The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-05-08

y
the air she made of it a mere frame.
upon which she hung and
draped the most beautiful and
fanciful minor accompaniment
then turned to me and said:
Pretty. amt IL? l wouldn't have n
follow that couldn't whistle nice and
ride anything that goes-would your
She had 4 rich. pathetic contralto,
with note of hoarse tenderness In il
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 a closing minor cadence,
checked her pony, pushed back her hat
and exclaimed: by George, I'm lost"
Here was 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 il was only three o'clock by my
watch; cur ponies were 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 Looping across
level, she laughed out loud and pointed
in front OF Us.
why. here's the arroyo; we've come
to ii further north than L was before.
All we've got to do is to follow down"
We followed down, got our saddle
pockets fun 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 Tennie. Its = sort OF
blind trail, but l can find it, and we
want TO get mighty near home before
dark
1t was 4:3O: there remained but an
hour of daylight, and our ponies
had already come some tyenty-four
or twenty-five miles at z brisk gait
since noon
We went ahead at an easy lope,
checking up every mile or SO TO walk fOr
4 LreatAing space. As the sun declined
l saw 1eenie look anxious. Finally
she said: We crossed Turkey Roost all
riEAt, and ! was sure we struck into
Lost Mule on this side, but l declare it
oon look like II now"
B We rode mp on the divide beside which
we had been travelling and looked
around. Good IaEd.' said TeCuie, II
don't see 4 thing / know We're lost
. sure enough this time-and night com
/ ing. Wen freeze"
While we looked and hesitated the
3 day visibiy withdrew and night dropped
down upon us like a presence. All
. landmarks by which to steer our course
were obliterated, but we pushed ahead
with feverish haste.
81, l.,
! ness, while over u wheeled the coustel-
lations.
Presently Teenie pulled up and said:
Its no use; were like as not going
away from home instead of toward il"
Ne got down, stalsed the ponies,
wrapped ourselves as best we could
ami sat down to face the situation.
Have You never been alone on the
prairie ~ night? Then you have never
knOwn how small a mote you are.
-As we sat hushed under the great, white
stars, amid the bounGleEs darkness, ]
f1ucicd we could hear the moving OF
the vast machinery of the universe, the
hum of the planets as they spun
through the void. and the creaking OF
! the earth as ii turned on its axis and
shot forward into vacancy.
Our surroundings We're obliterated;
Z
darkness and an iInmensity Of star
| gemmcd space. And we ourselves-in-
! fnity of httleness amid this spacious
! gloom-we seemed but aforementioned
! atoms
| had resolved myself to my original
| componentS, doffed this gross corporeal
| bod. and was wandering about in my
! spirit, seeking to blend once more with
I the Ovcrsoul; too ignorant and inexperi-
encedsto realize any danger in our po-
! sitions, reveled only in its beauty and
! strangeness.
Suddenly the little predatory whim-
pering giggle Of q coyote sounded out
| OF the night, and Teenie, who had been
huddled beside me in dismayed heap,
! clutched my arm.
''Oh, Miss Alicei Can't you holler?
! Listen To that coyote! There's timber
wolves and panthers out there, too. We
| ant got match, nor a thing to shoot
with ne-er wanted TO see a man SO
bad in my lIfe-do holler.'
took one moment to say: Would
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
: chSuSd a Dau tusiIsS VI dA llOur lOT
! Tennie and me. The coyotes snicllered
on the hillside and howled fearlully IN
! the nearer valley.
All at once our ponies neighed out joy
! fully. l gave last scream; there was
al answering shout, a clatter % hoofs,
! and somebody rode down the slope and
almost over us.
How should / know it was Johnnie
Sherwood? But Teenie rose up, and
crying: '-Oh, Johnnie! Johnnie! John
/ ME! east herself at hiIn anyway as he
| jumped of his horse.
| could see nothing Of them but two
! moving shadows-then one, stationary;
! but presently q bis voice that tried to
! whisper murmured in an abandon OF
! tenderness:
III shoot that fool calf, darling.
! quick as / can find himr'-Alice Mac
Gowan, in st. Louis Republic.
Complainant to His Dog.
very delicate compliment was lately
! bestowtla by = dog-lover upon the intel