Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1896-06-22
LOVE IN THE DESERT.

One day boy came running to his IA
ther with book. "What does this word
mean?" he asked, for he believed that
his father knew all the world and most
of the things beyond. The parent be-
lieved that, too, and that is how the
child had come to imbibe the idea. The
man looked and saw the word "love. "
"Do you know what that word means,
papa?" asked the boy.
"Oh, yes" said the father. And he
began thinking. He thought for long
time, for there were SO many things
love is that he hardly knew where to be-
gin defining. And the longer he remain
ed silent the harder it seemed to find
beginning 1T is difficult to answer"
he observed, and the boy interrupted
him.
when we find difficult problem at
school," he said, "we go to the rule.
What is the rule about love?"
The father looked at him, but did not
answer. He thought. Then he gazed
anxiously about, and out through the
window he saw man passing.
"Ah," he said, "there is Mr.. Brown,
and want to see him."
And he hurried out to speak to the
man, and the boy never heard what love
is or what is its rule.
Ford, being quite satisfied that the
story was lie from the beginning and
that his search for the wonderful lost
desert tribe would result in no benefit to
the Smithsonian institution, stopped to
rest in the shade of the water wagon,
the wheels Of which were sunk j inch
es into the roasting sand.
"Look out" he yelled to one Of the
drivers, cor this Nevada sun will get
action ON you and you will pop like
corn! Lord, ISM it hotp' And he looked
about at the blistering white and blue
and cudgeled out of his memory certain
verses:
And when grim spirits come to that curs'd
land.
To be where wanderers fell,
They look in terror at the burning sand
And hurry back to hell
"And that's desert Nevada, and where
we are driving and swearing and sweat
ing through it to find the desert tribes
man, who is lie. -
"By the powers, it isn't lie!" yelled
Graves, his assistant. "Look"
"A Chinese boy!" roared Ford. "And,
We gods, redheaded Chinese boy, and
on a camel, and in Nevada"
Hong Foy was a dismal failure. Nc
Goggin told him SO daily. He could not
lamp Southern Pacific ties half as we'll
as 70 Heave OF whatever the pockmark-
ed Chinaman' name was, and Fon Kee
could almost carry $50 pound to the
yard" rail by himself. while Hong Foy,
being young and pale and calm, found
it difficult to lug even the spike maui or
the pinch bar. Wherefore the invest
ment Of the Southern Pacific Railroad
company in Hong Foy was denominated
by Mike McGoggin, the section fore
man, as a weird and wonderful failure
only McGoggin used words of the
same import, but Of different pronuncia-
ton. Hong Foy, however, could cook,
and he showed Maggie McGoggin how
to make soup out Of potato sprouts
which McGoggin declared to be the tri-
umphant work of the devil. Soup, by
the way, is thing not to be expert
mented on when the section boarding
house is at place in Nevada where the
water is brought in tank from sta
ton 80 or 100 miles away. McGoggin
appreciated the soup, and because of II
refrained for two weeks from discharg'
ing Hong Foy. But on Saturday night
Of the month of June, in the year 1881,
he threw bolt at Hong Foy, hit him
with crooked spike and made run tx
the Toulouse to get wrench to Kill
him with. He bad seen Maggie wher
she kissed the young Chinaman in thu
kitchen.
In the shade of the Toulouse, aftel
McGoggin had retired, Hong Foy creep
like dog which had been whipped GU
Of its kennel but knows not where to go
He knew two lines Of steel over which
Cinnamon labored, while a redheadet
white man swore volubly at them. HI
knew blue horizon, and these thing
were all he knew in that land-except
ing the sun. Where could he go? As h
leaned dejectedly against the toolhous
and thought Of his love making, HI
wept, and weeping, Maggie found him
Hong Foy had not dreamed Of the flu
ture, and had not expected the coming o
the girl He had expected to sleep il
the Toulouse that night and be beatel
again in the morning. But Maggie ha,
planned. The best part Of her plan wa
that she had brought huge bottle, ant
1t had water in it. I'VE will go tina
way" she said, pointing out into tn
desert
| It is not SO bad to walk all nigh
through the desert If you are sure yo1
are going to have shade in which t
rest the next day. But the next da.
came, and as Maggie and Hong Fo,
looked about them all they saw wa
what couple Of ants in plasterer'
box of lime see. Far, far, far away
round about and near it was white
And it was 90 fat that they seemed t
look up out of a basin to brim whicl
was white and blue, and the alkai an
the sky nestled SO close to each other an
the sky arched over as though it wer
the roof Of the plain in such wise tina
| Maggie thought they might a. wei
have been imprisoned in the she'll Of
ponster egg-only it would have to b
the biggest egg and biggest shell eve
. created. and there would be room 70
only one Of such like in the world. Th