Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-05-09
TWO AFTERNOONS.

A hot day. The sun directly overhead
glowing with a fire that made the air In
the shadeless canyon culver a. If heated in
an oven. Not tree in sight, not o bush
everything brown aud barren. Every
where powders OF lava immense in size
and sometimes split in twain, as il in rapid
cooling from the intense heat which gave
them birth. Here aud there between the
gray green of the giant cacti, raising their
thorny forms fifty and sixty feet in the air.
assuming with their strangely formed
limbs the shapes of immense crosses or
trunks OF trees from which ull leaves and
smaller branches have been torn. Between
the black and brown Of The sunburnt lava
an occasional tuft OF tU.i. almost colorless
grass. over all stiffness that to one I'M
accustomed to tire land would seem strange
and oppressive. Not bird to break it
with its song EycH ir lizards sought out
what shade they could making with their
green, red aud varie ga cd coats almost the
only dash OF color 10 relieve the monotony
Of the ali prevailing brown and black lava
that each moment grew more oppressive to
look at UNDER the glow Of the fierce heat
Save these, not living thing was in
sight except where or to the west buz-
gard doated high in the air, and Two men,
with a burro lazily following, passing
down the canyon.
PROJECTORS and their outfit.
Opened shirts, showing red, hairy
breasts, while their loosely buckled belts,
heavy with long, bright cartridges. whose
furnished surfaces, made doubIy bright
from the rays of the hot sun, seemed
strangely out of place in such duietude
h1fF hos l.. "a
alone, looking for the "aoatp that might
indicate the presence Of some mineral
ledge higher up, more from habit than
from hope as the formation" gave but
little indication Of treasure.
How hot the SUM The hurro, patient
eyed, forgot his old trick Of nipping the
tops Of the long gazette grass, and conteuted
himself with keeping closely in the trail Of
the two men, whose worldly possessions Of
blankets, cooking utensils and tools, capped
with an enormous canteen Of water he so
patiently bore. Not a breath Of air stir
ring, only the quiyering heat that made
the eyes burn aud ache The men shifted
their ria constantly from one hand to an
other MS ii to avoid getting blisters from
the places whore they touched the highly
heated metallic parts Of their guns
Crack crack crackl
Not fifty yards ahead. from behind dGz
en- powders leap out as many jets Of fire,
while the snowy white puts of smoke float
up few feet and disappear In the culver
ing air.
One Of the men stops for an almost i'm.
perceptible instant, as il to brace himself
His hands rise to the level of his chest, as il
to bring his rifle TO his shoulder, and then
down he falls beadlong to the ground in a
limp mass. Dead Shot through The head
Not a CULVER, not motion; without a
sound, were 10 not for that made by his
falling rife
As he falls his companion staggers back
a pace or two, catches himself, aud then,
half crouching, half falling, drops behind
one of the many powders "Hitp he
thinks to himself, 'but, thank God not
fatally, only a scratch" Life seems new
thing; to live, . new JOY
Only a scratch, "Wherew He hardly
has time to think rs he places his gun
across the bowlder ana fires ut a figure,
naked, dark. clothed only in q breech clout
and with a red scarf wound around the
head He notes almost unconsciously how
pronounced it's color is against the dark
face aud darker hair Of its wearer. "a
miss" ne mentally remarks as the figure
disappears. but better luck next time"
be th,l..s AS he pushes down the lever of
bis gan md throws out the empty she'll,
replacing it with cartridge. "Short
range; he should nave hit. 1t can't be
that he was losing his old cunning: that
bis aim was bad. Mo- he fired IN haste
and was ratified" Another shot and he
will show them are the thoughts that
fash through his mindas he peers eau iops-
y ahead to discover his enemies.
None in sight.
For the drst time be feels pain. Half
lumbness, half fire; how it tears as no
RAISES his shirt and looks at a little b'
hole hardly lar ger than pea near the right
,ide in the short ribs, "Only a scratch, Or
Il would bleed worse, Did it go thrauch2p
be asks himself, as he passes his hand up
ais back to ind If there be an oridce Of
Exit. ''No." THAT is bad, for there is no
surgeon to be had to cut the missile out.
oshaw, what matters it2 Other men have
iyed with ballets in them-why could not
le? Night would soon come, and then
With darkness he would 70. He was not
osing blood sufficient to weaken him much.
ind by morning he would be far away
After all it would only be a close call, some
hing to tell about But poor Tom! he
vas gone" and as he looked at the ifeless
orm Of his partner he could hardly keep
]ack the tears.
Crack! crack! 20 a couple OF shots off to
lis LET'S, and he sees the dust flying up
rom near his feet. lie tries to draw his
limbs up TO get them in a safer position.
fries again, and the cold sweat breaks
rom him, lie cannot move themi
They are dead-paraiyzed
Something like a sob breaks from him.
{ is all over. In the first flush OF possible
scape he had not thought of the spine
icing injured. He knew il now. The game
sas played 4 few hours longer at the
,est. To morrow and the next day. and
he days and the years 70 come would dud
i'm there. The end was oply question Of
short time. Yet he had only thought it
scratch.
With his arms he drags himself into a
afer position. This done he uubuckles
us belt, and as he lays it before him to
ave it handy he thinks Of the time away
Jack on the Platte when he had first nut
me on. How proud BE then felt, as a strip.
ing boy, of ghe outfit! How bright the
uture had iaoSedl And now IL was all to .
nd. After alI. life 10 him had been a hard
me. IL had brought to him few OF the