The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-31
LOVE IN THE DESERT

One day boy came running to his ia
Their 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 Glove. )"
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 ne hardly knew where to be-
gin defining And the longer he remain.
ed silent the harder it seemed to find
beginning. at is difficult to answer"
he observed. and the boy interrupted
him.
when we find difficult problem at
school," he said, I'VE 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 / 8 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
cornl Lord, isn't it hotl' 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 cursd
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 liel" yelled
Graves, his assistant. "LOokv'
"a Chinese boyi" roared Ford. "And,
We gods, redheaded Chinese boy, and
on camel, and in Nevadav'
Hong Foy was dismal failure Nc
Goggin told him 80 daily. He could not
lamp Southern Pacific ties half as well
as 70 Heave. or whatever the pockmark-
ed Chinaman's name was, and Fon Kee
nnrr1 oil, ,nof - ~
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 a 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 a tank from sta
tion 80 or 100 miles away. McGoggin
appreciated the soup, and because of it
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 to
the Toulouse to get a wrench to kill
him with. He bad seen Maggie when
she kissed the young Chinaman in the
| kitchen.
In the shade Of the Toulouse, after
McGoggin had retired, Hong Foy crept
like dog which had been whipped out
Of its kennel but knows not where to 60
He knew two lines Of steel over which
Cinnamon labored, while a redheaded
| white man swore volubly at them. He
| knew blue horizon, and these things
were all he knew in that land-except-
ing the sun Where could he 20? AS he
leaned deJectedly against the Toulouse
| and thought of his love making, he
wept, and weeping, Maggie found him
Hong Foy had not dreamed Of the fu-
ture, and had not expected the coming of
the girl He had expected to sleep in
the Toulouse that night and be beaten
again in the morning. But Maggie had
planned. The best part of her plan was
that she had brought huge bottle, and
1t had water in it. I'VE will 20 that
way, )" she said, pointing out into the
desert.
1t Is not 80 bad to walk all night
through the desert if you are sure you
are going to have shade in which to
rest the next day. But the next day
came. and as Maggie and Hong Foy