Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1891-04-04

Now, amt this q neap nicer, just hS
girls, than to have a lot Of fool fellows
taggin' along In the way?"
I assured her it was and we rode
ahead, whistling and singing by turns,
fo- very lightness of heart.
She began whistling an air and
struck in with the alto She stopped
dissatisfied with my performance. ''No,
you lead, I'll trail" and when took
the air she made Of 1t mere frame,
upon which she hung and
draped the most beautiful and
fanciful minor accompaniment
then turned to me and said:
"Pretty, ain't It? I wouldn't have
fellow that couldn't whistle nice and
ride anything that goes-would you?"
She had rich, pathetic contralto,
with a note of hoarse tenderness in it
that went right to your heart, and SO
flexible that she could follow freely
any air sang with her own irregular.
sobbing alto.
After we had ridden ten or twelve
miles, across divides and through draws
and hollows that all looked alike to my
eyes, she turned abruptly to me, on the
heels of closing minor cadence,
checked her pony, pushed back her hat
and exclaimed: 'By George, I'm lost"
Here was a bad state of affairs
was utterly helpless, and she had only
been over to the place on the Escondido
arroyo once before, she admitted.
But it was only three o'clock by my
watch; our ponies We're good ones and
we were not more than two or three
hours from the ranch; SO We kept NOV
ing ahead. she scanning the surround
ing country anxiously from the top of
every divide.
Suddenly, as we were loping across q
level, she laughed out loud and pointed
in front of us.
"Why, here's the arroyo; we've come
to it further north than I was before.
All we've got to do is to follow down"
We followed down, got our saddle
pockets full of resurrection plants, and
then started homeward.
"We can cross Turkey Roost and go
down Lost Mule and it'll only be eigh-
teen miles," said Tennic. cts sort of
blind trail, but I can find it, and we
want to get mighty near home before
dark
1t was $3.50; there remained but an
hour of daylight, and our ponies
had already come some twcnty-four
or twenty-five miles at brisk gait
since noon.
We went ahead at an easy lopc,
checking up every mile or SO to walk for
d breathing space. AS the sun declined
l saw Teenie look anxious. FINALLY
she said: "NNc crossed Turkey Roost all
right, and I was sure we struck into
Lost Mule on this side, but declare it
don't look like it now"
We rode up on the divide beside which
we had been travelling and looked
81, l., .,;1 Tnc1,in 81
don't see q thing l know. We're lost
sure enough this time-and night COM
ing. Well freeze
While we looked and hesitated the
day visibly withdrew and night dropped
down upon us like a presence. All
landmarks by which to steer our course
were oblitcratcd, but we pushed ahead
with feverish haste.
On and on we sped through the dark
ness, while over us wheeled the constel-
lations.
Presently Teenie pulled up and said:
"It's no use; were like as not going
away from home instead OF toward It,
We got down, staked the ponies,
wrapped ourselves as best we could
and sat down to face the situation.
Have YOU never been alone on the
prairie at night? Then you have never
known how small a mote you are.
AS we sat hushed under the great, white
stars, amid the boundlcss darkness, l
fancicd VIC could hear the moving of
the vast machinery of the universe, the
hum of the planets as they spun
through the void, and the crca!ling OF
the earth as it turned on its axis and
shot forward into vacancy.
Our surroundings We're obliterated;
nothing was present but great, soft
darkness and an immensely of star
gcmmcd space. And we curselves-ln-
finity of littlcness amid this spacious
gloom--wc seemed but aforementioned
atoms.
had resolved myself to my original
componcnts, dotted this gross corporcal
BODY. and was wandering about in my
spirit, seeking TO blend once moro with
the ovcrsoul; too ignorant and incSpcri-
enccd to realize any danger in our po-
sitions, l revelcd only in its beauty and
strangcncss.
Suddenly the little predatory whlin-
pering gigglc Of 4 coyote sounded out
of the night, and Tcenie, who had been
huddled beside me in d dismaycd heap,
clutchcd my arm.
"Oh, Miss Alice! Can't you hollcr?
Listen to that coyote! There's timber
wolves and panthers out there, too. We
ant got match, nor thing to shoot
with. never wanted to see man so
bad in my lifc-do holler!'
took one moment to say: ''N ould
you even like to see johnnie Sher-
wood?" and then gathered up my forces
and sent forth powerful soprano yell
that was the effort of my life.
But no answer came back, and then
cnsued bad quarter of an hour Tor
Tcnnic and me. The coyotes snickered
on the hillside and howled fearfully IN
the nearer valley.
All at once our ponies neighcd out joy
fully. l gave a last scream; there was
an answering shout, clatter OF hoofs,
and somebody rode down the slope and
almost over us.
How should l know it was Johnnie
Sb,rIvoodo Rut Tccnie rose up, and