Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-20

fair portion Of our land into something re-
sembling cultivation, and saw looming
before us the prospect of at any rate some
sort of a return, we awoke to find the June
sunshine cleaning through window lat
ticed with icy tracery, and the water frozen
in bucket on the floor, and the fate OF our
tender growing corn sealed.
William, who was more volatile than /,
had been urging ME for months past to aban-
don the place and try fresh start elsewhere,
but somehow I had been unreasonably loath
to do so. 1t might be nv phlegmatic nature,
OF it might be because our nearest neighbor,
the Dutchman. had a fair daughter-any-
how would not go, and William would not
90 without me.
Snow. are you satisfied that it's nothing
but bowling wilderness we're IMP" he
asked.
And though did not reply, L was salts
fed of It, and felt that not all the daughters
of earth could bind me to such a place.
'Philip Sinton, do you hear me?" Will
lam repeated. you're leech by training,
and the son of leech; but what earthly
benefit can you ever get by hanging on like
a dead ghoul to this lamentable fraud Of a
farm? We came West to grow up with the
country. How can we expect to do it by
stopping in part where never single
thing does grow? Now, listen TO mel Pm
off this very day"
"Where?" 1 asked meditatively.
"Where?" echoed he. "Anywherei So
long as it is not to ranch on a boundless
per-air-ie, where the life ia as slow as-why,
say as yon respected and costly ANIMAL
He indicated another of our bad bargains,
sober old mule. which had been paimed
off on US at a high price as being OF breed
peculiarly adapted to the soil and eli
mate"
'Look here, Philip he went on. ESQ
berly, this is what propose. You remem-.
Der all the talk we heard last time we were
in Scuta OF the big mining boom up in the
Silverbow Valley? Well, I'II just take the
cars and go quietly up there before our
funds run quite out, and prospect around
a little, as our friends would say. II it's no
good, and Just another OF the gigantic frauds
of this gigantic country, I'll come quietly
back here, and we'll make break together
in another direction. But il it looks like
paying, why then PHI stake out my claim
like the rest, and you can follow up and
join me. Well leave this rich ranch of
ours to the claim jumpers; and if the rascal
who jumps this doesn't thereby geriull pun
ishment ior his past crimes, then NV names
not William Harlow"
In existing circumstances L really had
1OlnlhS 10 urge against tIlS Scueue, anu we
set about Immediately to put it into execu-
tion. 1t was arranged that ! should 90
down with William to the settlement and
see him start, and in an hour or two we were
on our way over the prairie to Scuta.
We reached the place late at night, and
found that the westbound train-there was
but one in the "a lours-was timed to leave
in the small hours of the morning. We
therefore hung about the station till the
train drew up, and then William took his
seat and left me standing on the desolate
landing. As he said ''Geodby" he prom
ised to write to nie Immediately after his ar
rival, so that might expect at least to hear
from him within our days.
Nevertheless, as I saw the great train, so
full OF lie aud light, draw away FROM the sta
tion and sink into the darkness, strangely !
forsaken and desoIate feeling stole.over me,
and my eyes fustinctfvely he'll last to the
lights until the highest Of them
had sunk below the distant horizon. When
daylight came 1 trudged Iaboriously back
across the great dreary ring of grassy earth |
with a sense Of utter Loneliness, aud when !
reached the ranch wondered at the
sunkeu lock Of everything.
The stipulated days passed heavily, and |
then fastened to our nearest mail station |
TO fetch the promised letter.
"No letter for you" SAID the post-agent.
"Oh yes, there, is, replied; my name
d Philip Sinton."