4eard, anxious beasts-ccononical5 eaE'rred
aus gotten up the better 10 wrsstla With sx
mouths drought occasional famine, and
tho incessant budet1ng of the W1nd.--
wild and untamabe. but tLeit slaz-
inE eyes anu nervous limbs EXPRESSED ,
only roncer aud curiesltv. Aud, when lie run
toward them with shout, thoy TUNED. 81 had
the others, le By tile, and rank by rank, aud in
. moment we're, like the others, IN full retreat.
Rather, let me cav, Fetraa:ed as the Ctters had
re,reated, for when he faced about again to 1e-
trace his steps toward the M,asion, he f1on,ed
the bosev bucklera and lne1tflcaole horns OF
those he had driven only few moments ago be-
fore him. They had ava1Ieu themselves OF his
diversion with the rear guard to retu1n-
With tie 1a!'dlty OF quick lutetct and swift
perceptions, Arthur Faw Ut oncc the resi.tcss
logic aud inter borseies.ness Of Ills Situation.
The tne7ltable cuinnat!ou 0f all this Was only a
question OF tne-aud very tt1ef period
Would it be- suticien: 70 enaoe him to reach tue
casaf Mol Gould he regain the cor1ais Per-
Eala. between it ard himself already were
Thousand cattle. Would they continue to re:lea:
az he advanced? Possibly. But would ho be
oce.taken meanwhile by those III tbe rear1 He
answered. the question hiu.se4l b7 drawing firm
his waistcoat cocxet his only weapon, small
..Derri, ger" ano taking aim Ut the foremost
bull. The shot took effect III tue ANNALS
shoulder. and Ls te.l III Oh bis knees. As ar
thur ua1 expected his e,rer comrades stopped
aud shifted a. their helpless cotnpan,on- Bat !
al Arthur bad not expected. the eager crowd ,
pressing Ls hind overbore them and their wounded
brother tud s.loiller !: 6;1nt tao unfortunate
sn.mal .s.B Trcsr1ate and his i.1o Ecasen ou1 bv
the trsmn:sls :.ucfs OF ths sesisslcss, blind. AMI
eager cr.wd that followed Ml&h a terrible Ia
Of fffa