The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-28

The early dawn touched the foothills Of
the Sierra Madre with its rosy fingers.
Towards the east the silver sunlight rip
pied on a distant river. flashing now and
then more vividly as its sCinunating
stream flooded a part where the waters
ran more swiftly over their rocky bed. IT
glistened between the dark rows or pop
lars and mesquits with which the river
bank was lined. and swept on, driving the
low lying morning haze from the dun
greenish-brown Of the rising plateau,
where sage bushes and soap plants lay in
sombre streaks and patches among the
brighter green of the buffalo grass. West
ward II danced through the plantations
of cotton woods and dwarf oaks towards
the mountains that thence skyward rose
in their solid masses. towering crag upon
crag. and peak upon peak. heavy browns
in the foreground. then purple fairy struc-
lures that grew DINNER and DINNER as
they receded towards the cold blue Of the
western heavens. And on those farthast
mountain tops it glistened and shone as
on caps Of FURNISHED silver, making tho
giants Of the Southern Rockies assume
phantastic shapes, as if some brave
knights Of old were rising, armed cap-a'
pie, from the mist of a soft and hazy pur-
pie sea.
1t was early autumn, and the morning
air was brisk and keen, and laden with
the fragrance of a species Of wild currant
that grew in masses between the trees,
side by side and interminsled with, clus-
tiers OF red berried and purple lowered
deadly magistrates. All was still. The
leaves rustled, and the wind played must
cally among the branches, but no other
sound was heard save the shrill cry of the
dun-colored vultures that circled high up
in the air, or the distant bleating Of the
mountain sheep, whose tiny silhOuettes
could be espied on the far off crags.
A rough road ran along the edge of the
lower hill, passing on its winding way
through knobs of thickly leaved oaks and
mesquit shrubs that were already laden
with their acacia-like pods of seeds 1t
was uncouth and rocky. Great stones
blocked the way here and there, and al
more than one place a shallow mountain
stream fumed and fretted across it, to
tumble head over heels down the incline
and then meander away, across green
sward and sandy desert, to swell the Rio
Grande del Norte. The red earth was
hard with the sun Of days, and a metallic
dust rose from ii as the soil was touched
by football of man or beast.
Along that lones road, on that bright
autumn morning, a young woman was
walking blithely. She was p OF % at most,
tall, trim of figure, and stoutly knit in
her limbs Her berry-brown face was
strangely lit up by pair Of deep blue
eyes that bespoke an Anglo-SaXon rather
than a southern descent. Her dark tress-
es were tied in a coil at the back of her
head, and her face was shaded by
broad-brimmed. coarsely plated Mexican
straw hat. She wore a Jacket and short
skirt of stout, broadly striepd cotton, and
her feet were encased by daintily beaded
moccasins A pair of strong, brown,
leather leggings guarded her ankles,
reaching TO the knee, for rattlesnakes
were plentiful among the sage bushes,
and loose stones hid and sheltered many
a venomous tarantula spider and scor-
pion. The girls jacket was turned up at
the sleeves, revealing her rounded brown
arms. She carried a powder flask and
bullet pouch slung across her body,
big knife was stuck in her belt, and in
one hand trailed a heavy rife as she
walked along.
The young woman walked with swing
ing step, her big lustrous eyes glowing
with the joy Of a hopeful expectation.
II come" she was saying to herself
I'm sartin sure, he'll come He loves
me, an he knows that I love him"
She passed a patch of star flowers at
that moment and swinging her rifle across
her shoulder by the strap. she stopped
and plucked one of the flowers.
He'll come" she muttered. as she
picked of, one by one, its purple petals
''heH come-hen come this week-he'll
knowed he'd come" she went on, as if her
expectations were already realized.
cloud of dust was rising on the horizon
line, and the girl shaded her eyes with
her hand against the suns rays and, stop
ping still, looked out upon the vast ex-
panse at her feet.
'signr' she muttered. "Thar's more'n
one thar and more'n tew. Injuns maybe.
Appaches, p'raps."
She grasped her rife and examined the
printing. 1t was all right. Then she look
ed out again, and as the little coluds OF
dust increased and rolled on, she recog-
niZed their cause. ITS only deer after
all" she said to herself, AN Ia hoped il
might be him. He said he'd come on the
Monday of the fourth week, an the Mon
day has been, an the Tewsday has been
an the Wednesday has been, an the Thurs.
day, an the Friday an this is Saturday
He ought TO be hyar. He said he'd come
Granddad may say what he likes, he'll
come right enough"
She sat herself down on a big boulder
and waited. Before her lay the lower
plateau of the Sierra Madre, broken here
and there by hillocks, forests and streams
There were great stretches of smooth
table land which interenved be.
tween her and the mountain on the
south, and no man or living thing could
have crossed them and escaped her keer
sight.
She sat and waited. The early morning
hours passed, and she was still there, war
bling, in a low voice, snatches of songs
and straining her eyes southeastward. Tn,
sun rose high, and shone in its fierce New
Mexican heat. The girl heaved grea
signs, and sat there still. Afternoon cam,
and she merely moved a few hundred
yards further on where a mountain stream
rushed pellucid as liquid crystal over III
rocky bed, and having drank of its cool
ing waters, and refreshed herself by oath
ing her hands and face, she went back Il
her post of vantage and again waited
The afternoon waned, and the sun wa
about TO disappear behind the peaks of tn
west, when the girl retraced her steps
not so blithely as when she had come II
the morning, with her eyes to the groun,