San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-04-20
SACRAMENTO.

III WAS dn ouu huihO '"' o.
cramento.
So the girl herself thought as she
stopped down beside a spring at the
foot of a cottonwood tree and lazily
dropped her pail into the water.
at ought to have been given to q
boy, if it was a fit name to give to any.
body" she said, quite aloud. But L
am more boy than girl anyway"
This last was added rather bitterly,
as she looked at her brown, rough
hands and her bare ankles, and thought
of the "boy's work" she had to do.
And it was hard to believe that this
was the best kind of life for young
girl like Sacramento. Here she lived
alone, for her father was down at the
mouth of the canon all day. The gar
den work she was obliged to do, and
the care of the cattle fell upon her. 1t
was not often that she saw any person
but her father, although now and then
in spite of herself, she came in contact
with the rude men of the mining camp
up above.
Yet Sacramento had her dream-one
that she scarcely dared to own; but 1t
came to her often as she went about her
work.
She knew that down at Santa Barba-
ra and in the towns along the coast, and
far, far away across wide stretches OF
the continent to the great east, there
were girls who lived very different from
her life; and she dreamed of such life
for herself.
"Oh, if I could only go away from
here |" she cried out, almost as one cries
for help. eff L could only go down to
San Francisco and go to school there
for single year! An, if l only had
$500!"
Suddenly there was step-not of a
man, but horse-on the bank behind
her, and then some one spoke. She
knew the voice without looking up. 1t
was Pete Larrabee, fellow who lived
down on Hahpemann's plantation, two
miles along the trail. He sometimes
rode by. He had not heard her last
words at all; yet strangely enough bis
own were repetition of them.
Five hundred dollars, Sac" said he.
"Five hundred dollars in god! Dye
want ter earn it? There's yer chance"
and ne threw down to her bit OF
paper crumpled into ball.
$500 REwARD-The above amount
will be paid for information leading to
the arrest, dead or alive, OF Waiter
Somers, who has worked for so~ne time
past on Maxwell's ranch. Said Somers
is about eighteen years old and five
and half feet high, rather good look
ing, with light, curly hair, blue eyes
and light mustache. When last seen
he had on black slolch hat, gray bu i
ness suit with blue flannel shirt, and
boots and red tops marked with the
makers name.
1he pame of the county sheriff was
signed at the bottom of the bill. Sa-
cram ento, having glanced it through
looked up.
Hes been stealin' horses" exclaim-
ed Pete; "got off last night with four
of Max'lfs best somewhere. The re-
ward won't do much good, though.
Their regulators II lasso him and String
him up long fore the law'll git ste ted,
They're hevin' a meetin' now up at the
Gulch. tell we, thev are mad. They'll
make quick work if they catch bin.
Yer fathers there. Ye needn't look
fur him home afore night much"
Then, after word or two more, the
man rode on; and presently Sacramen-
to took up her pail, and, with the
sheriil's bill still in her hand, we 1t
slowly up the bank and across the trail
toward the house, thinking very seri-
ously about the $500 all the while.
1t was some hours after this, and the
afternoon sun was going down behind
the tops of the N ,untains, that Sacra-
mento, having finished her houSeworh
was prepared to sit down ON the porch
to do her sewing, when she was met in
the doorway by young man she had
never seen before.
And yet he was no stranger. The
girl knew him insanity, although the
SLOUGH hat was pulled down over the
hsxen hair and blue eyes, and the gray /.
pants torn and muddy, had been drawn
out of the boots legs so as to no longer |
GLOW the red tops of the boots with the |
makers name be seen. 1t was the horse |
thief.
She did not, however, express any
surprise as she saw him. She was ac- /
customed to the sight of rough, evil
men, and at the first glance she had |
feli that this one could not be either |
very wicked or very dangerous. BE |
was not much more than a lad, and had |
an air of gentleness and good breeding
about him that six months of western /
life and the miserable plight he WIS in
at that moment had by no means de-
stroyed. he seemed to be short for |
breath, too, and he was trembling as II
he bsd been running.
Instinchvely be raised his hand TO-