Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1891-07-01
A TEXAN ADVENTURE.

checked my morse, anu AFTER ono
long, straining look around owned to
myself that was lost. had suspected
the fact some time since. yet had
stubbornly fought down the suspicion;
but my horse evidently realized it
With patient endurance he plodded
along, resignation plainly expressed in
the droop of his tail and ears. A Texas
prairie is a beautiful, soul inspiring
sight ON bright day, when the sky is
an inverted bowl of turquoise, and the
wind comes sweeping over the grassy
wastes as fresh and sweet as the bloom
on baby's cheek; but there can be no
greater sense of desolation born of nat
ure than that around by this same
prairie when it lies black and bare to
the chill of October wind, which has
plucked the glory of Indian summer
from earth and sky.
/ felt this as l gazed about me, dis
concerted aud even a trifle anxious, for
the sun bad set some minutes before in
q cloud heap, which, closing over it like
rebel horde deposing its king, overran
his monarchy with its blood red stand
ard. In place of the ranch, the hearty
welcome. pleasant words, bed, supper,
and fire had expected to reach by sun
set, there was nothing TO be seen before,
behind, on either hand, but the dead
level of the plain. There were paths in
plenty; in fact, the trouble was, there
were too mapy-all narrow and winding,
for whose meandering there seemed not
eli fnh he at.af
tendency to crookednes5 most things,
animate and inanimate alike, Tossess.
. But it would have taken the instinct Of
q bloodhound or a trailing Indian TO
have said which paths had been made
by horses feet or those of cattle. 1t was
certainly beyond my powers TO decide,
and in addition 10 their doubtful nature
they had a most perplexing way of run
ming into each other, crossing and re-
crossing, going off at tangent, and fire.
quently wandering off and getting lost
altogether. So / soon dismissed the
problem as hopeless of solution.
Now that the sun was gone, found
my knowledge of the points of the COM
pass gone with it. As sat perpIexed
and worried the gloom of twilight
gathered fast, and the chill of coming
rain smote me through and through,
while in the distance there was the roll
of thunder. Glancing up, saw that
the masses of cloud had closed together
in a curtain of gray mist. Ny horse
strode on of his own accord, and hoping
that his instinct would lead us to some
house, gave him his way. Presently
it began TO rain, a sort of heartbroken,
passionless weeping, but with a steady
determination to persevere all night,
that awoke graver apprehension in my
bosom than any amount of clustering,
showery rainpour could have done. This
fine, still rain was accompanied by a
low, soughing wind that added its desc.
late note to the general dreariness of the
hour OF course did not mind little
rain, but the prospect Of spending the
entire night exposed to it was anything
but agreeable, and / grew really violent
in denunciation of the folly which had
led me. an utter stranger in the country,
to attempt to find anything less than
volcano in active eruption on a bald
prairie. The Texans are fine people; in
some-in many-respects the most ad-
mirable Of hosts; but individually and
collectively they lack any appreciation
of distance. This is due, Of course, to
them having so much space around
them; but stranger ignorant of the ex-
tent to which the phrases "a little piecs
out" and -just outside o. town" can be
stretched, this contemptuous disregard
of miles is a little misleading. But in
the face of that dreary, monotonous
moaning of rain and wind even my
anger at my own folly could not burn
long; and though chilled to the bone and
tired and hungry, ] plodded on duly,
grateful that no night, even the longest,
could last forever. 1t was now quite
dark, and very dark at that, though at
short intervals close TO the horizon q
taint CLEAN Of lightning showed, too
distant to cast brightness on my path,
and only sufficient to intensity the black
ness about me.
All at once / saw man walking about
i5 feet In front Of me. Yes, / know !
said IL was intensely dark, but ali the
same, repeat il, saw q man walking
IN front Of me, and furthermore could
sec that he was large man, dressed in
rough but well fitting clothes; that he