San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-02-02

II was now pitch dark outside. was
sitting at little desk that, from the pow
erty OF our household furniture, was
obliged to perform manifold duties. To
night it was somewhat overburdened with
frontier bric-a-brac, conspicuous among
which was large Colts revolver and
cartridge belt perceived that, as I sat,
was directly In line with the two win
dows Of the ranch-one on the south, the
other on the north side of the house.
Partly from q feeling OF caution which
one acquires on the frontier, and partly
from this nervousness could not explain,
shifted my chair around against the
wall until faced the southern window.
In effecting this change of position sue
ceeded in treading on Miss Emma and dis
commoding Miss Flo, who, after looking
at me in grieved fashion, accommodated
herself to another quarter with the usual
canine philosophy and circumlocution.
As l tilted my chair against the door
and assumid an aggressive attitude to.
ward the opposite window, noticed few
drops of water upon the panes, and was
then for the first time aware that 1t was
raining A moment after vivid flash Of
lightning illuminated the darkness with
out, opening up phosphorescent vistas in
the mosquitoes with startling suddenness.
Brief as was the interval for observation,
it was sufficient to confirm my suspicious.
Amid the loud reverberations of the
thunder clap that followed, was conf
dent that had seen man lurking in the
scanty shru5bery outside.
cannot describe how much was dis
concerted by this discovery. was alone
in a wild and lawless country, where q
man might be attacked and murdered
without chance of succor. / was in a
lighted room, whose unshuttered windows
stared into the black night so glaringly,
that practically was as defosseless to an
enemy hid in the darkness without, as If
shut in a glass case. AS this thought
leaped TO my brain, l suddenly extin-
guished the light and CROPPED for the re-
volver and cartridge belt, resolving to
make as determined stand as possible.
Securing both, buckled on the belt and
backed against the door, in order to resist
any forcible entrance. In this defiant at
titude waited, the storm continuing to
rage without.
A Texan thunder storm is at all times
awe inspiring. l do not think ever lived
more thrilling existence than during the
brief interval crouched in the darkness
of that little cabin, which was necessarily
lighted by the blue flashes, that seemed to
leap from window to window, and which
shook TREMENDOUSLY under the crash of the
SCATTERING reports that followed one an
other in quick succession. My excitement
reached its height when, during one of
these sudden uluminations, perceived
pressed against the pane and peering into
the room a wild, red face, with long gray
beard and disheveled hair streaming in the
wind. The apparition, seen by the lurid
light, was so malevolent that ! think l
was only prevented from firing at it by the
brief interval of the flash. When the
lightning cleaned again the face was
gone, and i was certain now could hear
some one grouping his way along the side
Of the house, evidently supporting him
self in that way against the charging
gusts Of wind and sharp fusillade of the
driving rain. At the same time Miss Flo
became uneasy and barked loudly.
"Hulloa, herew shouted gruft voice
hastily relighted the lamp and opened
the door in some trepidation.
There entered tall figure, SO gratuit-
ously limp and bedrangled with rain as to
be almost grotesque; so worn with travel
in the eyes as to be really pathetic. The
clothes that he wore were torn and
abraded, exposing a sub-stratum of red
flannel at the knee, which gave him a
ludicrous suggestion of having worn him
self down to the quick from the excess Of
his devotions. His shrunken pantaloons
encroached upon the calves of his legs, and,
as he was without stockings, this lack of
intimacy with his hob nailed shoes exposed
pair of very gaunt and reluctant ankles.
His beard and hair were long, struggling
and unkempt, and were surmounted by
an extravagant SLOUGH hat of the frontier
pattern. Running over the scant details
of my former spparition, mentally classi-
fed him at once as "border tramp"
But l was lonely that evening and dis
posed to be polite. l therefore offered
him the only chair in the room, stretched
myself upon the low bed and calmly
awaited developments.
Good evening"" he said, in q rather
husky but pleasant voice, as he lapsed into
the chair. Then he took off his broad hat
with swirl of scattering rain drops,
wiped his forehead with a red bandana
handkerchief, ruminated few minutes,
replaced his hat, and finally producing a
cutting up and crumbling the latter-the
usual frontier preliminaries to smoke.
watched his movements with absorb
ing interest. He reminded me so forcibly
of pictures Of the lamented John Brown,
that was more than ever inclined to ac-
cept the singular conflicting conditions
of that martyrs soul and body" as ex-
emplified in the popular song.
When he had finally lighted his pipe and
emitted several curling rings of smoke,
this odd figure vouchsafed the information
that he had come across country in the
hope Of assisting us in shearing in
formed him that we had just finished that
day for the season. He seemed to ex-
perience some regret at this, and for
time smoked on in silence. Atlength, his
eyes happening to fall upon my relin-
pushed volume, he took it up, glanced
over it hastily, and laid it down again.
"You have been reading Macaulayf'
he said. assented in some surprise.
"Ahr' said my strange guest; "a Won
derful mani a wonderful man, that same
Macaulayl What a genius, what learn
ing, what noble style he had, to be surer'
Then throwing his head back and mar
rowing his wild eyes, he suddenly broke
out:
"'An acre in Middlesex is worth prin-
cipality in Utopia; the smallest actual
good is better than the most magnificent
promises of impossibilities; the wise man
Of the Stoics would, no doubt, be grander
object than a steam engine. But there
are steam engines. And the wise man of
the Stoics is yet to be born. A philosophy
which should enable a man to feel per-
fectly happy when in the agonies of pain
may be better than philosophy that can
assuage pain. But we know that there
are remediaa that will assuape main. and