The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1891-03-28
TWO AFTERNOONS.

a not DAY. Inc sun directly ofTF3eau,
glowing with fire that made .ie air in
the shadeless canyon culver " If heated in
an oven. Not n tree in sight, not BUSH
everything brows and barren. Every
where howlders Of lfva immense in size
and sometimes split In twain, as If in rapid
cooling from the intense heat which gave
them birth. Here and there between the
gray green Of the giant cacti. raising their
thorny forms fifty anu sixty feet in the air,
assuming with their strangely formed
limbs the shapes of immense crosses or
trunks Of trees from which all leaves and
smaller branches have been torn. Between
the black and brown of the sunburnt lava
an occasional tuft of tall. almost colorless
grass. Over all stiffness that to one I'M
accustomed to the land would seem strange
and oppressive. Not bird to break it
with its song. Even the lizards sought out
what shade they could, making with their
green, red and variegated ccats almost the
only dash of color to relieve the monotony
Of the all 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 off to the west buzz
zard fioated high in the air, and two men,
with a burro lazily following, passing
down the canyon.
Prospectors and their outfit.
Opened shirts, showing red, hairy
breasts, while their loosely buekled belts,
heavy with long, bright cartridges, whose
furnished surfaces, made doubly bright
from the rays Of the hot sun, seemed
strangely out of place in such quietude.
Neither spoke. Each walked along as il
alone, looking for the float" 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 burro, patient
eyed, forgot his old trick of nipping the
tops OF the long gazette grass, and contented
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 breath OF air stir
ring, only the quivering heat that made
the eyes burn and ache. The men shifted
their rifles constantly from one hand to an
other, as il to avoid getting blisters from
the places where they touched the highly
heated metallic parts Of their guns.
Crack crack. crack
Not fifty yards ahead, from behind doz-
en- powders leap out as many Jets of fire,
while the snowy white putfs 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 rife to his shoulder, and then
down he falls headlong to the ground in a
limp mass. Deadl Shot through the head
Not CULVER, not IA motion; without n
sound, We're it not for that made by his
falling rife.
As he falls his companion staggers back
pace or two, catches himself, and then,
half crouching half falling, drops behind
one OF the many powders "IIitw he
thinks to himself, "but, thank Godl not
fatally, only a scratch" Life seems a new
thing; &c live a new joy.
Only scratch. "WhereSn He hardly
has time to think as he places his gun
across the bowlder and fires at figure,
naked, dark, clothed only in breech clout
aud with red scarf wound around the
head. lie notes almost unconsciously how
pronounced its color is against the dark
face aud darker hair of its wearer. "A
miss' he mentally remarks as the figure
disappears. But better luck next time,'
he thinks as he pushes down the lever of
u,
replacing it with cartridge "Short
RANGE he should have hit. 1t can't be
that he was losing his old cunning; that
his aim was bad. mo" he fired ia haste
and was "Tattledn another shot and he
will show them" are the thoughts that
flash through his mind as he peers cautious
| ly ahead to discover his enemies.
None In sight.
For the first time he feels pain. Hall
numbness, half fire; how it tears as ne
raises his shirt and looks at a little blue
hole hardly larger than pea near the right
side in the short ribs. "Only scratch, oil
/ it would bleed worse. Did it 20 through
he asks himself, ns lie passes his hand uT
his back to find if there be an orillce Of
exit. mo" THAT is bad, for there is nc
surgeon to be had to cut the missile out
Pshaw, what matters itY Other men hav,
lived with bullets in them-why could moi
hea Night would soon come, and ther
with darkness he would go. He was mo-
losing blood sufficient to weaken him much
and by morning he would be far away
After all it would only be a close call, some
thing to tell about But poor Toni HI
was gone" and as he looked at the lifeles
form of his partner he could hardly keel
back the tears.
Crack crack go a couple of shots off Il
his left, and he sees the dust flying III
from near his feet lie tries to draw hi
limbs up to get them in safer position
Tries again, and the cold sweat break
from him. He cannot move them!
They are dead-paralyzedl
Something like sob breaks from him
II is all over. In the first flush of possib
escape he had not thought of the spin
being injured, He knew 1t now. The gam
was played. A few hours longer at tn
best. Tomorrow and the next day, am
the days and the years to come would fin,
him there. The end was only question Q
short time. Yet he had only thought i
scratch.
With his arms he drags himself into
safer position. This done, he unbuckle
his belt. and as he lays it before him t
have it handy he thinks of the time ava
back on the Platte when he had first pu
!, 81, al