Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-10-21
C0Y0TE-THAT-BITE

full ends. and Of all the happy sayages ON
the Colorado desert he was the most
riotously, unanimously happy. With
what keen delight he had drawn his
sharp blade across the throats Of Jose
Sanchez and his wife, after he had stolen
into their wagon in the gray dawn, and
what thrills of joy shot through his
breast when he silenced the yells Of their
two little children with the butt end Of
their fathers own rifle And then, when
he had taken what gold was in the Mex
cans bag, what mescal was in his DEM
john, and had strapped Jose's rather
loose fitting cartridge belt about his sun
brown belly. with what fierce pleasure
he stole away from the scene Of hi-
bloody work. aud with the Mexican
rifle on his shoulder had wandered Gar
down the dry arroyo, slipping from the
demijohn the supplying juice of the
agave from time to time until he felt
that he was growing drowsy.
Then he had dragged his uncertain
way along until he had come 10 the rail
road track. He stared stupidity ut the
bright steel rails aud looked up at tn,
HuiHIllilH WINS w an iFffAA NifA VI NtN
He would like to lie there behind thu
rocks, he thought, until some one should
come along the track, aud then try shot
at him with his newly acquired weapon
The demiJohn was growing light and
the rifle was growing heavy. Well. il
was getting toward noon and rather
warm, even for AN Apache, and he would
lie down in the shade of the rocks over
there and rest
The humming of the wires is a sooth
ing sound, and no sooner had his head
touched the earth than sleep took u
mighty hold upon him aud wiped ont
his realizing sense of JOY. rs sleep has Il
way Of doing with everybody that ha-
anything 10 he joyful for. Aud 80 hp
lay, with the rifle by his side. and his
unspeakably hiieous face turned up 10
ward the blue that arched the desert.
1t was quiet there and restfnl mo
sound save the music Of the wire
Stay, there were other sounds but ttrN
came some time after Coyote That Bite.
had thrown himself upon the sand ANA
gone of 10 the land of Nod They cam,
family at first, and mingled with iht
murmurings of the wires. Surely thgy
were the voices Of children.
Had the red beast been awake ~.
might have imagined that they were h.
haunting voices of the wee Mexican
children whose blood he had so ruthless
~ shed that morning, but he heard them
not. They We're very far from being
ghostly voices anyway those tones that
now piped forth SO nerrily rs Dubs aus
Gay trulgcd down the line They wer
walking To the scoopout along tho rna4
bed-not on the track, for that was for
hidden.
There were other things that We're for
hidden, too, and one Of them was stray
ing SO far away from the station, hui
Dubs was taking good care" Of IN.
three year-old sister, ana in the pride n
his six full years he was equal to the
care Of half a dozen such as Gay.
To give Duhs all dne credit. he did not
know he was hi,lfa mile from home. aud
he really was going to turn back pretty
soon. But the children had found n<lny
interesting aud beautiful things 20 claim
their attention First there had been 4
chase after young owl that could not
fly, and that made lis way along IN the
most haphazard manner imaginable
Then horned toad had been captured.
and Dubs had dragged the Disguised
prisoner along 10y string until he had
tired OF the sport aud had let him ~
again. Then, always keeping close t.
the railroad they had entered great
field Of cacti. where Dubs had tried very
hard 10 pick "toonies' without getting
the insidious, needielike spines in his
fingers He was fairly successful. but
he would not let the fruit Of the cactus
20 into his sisters chubby hands until
1t had been stripped OF its dangers by his
ready jackkuife.
IF on'y had sum matches 10 build a
fire wiz" sighed Dubs. "rd burn off
vese prick Jus like We Injuus does.
''O-of Ctme suddenly from under
Gays sunbonnet. "Wot's DAT
IVY, it's a jug" and Dubs left the
'.toonies" and started toward the pile Of
rocks where lay the Coyotes dcmilohu.
aud where also lay the Coyote himself
The two trudged up the little slope,
and Dubs gfasped the handle Of the
demijohn, Gully TO let il drop again and
spring back quickly with Gay IN hi,
arms, for he had caught sight Of the
Coyote, aud he was snitten with a sud
den desire TO 20 home.
But he saw the Indian did not move,
and SO he suddenly became very brave
He was certainly sound asleep aud no
more 10 be feared than papa when he lay
on the lounge in his midday reposc
Then, too, Dubs was quite sure he was
''worky Lllun, like the Yaquis. who
shoveled and picked on the railroad. and
so his mind became wholly al ease.
The Coyotes cartridge belt, which
had been so loosely strapped, had fallen
off aud lay 10y his side. There were
hundred very interesting bits Of bras,
sticking in l., and the children soon had
these scattered all about in the sand by
the snoring Coyote. In the scramble for
her share of the innocent toys, Gay let
one Of them drop on the Coyotes leg
Perhaps the meseals influence was on
the wane, FOR a big brown knee was
thrust quickly up from the sand, and
big brown hand clutched the ugly knife
at the Coyotes side, but the hand fell
and the noble red man snored on.
Dubs tried on the cartridge belt and
became an Indian, all but the indispens.
able knife, and he concluded TO borrow
that from the sleeper, whose fingers had
lost their grip on the buckhorn handle.
''It's bigger'n mommie's butcher knife,
q a 4