San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-10-15
4 SCRAP Or RIBBON
By DAVID DWIGHT WELLS.

wife 5 so, Glider ...-.-..e-.--
Tor women to SETTLE" he murinured;
then approaching the officer, he informed
him that their horses were tethered some
distance away and that his son would
bring them in. We shall be ready to
follow you in a short half ho;r." added
Morel.
The officer nodded his approval.
Pauline's eyes were filed with tears as
her father led her and her mother aside
and spoke few words of comfort and
encouragement to them.
Fear nothing" said he; mo harm
will come to u.s. We shall be back in a
day or so. This is not Bismarckland, |
eli you! Close the packwaSOn securely
- night and see that your pistols are
close at hand. But you'll not need them.
Women are sacred in this country If a
wolf comes providing around in the night
use my Winchester, Pauline. Take good
! care of little mamma. Goodby, goodbyv
The three men rode away and Pauline
and her mother stood watching them
until their forms faded ont of sight in
the dark shadows cast by the towering
pines which lined tine road
Don't tremble. little motherr cried
Pauline bravely, for she felt her heart
grow strong at thought, of the glaring
| injustice that had been done her father
| and brother. They'll soon come back
to US. Hector and I'll take good care
of you. You know I've killed deer
and Leon says I'm as good shot with a
pistol as he is
Madam Morel smiled at her daughters
cheering words and replied: Il don't fear
four footed enemies. my child. There's
another kind far more dangerous"
oh, you mean men, little mamma"
cried Pauline with laugh. "Pshaw,
everybody says a woman is safer in the
province than she would be in the streets
of large city just recollect how you
and | have been treated since we left
Seattle. Why, the men act as if we
were real angels. ! saw one of them
pick up bit Of cloth that tore off the
sleeve of my dress and tie it in his but
tonhols for luck, as he called it.
Madam Morel drew her pretty daugh-
ter to her side in a warm embrace. "Pm
not afraid of either. my sweet baby"
she murmured as she kissed Pauline's
soft cheeks No one will harm u.s.
| But come, let us prepare for bed, and
begin by praying that holy Mary may
| watch over our dear ones in this dark
| hour"
The two women paused several times
| in their laborS to contemplate the sub
| Unity of the scene which surrounded
| them, for the moon had risen and the
grandeur of the forest scenery, the dull
murmuring roar of the swift flowing
Fraser, interrupted only by the mournful
cry Of the whip-poor-will and the howl
of the coyotes impressed them more
| than ever now that they We're alone in
this almost illi1nitable region of solitude
Hector felt his Importance as the sole
gardian of Pauline and her mother, and
| from time to time made the tour of the
little camp and reported that all was
well by friendly wag of the tail. Pau
line followed her fathers directions and
| laid his Winchester and brace of re-
volvers within easy reach. Worn out by
tie excitement OF the day, Madam Morel
was soon sleeping soundly, very much to
Paulines satisfaction. She however
found waking and thinking of the hand
| some stranger more to her taste.
Il wonder if | shall ever set eyes upon
| him again" she asked herself, and then
she tried to recall the musical ring of
his voice and the kindly CLEAN of his
eye. He is surely no desperado, argued
the young girl to herself, ''or any such
adventurer as Captain Roberts would
have US believe. He was SO gentle and
so brave that know he must be higher
born than | ami" sighed the poor girl,
as she lay there beside her mother list
| ening to the cry of the great white owl,
which nests in the gigantic pines Of these
| forests.
As the night wore on, even the cries
of bird and beast gradually closed and a
deathlike stiffness settled upon these
solitudes of mountain and plain. Pau
line had never before attempted to watch
| through the night this way, and so
strange and mysterious was this first ex-
perience of hers that it had sort of fas-
cination about it. She was giving her
self up to the full enjoyment of this de-
licious sensation of utter loneliness and
helplessness, no doubt akin to that pleas
ure which a man finds in needlessly fac
ing extreme danger, when low growl
from Hector called her back to thoughts
of real life. Rising to her feet without
awakening her mother, Pauline proceed
ed to the end of the wagon, and draw
ing the canvas aside saw that a covered
vehicle was passing along the road from
which their camp was several hundred
feet distant She heard il halt. although