San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-03-07

rest upon, and even the chill unklndneSS
of the November evening could not
spoil it; but the eyes that gazed from
under dropping lids were more critical
than loving. Soon to their searching
quest changes began to make themselves
apparent. In place of the sleepy old ca
nal of his boyhood there was a single
track, unprosperous looking railway,
and telegraph poles marked the line of
what was formerly the towpath.
And there were endless quiet changes
of the kind that mark the progress of de-
cay, the slow inroads of poverty and
desolation. Twenty years had left be-
hind them traces of their flight in CALLED
and quilted fields that formerly were fer
tile, in hillsides grown up thickly with
broom sedge and sassafras, and in gen.
eral dilapidation of fencing and build
ings. What the devastation of war had
commenced poverty and unthrift were
completing, and the foot of time but
marked the road that was leading to
restitution.
Anthony gazed over it all and scorned
it. He was SO full of energy, will and
activity of purpose that the evidences of
unthrift filled him with impotence.
All the tender beauty of the scene, all
its Old World calm, its repose and soft
enchantment were utterly lost upon him.
The lotos eating phases of existence were
beyond his comprehension-would have
been beyond his endurance.
"How small it all looksr he unused
| eli orht ho
to stroke his beautiful brown beard with
strong sunburned hand, "and yet
when l was kid thought this valley
was the world. Now it looks to me as
though | could straddle that river and
push the hills apart with my two hands,
| Lord! how the country has gone down
| down to the very dogs, for want of
money and push. They hadn't much
practical energy to start with, these peo-
| pie, but with one thing and another
they seem to have lost the little they
had. They can't make work tell any
wasn't healthy looking place to try the
follow my Header dodge, so Ned nosed
about for better. After awhile he
came upon what looked to be an old
trail, and he followed it down into the
canyon, where he found the broncho,
with his baggage smashed up, but other
wise all right. Tough little beasts,
| bronchos.
"Half way of the canyon there was an
| open space, with trees like little park,
pines and redwoods, and near the CEN
ter there was deep, snow fed pool.
Against the wall of the cliff at one side
was rough cabin built of redwood
slabs, and inside of it, at the back, was
the mouth of the Prairie Dog mine"
The speaker paused and filled his pipe,
as though he had nothing more to say
on the subject A silence fell, during
which the sounds of the street stole into
the room, the roll of vehicles, the stir
and hustle of traffic and the voices of
the street gamins quarreling in the gut
ter.
"What became of the leper?" 1t was
the Texans voice that put the question.
"There the story grows misty. Nobody
knew anything about the leper until af-
ter the find, except a few trappers and
Indians. Some said he was an Apache
and others that he was Mexican priest.
Nobody knows for certain what he was,
except perhaps Ned Anthony, and he
won't talk. about it. The leper was
dead, he told them all, and buried under
redwood tree close by the pool. He'd
made the grave himself, and put the
poor wretch in it; uncommon kind of
Ned, say, for whether leprosy is catch
ing or not, it's damned unpleasant
thing to handle. Some fellows that
wanted to upset Ned's claim to the find
started the cry of foul play, in hopes
that the boys would take it up and
lynch him, but Ned soon snuffed that
out. He Just marched the whole gang
out to the grave and laid his hand on it
and swore by the Lord that made him
that the leper had had nothing but kind
ness at his hands, and then he told the
fellows that if they doubted his word
they could open the grave and satisfy
themselves"
'Did they?"
"Lord love you, no" cried the miner
in surprise. .Of course they didn't
Who do you reckon was going to monkey
with corpse-and such corpse! Why,
they set fire to the hut and burned it to
the ground before they'd been in the
canyon two days. They didn't banker
after going in and out to their work
through it all day, long; the thought of
the leper sorter got away with the stout
est of 'em whenever the sun quit the
gulch: twasn't comforting to their in
nards. Nobody cared a damn about the
poor devil anyway, beyond wiping all
sign of him off the face of the earth.
| The mine was there and the ore was