Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1892-11-11

El0 ulu hOb lllb NO hCdus n pun VI
cold wind came down the canon. and
striking the girls breast made her
shlver
..Sieepin' on the rocks. Wal
swun! Tux too much outen the black
bottle I'll bet"
She stepped nearer.
..Hullo. pap! You amt drunk agin.
DO you9 Pap pap I'm clean 'shamed
o. you"
She leaped 10 the rock gave him
dig in the side OF. his leg with her
stouily leathered toe. and then shook
his shoulder
pap wake up! You'll catch yer
death a-cod. sleepin' out this way.
Aa' here we've be- a-watchin' out
fer We. an watchin till our eyes was
most give out while you've ben up
here havin' good OIL guzzlin' time
all by yerself. an not carin' a crss.
It's ayin us darned mean, pap an
you know it..
She shook his shoulder again. His
head fell back. The face was chalky
white.
.God. Pap! What is itp"
She felt his face. 1t was stone cold.
The touch froze her. She felt his
heart The throb was gone out OF it.
Pap pap" and all the canon heard
her sharp desolate cry; my oil pap!
He ain I dead?"
A big Lizard went scattering down
the slope an owl in scrub. oak near
by gave dismal hoCt and the coyotes
set up their throaty howls
She gulped and gasped. Her breath
seemed cut Off She would have
fallen III his side but that her ear
caught the co totes howls and caught
too their horrible meaning. she
STAYED herself by her two hands
aga. nst the rock and tried TO get her
breath. The coyotes howled again.
In aw u, chorus. and she shuddered.
They shnn't get you pap, they
shun't get you. I'll take you home. y
Her breath ca me free as she spoke
She grasped the dead man shoulders
and. keeping as much OF his body
from the ground as she could she
dragged him down the rocky trail
toward the spot where the horses
were tethcred She WINGED when she
he I'd his boot heels scratch the
ground. nut she pulled and tugged
W TN all her mig t and painting she
laid his form near Old j IN who
snorted and jumped and pricked up
his ears Then with u glance back
wards from time to I nIe she went to
her fathers little camp took his a E.
and cut two poles with which she
made dust trailer " the poles being
bound to old Jim side like shafts
with pieces OF strap and bale-rope.
She Ii ted the body again. to put it
on The rude conveyance. The moon
struck it full this time. and as she
rolled it over gently upon the trailer.
she aw II big clot OF blood on tho
on Of the dark shirt and by il was
a clean cut bullet hoe With a
shuddeE she let the body fall Then
she looked at her hands. There was
boo upon them and upon tho slee yes
o. her dress.
Claim jumpers"
She sou ner teeth hard when she
thrust forth the words and clenched
her hand till the nails dug into the
pam.
They had killed HIM then while
he was at work. He had crawled as
far rs the rock and had died. IL wa,
str ke-a big oue-and it had cost
him his life. But
She looked up the canon with awful
eyes and smote the air with the
cieuchel hand.
Ten she bent down. and taking a
long halter strap fastened the bod :
secu ely to the top OF the trailer and.
mounting her fathers horse she led
Old lin care nil down the canon
and out upon the night chilled plain.
The coyotes followed her ard almost
rent her heart by their bowls but she
kept on. and befo.e midnight the sad
little procession reached the cabin.
The mother WAS still up aud she ran
to the door when she heard the sound
OF hoofs.
lis that you 'Lish?' she called
out Ibid you bring pap home? Is
it dead-sure striker"
ish slid from her horse and ran
TO the door.
Nav Nav. Maw!' was her crv.
.Maw they've killed him. They've
killed poor old pap
IL was n month after they had laid
the old man in the whiie earth. and
the wind was whispering through the
sage. brush and scattering its gray
| leaves on his grave.
'Lish was up In the canon. behind
the w. Y rock where she had found
her deud father The canon draught
wa very grateful to her after the
hard ride over the heated plain. she
drank in long brealh5 of it, but all
the ii ne her eye was on the hole
| whore her father had made the one
great strike OF his life and had died
for it.
Strange he never comes 'roun'-
that greasy faced Jose Garcia. Twas
him that did it, Praps he's waitin'
for us to move away. He'll wait q
long time It'll he's dead"
she let her glance tall for an In
slant TO the someth ng that cleaned
along tie top OF the rock That
something was the barrel OF her faith
er's ride The wind rustled snake