Omaha daily bee., 1895-08-18
Copyright. 1895. by Bret Harte)

purpose. The keen WING Wnlcn ne nau Iaceu
in mounting the Grade had changed and was
now blowing at his back. His experience OF
forest fires had already taught him that this
was too often only the cold air rushing in to
fil the vacuum made by the confiagration,
and 1t needed not his sensation Of an acrid
smsrting in his eyes, and an unaccountable
dryness in the air which he was now facing,
to convince him that the fire was approach
ing him. 1t had evidently travelled faster
than he had expected, or had diverged from
its course. He was disappointed, not because
1t would obige him to take another course to
SINNERS. as Collinson had suggested, but
for very different reason. Ever since his
vision of the preceding night he had re-
solved to revisit the hollow and discover the
mystery. He had kept his purpose a secret,
partly because he wished to avoid the jesting
remarks of his companions, but particularly
because he wished to go alone. from a very
singular feeling that while they had wit
messed the incident it was something vaguely
personal to himself. To this was also added
the uneasy impression he had experienced
during the night, that this mysterious habta-
ton and it's occupants were in the track of
the conhagration. He had not dared to
dwell upon 1t on account of Uncle Dicks
fire and the reflection that the inmates of the
dwelling would have had ample warning in
time to escape. Bat he and his companions
might have helped them, and then-but here
he stopped. Prebe Key had not passed the
age of romance, but like other romancists
he thought he had evaded it by treating it
practically
He had reached a point where the trail
diverged to the right, and he must take that
direction II he wished to make a detour Of
the burning woods to reach SINNERS. His
momentary ndeclsion mmunicated itself to
the horse, who halted. Recalled to himself
he looked down mechanically, when his at
tention was attracted by an unfamiliar object
lying in the dust of the trail. 1t was a
small slipper-so small that it must have be-
lorged to some child. He dismounted and
picked 1t up. II was worn and shaped to the
foot 1t could not nave lain there long for
1t was not filled or covered with the wind
blown dust OF the trail, as all other adjacent
objects were. If it was dropped by a passing
traveller that traveller must have passed
Colinson's going or coming within the last
twelve hours. 1t was scarcely possible that
the shoe could have dropped from the foot
without the wearer's knowing it, and it
must have been dropped in an urgent flight
or 1t would have been recovered. Thus
practically Key treated his romance And
having done so he instantly wheeled his
horse and plunged into the road in the direc-
ton of the fire.
But he was surprised after twenty minutes
sriding to find that the course of the fire had
evidently changed. 1t was growing clearer
before him. the dry heat seemed to come
more from the right, in the direction of the
detour he should have taken to Sknner's
This seemedsalmost providental and in keep
ing with his practical treatment Of his ro-
nance as was also the fact that in all prob
ability the fire had not visited the little hol-
low that he intended to explore He knew
he was nearing it now; the locality had been
asrongly I'm pressed upon him even in the
darkness OF the previous evening. He had
passed the rocky LEDGE his horses hoofs no
longer rang out clearly; slowly and percept-
IDLY they became deadened and lost in the
,springy mosses and finally the netted grasses
and tangled vines that indicated the vicinity
of the densely wooded hollow. Here, too
were already some Of the wider spaced van
guards of that woodruff here a peculiar cir
cumstance struck him. He already de-
scend,ng the slight decliviy, but the distance
instead OF deepening in leafy shadow was
actually growing lighter. Here were the
outskirting sentinels of the wood, but the
wood itself was gone. He spurred his horse
through the tall gums between the opened
columns and pulled up in amazement
The wood indeed was gone and the whole
hollow filled with the already black and dead
stumps or the utterly consumed forest! More
than that, from the Indications before him
the catastrophe must have almost Immediately
followed their retreat from the hollow on the
preceding night. 1t was evident that the fire
had leaped the intervening shoulder of the
spur In one OF those unaccountable but by no
means rare phenomena OF this form of dis
aster The circling heights around were vet
untouched; only the hollow and the ledge of
rock beside 1t, against which they had blum
dered with their horses when they were seek
ing the mysterious window in the darkness
or the evening before, were calcned and de-
stroyed He dismounted and climbed the
ledge, still warm with the spent fire. A
large mass OF grayish outcrop had evidently
hnnn thn 90
that must have ragged in this spot He was
skrting its crumbling debris when he started
suddenly at discovery which made every
thing fade into utter insigniicance. Before
him, In slight depression formed by fault
or lapse in the upheaved strata lay the
charred and calcined remains of a dwelling
house. leveled to the earth! Originally half
hidden by natural abatis OF growing myrtle
and ceanothus that covered this counterscarp
of rock toward the trail, it must have stood
within 100 feet Of them during their halt
Even In Its utter and complete oblteraton
by the furious furnace blast that must have
swept across it the evening before there was
still to be seen the unmistakable ground plan
and outline Of four -roomed house While
everything that was cOmbustible had sue
cumbed to that intense heat there was still
enough haf-fused and warped metal fractured
iron plate, and twisted and broken bars 10
indicate the kitchen and tool shed. Very little
had evidently been taken away; the house
stood. With feeling of horror and despera-
ton Key at last ventured to disturb two or
three Of the backened heaps that lay before
him. But there were only vestiges of cloth
ing, bedding, and crockery-there was no hu.
man trace that he could detect. Nor was
there any suggestion Of the or, ginal condition
and quality of the house. except its size
whether the usual unsighty cabin of frontier
partners or sylvan cottage-there was
nothing left but the usual ignoble and un-
savory ruins of burned-out human habtation
And yet its very existence was mystery
II had been unknown to Coinson's its near
est neighbor, and II was presumabe that II
was equally unknown to Skinner's. Neither
he nor his companions had detected II in theil
first Journey by day through the hollow, ant
only the telltale window at night had been
hint Of what was even then so successfully
concealed that they could not discover ever
when they had blundered against its roci
foundations. For concealed 1t certainly was
and Intentionally So But for what purpose?
He gave his romance full play for a few
minutes with this question. recluse pre-
ferring the absolute simplicity OF nature OIL
perhaps wearied with the artihcialites Of
society, had secluded himself here with tn,
company Of his only daughter. Proficient al
path finder, he bad easily discovered some
other way of provisioning his house from tn.