The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-01-22
A FRONTIER BOHEMIAN.

The sun was setting on the Maverick
valley. As ! walked to the door Of the
ranch few parthian arrows from his de-
clining bow splintered themselves among
the 1usky tops of the live oaks. There
was n faint pink glow all around the hori-
zOn that on its western threshold fingered
in feathery flecks Of crimson and gold.
The brief twilight Of Texan lattudcs was
already Fastening through the thin files
of mesquite shat stood like struggling
pickets before the windows Of the little
cabin. A silence was falling over the
hushed landscape-''vast, measureless,
complete"
Certainly / had some excuse for the
sudden loneliness that fell upon me. 1t
was the first time in my border life that
had been left upon the tracklese prairie,
solitary and alone. The annual shearing
was lust over. But an hour before our
entire "outft" had departed for u general
merry making ut distant frontier town.
As had volunteered in accepting the
position Of cook during the past three
weeks, and for that period had iabored to
fill q recurrent and appalling vacuum in
eighteen able bodied men, my efforts had
naturally been somewhat facilitating.
Amid that exuberancc of society, in which
solitude seems myth, i had declined
conviviality and elected rep0se was left
behind rs custodian OF the ranch.
But as / stepped from the door for the
purpose of penning the buck herd ] was
beginning 10 regret my choice. realized
that IA "tenderfoot," with only a three
months residence in the state-was alone
upon an area Of $4,000 acres without let or
limit; that my nearest neighbor was FIVE
miles away, over a charities, emerald
sea, to be traversed only by aid Of that
shifting guide, the sun; that my only
companions in this primitive wilderness
were thirty-fve merino bucks of contem-
plative and exclusive tendencies: shep-
herd dog, which was immaturcy ELUSIVE
and slobberingly demonstratv upon being
addressed as MISS Flo," and IN ebony
cat that wore q NANCY and somewhat dis
sipated exterior under the sobriquet of
"Miss Emma" A dearth Of the cOnsola-
tons Of female society apparently inspires
the native Texan to Il courteous acknowl-
edgment of the sex OF domestic pets.
When, therefore, 1 had driven the
horned contingent Of my associates into
their rude brush pen, and had fastened
the hurdle gate, | stood leaning against il
and seriously regarding them. II did not
add to the cheerfulness Of my surround.
ings to notice that they bore an unmistak-
able resemblance to "a company OF hook
nosed Jews; that their knees were sprung
with the rheumatism Of age; that their
eyes were rheumy and infiamed, ami that
they appeared To be unusually afflicted
that evening with snufiies and chronic ca
tarrh Besides, they were 50 fresh from
the shears that the air Of venerable wis
dom which their faces arrogatcd seemed
to be caricatured by the rest Of their
bodies. They were so rcpulsivc in ap-
pearance that | at once dubbed the most
disreputable specimen ''Fagin''-a bap-
tismal inspiration that eventually
achieved popularity. Then, with that
hypocrisy which characterizes man when
lonely, began to patronize my much
abused dog, and even the feline antique;
for both had accompanied me in my pas
toral duties. After which walked back
to the ranch. Here ! encountered another
dubious object, that in my then detected
condition struck me as almost ominous.
This was a pet lizard which, for the past
month, had inhabited the neighboring
kitchen-a long, low structure with can
vas roof-and which was now perched
upon the doorstep. But "TOmmy" was
Oh the present occasion very much out OF
luck. He was not, under the most favor
able circumstances, q preposscsslng OBJ
iect. He was brick red, covered with
polka dots of black, and had a diabolical
leer about the eye. "Tommy," however,
had now unaccountably lost his TAIL and
was obviously so Inundated and dispr-
tied that he unconsciousiy infected and
aggravated my own melancholy.
| oDened the door Of the kitchen, into
which he Immediately dived and hid his
diminished Hardship from view. Enter
ing the little cabin, and acting from &
feeling of generous hospitality that must
have struck both as phenomenal, | in
vited tho companionship of "Miss Flo"
md "Nliss Emma" Then / lighted the
lamp, and drawing the solitary chair Of
the apartment to convenient distance,
picked up q volume of "Macaulay's
Essays" Qor we were fortunately blessed
with an abundance Of lterature,, and dis
posed myself To read. ] remember think
ing, as | settled myself into a comfortable
position, tEHJ ! WOuiu llthc inhclNo lOl
my enforced isolation 10y profound literary
culture, and rather plumng myself upon
how much benefit | should derive from
this prairie study. But made sngularly
little progress that evening. | found my
self entirely unable 10 concentrate my
attention. ! was oppressed by an indie
Unable feeling Of dread that at last cul-
minated i'll g nervous sensation of being
observed. | threw aside my book in dis
gust and endeayored 10 account for il.
1t was now pitch dark outside was
sitting ut little desk that, from the pow
erty Of our household furniture, was
obliged to perform manifold duties To-
night il was somewhat oyerburdened with
frontier bric-a-brac, conspicuous among
which was large Colts revolver and
cartridge belt. perceived that as sat,
l 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.
Parity from feeling of caution which
one acquires on the frontier, and partly
from this nervousness could not explain,