Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-04-15

! ! !
| II W. Elected from the baked
q @H earth and superheated
granite Of the hillsides
| u 7 shimmered in waves of
NTSANyek shell-hke tint all shout
| WI The dust raised by the
49, shambling hoofs of the
old clay bank mustang
he bestrode hung in
thick, suffocating clouds
| in the deadly still air.
Inc silence was intense-not bird, animal or
| insect seemed alive. Tho whole world was
baked into silent indifference, and Dabbs him
SELF was stunned by a shock. the reality of
which had never seemed possible to his I'M
| sophisticated mind
Forty years before he had made his way
across the plains to California from his native
Tennessee and cast in his lot. as SO many others
mad Gone. IN that devil 8 for gold. He
never could keep his when he had any. how
ever. and SO in despite of better luck than most
OF those in the diggings he found himself when
the piacers had been despoiled OF the cream Of
their treasure as poor man as when he first
crossed the Sierras With his ambition dead
ne turned his face to the mountains he was
mountain bred-and sought q spot in which he
might build for himself cabin near q spring
and possess a few acres of bottom land to raise
truck upon. For the rest his rifle and traps
would suffice
He found such a spot with but little trouble.
and in few years it was known far and wide as
Dabbs ranch. The only thing to complete a
home there was woman. and her he found
Also and In the course of years there came to
this pair a child-a girl baby. In his secret soul
Dabbs thought it the most marvelously miracu-
Ions interposition OF Providence ever known that
he, such horny-handed. scanned and SCARED son
of Anak. could be the father of this wee creature
with eyes Ike wet violets. creamy satin skin,
spun gold for hair and limbs nodded on the
model of pocket Venus. He worshiped her
openly, mourning much at the loss of the
! mother. whose lite went out few years after
Starr for thus he named herr came into the
world; out 1t was more for the chld's sake than
for its mothers.
Then one of those mining booms that follow
the discovery of new - Id fields in the moun-
! tains occurred near Dabbs'. and as the ranch
was on the main trail leading 20 the mines land
was one o. the few fertile spots. with its never
falllng sp-inS. IN many weary miles OF desert)
II was made stage station. and the old man
reaped rich harvest from his little orchsrd
anu garGen. his time the money WAS boarded
as sacred trus. FOR Starr and sent down in the
treasure box o. the express company to a bank
at San Francisco for safe keeping. In year
or SO the diggings failed. az most dggiugs do,
and the tide of dusty. trave!-woru gold hunters
sought other fields. but settlements mad sprung
up IN the country beyond Dabbs'. and the stage
company still! ran 4 line over me road The
little ranch sutficed still FOR Dab5s and Starr
One day however, the cd man learned that
the bank he had intrusted Stars money 10 had
closed Its doors. and that ne would never see
the coin again The news of the misfortune
almost killed him. but he pulled hin, eff to-
gethcr for the child's sake In little while he
was almost the same CHEEKY giant he had always
been. and now that Starr had become a woman
Cshe was hfteen) be began to make plans for
her future. She would marry. of course but
sne must be independent, and the iste ranch
was growing more and more vaiuabie every
year. he spring was the only available water
supply III many leagues of grazing country. and
Since by this time he district had been ,ivpn
over 10 cattle ranchlng the Old Liars income
was materially increased from lis water right
Bnt one evil day the stage line cast envious
eyes upon The rancr with il; sprinG They Of
Tered 10 buy 1t and Dabbs laughed az them. 1t
was Starr all he had to give her The men
argued that the sum they were willing to give
would return at IL terest grea. an income as
the spring. but DabDs' confidence in the power
OF money to earn interest had been shaken by
the balA failure. and the spring Was ALWAYS
sure-ir never closed its doors But the com
lanv WAS determined to have that spring and the
lawyers found ready Jaws Ill poor Dabbs title
After long, weary months of. litigation the
,colrts decided that tie spring belonged to
Some one who was willing to sell to the COM
pany. and that Dabbs was a tresDasser and
must get off the lana.
Dabbs was now on his wav home from, the
country town where the trial of the case had
been held. His lawyers had swallowed ND all
toe savings of the years that followed the I'M
fortunate failure of the bank. and he and Starr
were broke stun bruS." he called il;
They were nearing the ranch now. The
clavbank pricked up his ears and started into a
l"pe. Dao5s pulled himself together with a
mighty effort: he would not tell Starr ve: He
had little present fo- her in his saddlebag: ne
never came from town without something no
NV lgV .rru oil h.,
would be watching tor him somewhere along
the trail. As the ck.vbanx rounded an ABRUPT
corner OF jusIing rock there was a whoop.
slash o. the whip across the horses flank, ard
Starr vas !oping alongside on her pony. One
might have taken the girl to be n mere
child. small she seemed but that The
deIicateiy rounded curves through the close
fitting habit OF coarse jeans showed woman
exouisitely proportional. She sat her blues KIN
rs only one who has lived in the saddle can. Al
black sombreco. gay with gold bullion, shaded
her face; the golden hair in striking con-
trast to the black eyebrows. the ewes were Of
that ysivety violet that shades TO black and her
olive skin wa wind-anG-sun-kissed to a peachy
bri!hancy OF co!o-ing. She urged the biueskin
close alongside her fathers pony, and nestled
against him they rode. The old man said
nothing. but leaning his massive head and
shoulders down to her kissed her very :enderIv,
The ponies were a walk now, and the two
rode in silence to- some little distance Sud-
ocuIy tue girl iOOkeU uD AT DaODj and said:
Busted. dad?" The old man nodded before
he bethousht himself OF his resolution not to
tell her. Darn them lawyers, anyhow" was
her reply to the nod. Her father. still silent,
shook his head az if in expos situation at the
mild profanity. and STAR continued: Meyer
You poster yourself. dad: me and you'll git
erlong spite o anythin'. n ef Jim Buiger don't
do up some o them fsilsrs he needn't cum a
sparkling rOun me no more"
Yer see. Starr" the old man said faint ez |
if had TUX the stuff Their cump'ny d give me
fur 1t n the fust place; we don't git nothiu'
dust er land, er spring-all gone"
There was pa:hos in the last words tina.
went straight to the girls heart.
Pap, yer mustn't feel SO knocked out" she |
cried; I'm yer little gal yet. amt 1? N es |
long es We two's left we've got each other. n |
I'll never marry Jim-never es longs yer feel |
like this" And she nestled closer to his side. !
while he bent and kissed her again. Then with |
a sudden burst Of spirit she cried out Gum er |
long: Ill run yer to Their corral" and the next |
moment the blueskin and clay bank were gallop- |
ing neck and heck down. The hill to the ranch |
They were received at the door bv "the Wild |
dor" who had been installed by Dabbs as house. |
keeper shortly after his wife's death. No one |
ever knew OF whom 1.-THE wilder was the rel. |
let IL Dabbs knew he never told any one. !
and he never referred to her save as .'the wild
der" She was a tall, gaunt, color.ess female |
with weakness for religion and ghosts most
excellent cook and STAIRS slave.