The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-01-29
A HUT IN THE PRAIRIE.

tient endurance he plodded along, resig-
nation plainly expressed in the droop of
his tail and ears. A Texas prairie Is a
beautiful, soul inspiring sight on bright
day, when the sky is an inverted bowl of
turquois, and the wind comes sweeping
over the grassy wastes as fresh and sweet
as the bloom on a baby's cheek, but
there can be no greater sense of desola-
/ ton born of nature than that aroused by
this same prairie when it lies black and
/ bare to the chill October wind, which
has plucked the glory of Indian summer
! from earth and sky.
1 felt this as | gazed about me, discon-
certed and even trife anxious, for the
sun had set some minutes before In a
! cloud heap, which. closing over 1t like a
rebel horde deposing its king, overran
! his monarchy with its blood red standard.
In place Of the ranch, the hearty well
come, pleasant words, bed, supper and
tjre 1 had expected to reach by sunset,
there was nothing to be seen before, be-
hind. on either hand, but the dead level
of the plain. There were paths in plenty;
in fact, the trouble was there were too
many-all narrow and winding, for
whose meandering there seemed not the
slightest excuse, except the general tend
ency to crookedness most things, ami
mate and inanimate alike, possess. But
it would have taken the instinct of a
bloodhound or a trailing Indian to have
said which paths had been made by
horses feet or those of cattle. 1t was
certainly beyond my powers to decide,
and in addition to their doubtful nature
they had most perplexing way of run
ming into each other, crossing and re-
crossing, going off at a tangent and fire.
quently wandering off and getting lost
altogether So l soon dismissed the
problem as hopeless of solution.
Now that the sun was gone, found
my knowledge of the points of the com
pass gone with it. As l sat perplexed
and worried the gloom of twilight gath
cred fast and the chill of coming rain
smote me through and through, while in
the distance there was the roll of thun-
der. Glancing up saw that the masses
of cloud had closed together in curtain
of gray mist. My horse strobe on of
his own accord, and hoping that his in
stinct would lead us to some house let
him have his will. Presently it began
to rain, sort of heartbroken, passion
less weeping, but with a steady deter
mination to persevere all night, that
awoke graver apprehension in my bosom
than any amount of clustering, show
cry downpour could have done. This
fine still rain was accompanied by low
soughing wind that added its desolate
note to the general dreariness of the
hour. OF course | did not mind little
rain, but the prospect of spending the
entire night exposed to IL was anything
but agreeable, and grew really violent
in denunciation of the folly which had
led me, an utter stranger in the coun-
try, to attempt to find anything less
than a volcano in active eruption on a
bald prairie.
The Texans are fine people, in some
in many-respects the most admirable
of hosts, but individually and collect
lively they lack any appreciation of dis
tance. This is due of course to them
having so much space around them, but
to a stranger ignorant of the extent to
which the phrases "a little piece OUT
and lust outside O town" can be
stretched this contemptuous regard of
miles is little misleading. But in the
face of that dreary, monOtonous moan
ing of rain and wind even nay anger at
my own folly could not burn long, and
though chilled TO the bone and tired and
hungry l plodded on duly, grateful
that no night, even the longest, could
and very dark at that, though at short
intervals close to the horizon a faint
CLEAN of lightning showed, too distant
to cast brightness on my path and only
sufficient TO intensity the blsckness
about me.
All at once saw a man walking about
fifteen feet in front of me. Yes. | know
| said it was intensely dark, but all the
same, repeat it, saw man walking in
front of me. and furthermore could see
that he was large man, dressed in
rough but well fitting clothes; that he
wore a heavy red beard, and that he
looked back at me from time to time
with an expression of keen anxiety on
his otherwise rather fixed features.
"Hallo!' l cried, but as he did not
halt concluded he did not hear me. As
a second hail produced no result spurred
my weary horse up 10 oyertake the stran-
ger. But though the gray responded
with an slacrity most commendable un-
der the circumstances, / soon found that
this strange pedestrian did not intend 10
let me catch up with him. Not that he
hurried himself. He seemed without
anv exertion TO keep good fifteen feet
between us Then [ began 10 wonder
how. with intense darkness shutting me
in as four black walls, | was vet able 70
see my strange companion so clearly. to
take in the details Of his dress. and even
the expression of his face, and that az a
distance more than twice my horses
length when could hardly see his head
before me. / am not given to supersti-
tious fancies, and my only feeling was
Of curiosity. When after attempt after
attempt 70 overtake the stranger had
failed. took mercy on my jaded horse
and resolved TO follow my unsociabls
guide. as he must have some definite des-
tlnation.
We went on in silence for nearly hai
an hour. when as suddenly as he had APP
pea-ed he was gone. looked around
for him. half afraid from his instant and
complete disappearance that ] hsd been
dreaming, when perceived that was
Close II a small low huildlny Of some