Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-01-29

soon they passed q brush-fenced wheat
held; t .1' heard the loving of cattle
preaching some house. A rod further the
trail whirled about the clump of oaks into
a foot path and past q giant boulder: from
beyond, with sudden distinctness, came
the sound of falling water; the r%avines, |
disappeared in a quartz-walled valley. The
end mad come here. Rawlins and Martin
urged their horses on; but they suddenly
reared and snorted wildly.
"Antotne! AntoineW both man and
boy cried in q breath.
Feeble as a baby's wall, out of the
depths OF the %ravine, came a human cry,
piercing the ripple of waters with it agon-
lied appeal.
They left their horses, uncoiled their lar
iats II went Town among the rocks. Ro-
he q crashed through q sycamore top,
and there he lay, more than o hundred feet
down, stark and dead.
"Antoine, Antoine, where are you?n
II see,". cried Martin, and they soon
reached him.
Brushed off by the tree top, yet falling
through it to the lower ledge, Antoine,
tn ough in piteous plight, was not mortally
hurt; his leg was broken, and almost
countless fesh-wounds and bruises added
Ntrasting this hollow-eyed, nearly naked,
sorely wounded man, lying in the sun
glare, half way down a wild ravine, with
the jaunty, foppish Antoine of the spelling
SCHOOL of a dozen hours before.
And there, as he lay, he looked straight
down on dead Roland, eighty feet below;
for hours he had heard, he had told them,
breaking down into sobs, the brave crea-
lures dying means; had called, and heard
the horse whinny back his fond and last
recognition. The gray dawn broke over
head as Roland died; then the sun rose,
and, though Antoine crawled put of it's
hercest rays, the heat was terrible.
Ihey lifted him to IN easier position,
making pillows of their coats, and gave
him a drink.
the hill and getour bearings; we must have
help here, and soon"
He only waited till the boy was gone to
turn upon Antoine. He had no scruple
about sparing him for the sake of his con-
ditlon,, for he knew his man. The hot
listened in less extremity.
business l ever heard of. Do you know
what you have doie?"
"Broken myself Al into bits and pieces"
But You have forfelted n girls s respect
and friendship, have trifled with another
girls heart, Lave played the fool and the
madman. Worst of all, you have murder
ed the horse that loved and trusted you,
SOuh OcduolluA IlOld10, WIN tuT00 ClLQ6S
last night saved you from suicide, and
would have carried you safely to the end,
had it been in the power of flesh and blood.
Don't you think Roland should be up here,
and you there, on the blood-stained
quartz?"
Antoine broke out ~furiously, "It's no
ones business"
"Antoine," said the school-master, "If I
had not known of these things, and had
not followed your tracks, you would perish
here, in ~unspeakable agonies of thirst and
pain. And your unshrived skeleton would
bleach white on these rocks. Do you wish
l had not Gomez"
81 thought l Would rather die than give
her up" muttered the young fellow.
because you did not love her. When q
man really loves u woman, he woes her
with patience and courage, more by deeds
than by words; it would be utterly impes-
sible for him to brighten her, threaten sui.
eide, dash off into the darkness and leave
her alone in the forest. You never really
loved Flora. You have never loved any
ness"
Antoine lay a moment in silence; then
surrendering with the completeness of hi.
temperament, he looked up with his darA
and beautiful eyes full Of penitence, just as
Martin came down the hill shouting:
"They're coming, and we'n have him "
in Q hurry"
"Who are coming?" asked Rawlins.
CHESTER and his hired lei That's Kes'
ter's dairy ranch, three miles from his
farm. It's seven miles back to fathers
an we've rode nigh twelve miles, counting
the turns. I met Kester," he went on Of
he came to the school-master's side; she
comes over here every Saturday-and
told him Roland ate locO-weed, got mache
spang crazy, sir, and run of with An
toine."
1t was a brilliant explanation; no one in
all that mountain land will doubt it. But
looking at the death scene below, at the
gathering vultures slow wheeling above
their prey, remembering Roland's faithful
ness to the end, this last requirement., this
staining his royal memory to shield his
"mdche" master, smote Rawlins' heart will
pity and sorrow.
Sand what did Kester say, MARTINI"
The boy laughed. "He said Roland wa:
the best horse on Churn Creek, but Antoine
wasn't no favorite of his"
Antoine's face flushed red. 'Take mt
home,O he cried. 81 won'tgo to Kester's.'
"You must, my lear fellow; it is the
only way" said Rawlins. "Every minute
is precious. You have lain hero since
daybreak. Now, Martin, ride for a sur
geon."
Down the hill they ran a few minute:
later, six healthy, big-hearted men, Kes
ter foremost. When he saw Antoine, thu
tears sprang to his eyes and his voice
trelnbled.
U DldLAo 4OuSus 4NoVSA A4AAu oAS ~
things Ive said Of We, Antoine. Jest lool
at that horse! Antoine, ye did hev an OF
full ride. Now, boys, chop off them tree
tops, an whack up a litter, an'run for SOM
blankets; an you, AID, skip out on tn
teachers boss am bring Mary an the oil
woman to the dairy ranch. Darn it, hurry
up! work livelier! Who ever saw 81
cussed lazy a crowds" And Kestel
pushed one Of the men aside, seized
Ratchet and began hewing a path through
the bushes.
1t took a long time to bring Antoine to
the top of the %ravine, and then he had
to be carried across the fields with grear
g%entleness, for the pain of his hurts wa:
increasing. Before the party reached the
rude cabin door Mrs. Kester and Mary
had arrived on horseback-for every on
rides in the mountains.
Mary. quiet and serious-eyed, was deft-
ly helping everywhere, bringing cool wa
ter from the spring, smoothing the pill.
lows, moving noiselessly about, the mode
of a nurse. n look of bewilderment yet
rested in her eyes at the strangeness OF
this sudden call, but the o IL in which she
spoke to Antoine was serene, sylnpa.
thetic, judicious. She had como there to
nurse, not Antoine Michenay-not the man
she loved-but a wounded and suffering
fellow-mortal. The girlishness was gone;
she was a woman, and able to keep her Sc