The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1891-03-25
A TEXAS IDYL.

n 1LAAO LII i IL.
My latest experience is to be caught
in the delicate tilaments of genuine
Texas idyl.
had heard of my heroine long be-
fore l saw her. as undisputed belle of
the whole Dry Fork country, where
she held regal state, like the cruel
princess in the fairy tale. sending away
suitor after suitor and champion after
champion despoiled, not of his head,
but of his heart, and with several
inches taken off the stature of his con-
ceit.
The family name was Drake; Teenie
was affectionately known among her
admirers as "the duck" the ranch was
1.-THE duck-pond," and whenever an
other unfortunate went down to
worship at her shrine, he was facetious-
ly referred to as having gone duck
hunting.
She was as rule engaged to three or
four of the best looking and most
promising young sheepmen of the re-
gion, and carried things in general
with high hand. All this had pre-
disposed me to think slightly of the
girl as poor, shallow creature, trif1ing
with and rejecting men who were too
good for her only to crafty her vanity
and love of conquest.
But perhaps the thing that preju-
diced me most against her was her
failure to fall victim to the charms
of Johnnie Sherwood.
Johnnie and I are great friends. I
met him at balls, where he was the
best dancer; at round-ups, where he
was the finest rider and roper, and he
camped with our party many night.
A handsome, black-eyed boy of "a,
just feet. with fine, square shoulders
and well-knit figure, beautiful black
hair. curling fiat against his round,
comely head, glowing eyes. satiny
cheek, fresh and warm; nice. we'll
cut chin, with a dimple set little to
one side of it; good mouth, with
youthful mustache above it, and the
finest white teeth possible.
Face and figure were quite hand
some ordinarily; but when the eyes
shone the dimple deepened, and the
white teeth flashed in the bubbling,
mellow. spontaneous laugh that came
so naturally from the fine deep chest.
you hastily laid aside all Judgment and
surrendered your heart.
There was virtue, there was piety in
it. 1t was sweeter than reason, better
than wisdom. You felt sense of per-
sonal and affectionate gratitude to him,
as though he had made you special
gift of it.
And those two were sweethearts
once; indeed. Johnnie had been en-
gagged to Teenie, "all by. himself"
when no one else was and the matter
was regarded as quite serious.
There was. as might have been ex-
pected between two such heart-break-
ers, smash; mutual recriminations
were INDUCED in. At the hottest of
the quarrel, smarting beneath sense
of injustice, tingling at renembrances
of the affronts she had put upon him.
Johnnie came one day upon maverick
and made so innocent a thing as a
yearling calf the vehicle of his resent
ment. 1t was delicate bit of cow
boy repartee. an example of pure Tex
as wit to catch it up. and brand it all
over its helpless bovine side in great,
sprawling letters DUCK"
When the capering bonmot present
ed itself before Teenie's indignant
eyes she waxed very wroth indeed, and
told her big brothers, but on the ready
offer to 'wipe up the ground" with
the author she weakened. and advised
the whole family that they treat him
with silent contempt-which they were
doing when went there.
When came to spend week at the
Three Cedars ranch and see her daily
| with her mother and her little brothers
and sisters, found her quite different
from what I had imagined, and was
constrained tolike the girl despite my
disapproval of some of her methods.
She was a good daughter, kind sister
and the blithest, most irrepressible joy
Gus creature, with frank. engaging
boyishness of manner that / never
found in any other girl, and I soon
came to the conclusion that if she was
vain and tickle it was the fault of the
foolish men who hung about her and
ministered to her vanity.
She rode finely, and was as passion
etely fond of it as l.
She appeared unaware of the six or
eight years difference in our ages,
the wide dissimilarity of our history,
| training, environments, and probable
| aims and ambitions. and made of me
a regular chum and confidante, SEEM
| ing to think it no fault of mine that
had been city born and bred; that at
| heart, and given fair show, l was ''as
good a man" as herself.
fused to talk to Teenie a good deal
about Johnnie, dwelling warmly on
his good qualities and his winning
ways.
She was always ready to argue with
me on the subject protesting to find
! him the most hideous and disagreeable
of mortals. When l ceased she would
90 on at some length herself. applying
to him all her feminine epithets of
derogation, sneering especially at his
conceit.
Perhaps more masculine bat might
have been deceived by the appearance
of frank sincerity with which she
"slanged" him, but as Sister Peacock
says, am a female myself. and will
at the proper time acknowledge it; and
it convinced me-if it convinced me
of anything-that Teenie was no more
Indifferent to Johnnie than he was to
her; that, indeed, he carried as sore as
heart as he did.
Let's go and get some of those
! resurrection plants you want, Miss
Alice" she said to me one day. 81
know where it grows by the bushel,
over on the Escondido arroyo, neal
the Pecos.n
Two of her slaves were about the
house at the time. They Immediately
rushed out saddled our ponies, and
humbly petitioned to be allowed tc
'tgo along;;n but she refused with the
utmost asperity and we went alone.