The Southern herald., 1892-09-23


aFE Young man. Hhsa rsn c'n show
8 hanh count 8 20 l-aau' e-H-rs.
shes Foar'n. an not b'iors' Ihsu he
srins : ball lrt thinl<in' hacw ia hev
& hustle a consid' be spell fore Eui H.
ssWa-al me'n Molly talked Is over
Toe. "a finally concluded tht I'd heV q
60 summers else sf I ever got fore
HANDED; So ons day, we says gOod-by,
daown in the medder lot an pulled
out fer Californy.
''Sence then I've ben knoekin'
raound all over IN ksutry, tryin' one
thing m mother Purity hard luck
most O th' time. tew-but ies' fore !
come hyar ] located = claim. me n
mother feller. over in Colorado. an
worked Il some. Il didn't pan out
none, so we had I Try somethin' else,
an hyar I come, lsavin' Peters 4 keep
up work on III claim, him havin' job
clus By WAL, tn other day Peters he
sold aout tew . Boston eomp'ny fer
twenty-five thaousan'-an' my halfs
what ! went & Braownsville fer.
That's all.
Hen fllsd his pipe. said Good night"
and went cut whistling softly.
by JoYe," said the boss, TO hear
him tell it, in that easy way Of his, with
the cowboy lingo and the occasional
Yankee twang. you'd think it a very
commonplace affair. / don't know
what you think Of it, but think It de-
eidedly romantic, and I'm glad it's
turning out so well. Hens an honest
chap and deserves all the luck in the
world The girl must be a plucky one,
too. Hum! hum" And the boss looked
at the ceiling and blew smoke rings in
= peuSive way he sometimes had.
There wasn't a man on the ranch
who didn't hate to see Hen go and who
wasn't honestly glad at his good for
tune. Even the misanthropic Posey
svinced not a little regret as he said
good-by to him when, the morning
after Thanksgiving, Hen sat on his
bronco all ready to start for Jersey,
the railroad town to the east of us.
It was = beautiful morning, almost
like spring, and Hen couldn't have
wished for a better day TO start on.
The last good-by said, he Strengthened
up shifted the cool breeze, looked To
see that everything was all right
and with an "Adios. boys, was of,
waving his hand in acknowledgment
Of the rousing cheer we gave him as he
reached the top of the hill across the
creek.
Jersey was only twenty odd miles
away, and Hen expected to arrive there
at noon, in time to get his dinner, dis
pose Of his bronco and make the two
o'clock train east. There was plenty OF
time, so he let his horse take its own
gait, and gave himself up to his own
thoughts.
Not living creature was in sight on
all the broad plain. Hen and his horse
were as much alone as If they had been
on the open sea. Human habitationi
between the IL bar" and Jersey, theirs
was none. Hen dismounted and laid
his ear to the ground, listening intently
for few seconds. Yes, there it was,
that dull, whispering, indistinct roar
which the plainsman knows and fears =
the voice Of the coming blizzard. The
horse heard it or felt it, aud turned hi,
head toward his master, whinnyinG
softly.
On and on they went, Pokey, alive Il
the situation, pounding along at his tor
travelling speed, steady as a clock Or
and on came the storm, covering hOrs'
and rider with snow as fine as tloul
until they looked like ghosts. Hen
leaning back to get his Overcoat los
the direction, but he had full faith il
Pokey, and knew that the little anima
would do better without any plotting.
How cold It wasl Hens hands anC
toes were like Jumps of ice-worse
they had hardly any feeling left il
them. His ear and cheek, on the sidt
exposed TO the storm, were getting
nIpped. Well, he would soon strike tn,
stage road, and then. If he had not mis-
calculated, there would be only Ave o
six miles
"Great Scottr'
For Poley had given a sudden higl
leap and stood still, painting Almost
under his feet lay snow-covered OBJ
ject, with a queer look about it. HeI
leaned down from the saddle ant
turned II over. IL was dead man
holding tight, in the stiff right hand,
whip such as stage drivers use.
"Stage driver, deader'n Tom JeffeT
son. Drunk, likely, an fell off; poo
cussf' But there was no time TO stol
and investigate. In another seconl
Pokey was turned TO the left and pound
ing along up the stage road.
A dark object loomed up suddenly a
they shot past, and a sudden thrill sen
the sluggish blood coursing througI
Hens veins. lie halted and turne
Pokey's unwilling head on the bacl
course.
Sure enough, It was the stage; bu
there were no horses attached. He
felt around and reached the doc
handle. A cry--a child's cry-cam
from within. Hen tied Poley frml
TO wheel, found the door again an
entered.
} Thank God!'
II was a woman's voice, and He
almost tainted to think that its owne
should be in such terrible predics
ment.
"Oh, sir, have you come to take u
away? The driver fell off, I thinl
and the horses broke loose, somehow
and we're almost froken."
Hen could see her now. It was
. young. good-looking woman, and sh
held, tight clasped to her breast,
child about three years old Neiths
| was clad for such awful weather.
=