The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-06-03

.,,or her. More than ono did
.n, be,,ove AT first, but psnaw! VIVA.
h he, 4 been doing all my HE 10 ,es soen
Ss,iowa doubt mey SO the eu ,,n,sa
was that got them all inslae or.es were
There was one ,, in,ns' whispered to me.
aaI 49, ~ oniv ridden them rev mIss-
~ had stolen or boushl 'nn,,,d not
ranch 10 the west OF US % do B,rt IL
make up my mino teep them quiet TIL
was clear | must "''f
somstnnns n,sre ali drinking brandy when
Unions wife entered the room. ni M
wss mon dieu so innocent, SO chip'i,n nta
Ghas' stared at the men and then. 1 toia
.hn,, she was deaf and dumb ana toIu
Nor tnr" whv they had come. VOLTA, II was
Beautiful like nothing you ever saw saw
She shook her head so innocently ana
9 ,her told them like a child that they
were wicked 10 chase a girl. couIu
have kissed her feet. Tonnere, now shs
fooled them, She said, would tnsy ~.
search the house? She said all through
me. on her fingers and by signs. And l
told them at once. But she told me
something else-that the girl nad sippeu
out as the last man came IN, na,.
mounted the chestnut and would wae
for me by the spring, quarter ., d
mile away. There was the danger ina.
some one OF the men knew tne nnsei
language, so she told me this thlhg III
signs mixed up with other other SCH
fences - - .ht,o
Good, There was now but one thing
to do-for me 20 get away. so saiu;
laughing, TO one of the men: CVi,d the
we will look after the horses am sn
others can search the place with hlitoll.
SO we went out to where the horses VIZ
tied 10 the railing and led them away
to the corral. 49,,
'of course you will understand how l
did It, claPpesd ma hahd Gagged on ps and tied
him. Then / got my Tophet ana ava
/ went to the spring. The girl was wais,
ing There were few words. siippeao
her hand, gave her another pistol anu
then we got away on fine moonilt trarl;
We had not gone a mile when hearu
a faint yell far behind. My game hau
been found out. There was nothing 10
do but TO ride for IT now and TO nght
IL necessary. But fighting was not soou,
for / might be killed and then the glrl
would be caught Just the same We Iou1
on-such rde-the horses neck ana
neck, their feet pounding the prairie IKE
piston-rods, rawbone 70 rawbone, a uihs-
dong gait. | knew they were AFTER US,
though / saw them but once on the
crest OF a divide. about three miles pc
hind. Hour after hour like that, win
ten minutes rest now and then az
spring, or TO stretch our legs. We narnly
spoke to each other; but God OF Love;
my heart was warm TO this girl VINO hdd
ridden one hundred and fifty miles IN
twenty-four hours. Just before dawn,
when | was beginning to think That we
should easily win the race If the girl
could but hold out II 1t did not Kill her,
the chestnut stuck a leg into the crack
of the prairie and horse. and glrl were
on the ground together. She could scarce
~ move. she was so weak, and her face
was like death. put pistol 10 the
chestnuts head and ended ,siad IT, ,b At b 6oar
beasts neck, but spoke nothing. AS
helped her on my Tophet. | put my lips
TO the sleeve of her dress, Mother OF
God! What could a man do she was
so noble?
Dawn was just breaking oozy ana
gray at the swell Of the prairie, over the
Jumping Sandhils. They lay quiet and
shining In the green-brown plain but L
knew that beneath there was a churn
which could set those swells of sand in
motion and make deadly sport of an
army. Who can tell what it Is? MOOD
under the surface, tidal river-wha?
No man knows. But they are sea mon
sters on the land. Every morning at
sunrise they begin 10 eddy and roll, ana
no man ever saw a stranger sight. Ben,
j looked back. There were four horsemen
coming on, about three miles away.
self on my tired horse were too much.
They saw also and hurried on. There
came TO me a great idea. ] must reach
and cross the Jumping Sandhils before
sunrise. 1t was all a deadly chance.
they were almost mile behind. | was
when we got to the edge of the sand
all sick to my teeth as my poor Tophet
stepped into the sand. God, how /
watched the dawn! Slow. slow we tolled
over that velvet powder. AS we reached
the further side / felt that ii was begin
ming to move. The sun was showing
like the lid Of an eye along the plain. 1
looked back. All four horsemen were
in the sand, plunging on towards US.
BY the time we touched the brown-green
prairie on the further side the sand was
rolling behind us. The girl had not look
ed back. She seemed too daZed. ! jumped
from the horse and told her that she
must push on alone to the fort; that
should be in no danger. She looked at me
l cannot tell how. the stopped and kissed
ME between the eyes. / have never for
gotten. ! struck Tophet, and she was gone
to her happiness. for she reached the
fort and her lovers arms.
But l stood looking back upon the
Jumping Sandhiis. SO, was there ever
a sight like that?-those hills gone like
a smelling floor. the sunrise spotting It
with rose and yellow and three horses
and their riders fighting what cannot
be fought. What could | do? They would
have got the girl If had not led them
across. and they would have killed me
II they could. Only one cried out and
then but once. In a long shrek. But
after all three were quiet as they fought.
until they were gone where no man
could see, where none cries out so we
can hear"
There was a long pause, painful to
bear: The trader sat with eyes fixed
humbly as n dogs on Pierre At last
Macavoy said: she kissed We. Pierre
aw, yis. she did that. jist betune the
eyes. Do yees liver see her now, fierrey'
But Pierre, though looking at him,