News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-02-09

| Rancho. L could not SlOOt ullck on Tie
wing, dip sheep, or lasso a steer. My
smattering Of Latin and Greek went for
nothing; unable to speak Spanish, L was
voted an ignoramus, for all on the ranch
were as familiar with that tongue as
with English-a necessity, where two
thirds of the "hands'' spoke nothing
else.
In spite of all rebuffs, however, con-
tinued to assume a great many airs OF
superiority. I shirked work, wore my
good clothes, used needlessly elegant
language, and behaved generally like
prig | hated my cousin Tyler, while
! he, with all his boorishness, looked rather
kindly upon me; he had good heart
we are excellent friends now-and took
no end of pains to teach me the use of
firearms, in which he eXcelled.
I profted by his lessons but felt no
| gratitude; if he had saved my life,
would have been with that insufferable
manner that made me detest him. But
my feeling toward him was mild COM
pared to what I felt toward libby. /
was afraid of her; her sharp eyes, and
sharp, vixenish tongue, her marvellous
talent for ill-natured ridicuIe, kept me
in state of constanta anxiety; moreover,
she could do everything [ could not do,
and was constantly being taunted with
her superiority.
My position became daily more and
more uncomfortable; what real trials I
lacked, my imagination supplied; [ be-
league to drive me to suicide.
When my father died he left his af-
, fairs in the utmost confusion. Uncle
Jabez had piles of papers sent out to
him, and labored faithfully to rescue
from the estate little remnant of for
tune for me to begin life on, intending
to give me home with him until was
twnnty-One.
had seen just enough of these papers
to believe that 1 ought to have about a
hundred thousand dollars; that my
uncle was next of kin formed a sufficient
reason to my romantic fancy for his de-
string to get me out of the way.
Poor Uncle Jabez in the silent land,
whittier he has gone, these words can
not wound him; that boyish delusion
cannot pain him.
This idea took such possession Of me
that every trihing event was distorted to
its support. My appetite failed, my
sleep was disturbed, and [ became SO
thin and pale that Aunt Jane was seri-
ously distressed.
Finally I made up my mind to run
| away.
Corralitos Rancho was thirty miles
from the nearest neighbor's, and sixty
from Soledad; but the distance did not
deter me. [ had often seen men at the
ranch who had spent weeks in the open
air with no other baggage than q shot
gun and roll of blankets. The air is
so dry in that part of the country that
shelter at night is quite unnecessary,
and game of all kinds was then very
plentiful.
The climax of my woe was reached
when Uncle Jabez compelled me to
spend the whole day with the Mexican
herders dipping sheep. [ hated hard
work, the smell of tobacco in the wash
made me sick, and the sheep gave me a
great deal of trouble, while my awlz-
wardness amused the herders. I ate
my supper and went to bed in q great
rage. The next day cleaned my gun
"a gift from Uncle Jabez-loadeda all my
cartridges, and slowed away as much
ammunition in my clothing as 1 thought
L could comfortably carry, besides pro
viding myself with matches and other
small articles.
My blankets were my own. I had pur-
chased them i'll New York at my uncles
suggestion, and had pleased my fancy
by selecting bright scarlet, bound on
the ends with broad blue ribbon.
As soon as the family had retired I
rolled them up and bound them with q
stout strap; for 1 intended to walk all
the first night in order to get a good
start, for l did not doubt but that [
would be pursued.
Islipped steathily from the window,
unnOticed even by the dog, and walked
briskly until I struck the San Luis road.
when [ fell into a steady, comfortable
pace suitable for an all night tramp
1t was quite dark when [ started, but
about ten o'clock the moon rose. They
retired early on the ranch, and its soft
light cheerel my dropping spirits, MAX
ing me feel less like an escaped convict.
[ rested once or twice by the roadside,
and wished more than anything else
that l had something to eat or drink:
not because [ was hungry, but merely
to break the mOnOtOny of the march.
The dusty road-it was the middle of
September through a wide, tree
less plain, bounded on one side by
by an occasional patch of low growing
shrubs. or by telegraph poles which
lifted themselves at regular intervals,
like gaunt reminders of distant civil
ization.
[ remember glancing up at them pIac-
idly, and observing that they had no
cross bars at the top. For many hours
L plodded on patiently, making mental
/ 90 Ion Iotippc +O tho T,,,r, hon, oF +
should have traversed by daylight. I
thought myself happy to have escaped
with my life, and had few regrets for the
fortune which fancied I was leaving.
AS the distance between myself and
Corralitos gradually increased, an mex
pressible feeling of loneliness and isola-
tion crept over me, aided by the desolate
silence of the open plain; not living
creature did see, and the only sounds
that / heard were the rustling of leaves
in the underground, as some shy wild
thing crept back to its hiding-place at
sight of me.
[ knew that wildcats made their
homes under the stunted mazanitas, and
panther was within the bounds of pos
sibility; for the herders not infrequently
reported the sheep raided by them, and
Tyler even killed one while [ was at the
ranch
cannot say that l felt any fear, but
my hearing was on the alert, and [ car
ried my gun ready cooked on my shoul-
der.
| was brave enough in those days
far more so than | am now. / am in
clned to think that most of the reckless
courage of youth comes from ignorance
We do not know the value of life, there
fore we risk it; we rush into danger be-
cause we can see neither its length nor
its breadth.
When excitement is less alluring, and
we learn to count the cost. we shudder
i'll anticipation of the crippled life or the
useless death, as the beggar who has
found diamond trembles lest he meet
his comrade, the robber.
But, though [ experienced no physi-
cal fear, my thoughts were tinged with
melancholy. | felt that I was alone in
the world, having cut the last tie of kin
dred left me. l had the confidence OF
youth as to the future; but [ saw it only
as pilgrim sees fair gardens, when he
smells the flowers and hears the foun-
tains splash on the wrong side of blank,
hopeless wall.
L began to forbode that some hard ex-
periences We're before me. L was also
forced to fortify myself against sundry
quaims as to the past, and the manner
OF my flight, by the most violent inward