Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1896-06-06
LOVE IN THE DESERT.


:her 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 i'm he the idea The
man looked and saw the word ''lovc :"
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 50 many things
love is that he hardly knew where TO he
gin defining And the longer he remain
ed silent the harder it seemed to find Il
beginning 1T is difficult to answer, :"
he observed. and the boy interrupted
him.
When we find difficult problem at
school, " he said. 1--WE go to the rule.
What is the rule about love:"
The father looked at him, but did not
answer. He thought. Then he gazcd
anxiously about. and ont 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 Il lie from the beginning and
that his search for the wonderful lost
desert tribe would result i'll no benefit to
the Smithsonian institution, stopped to
rest III the shade of the water wagon.
the wheels of which We're sunk Is inch
es into the roasting sand.
Look out. +" he yelled TO one of the
drivers. ''or this Nevada sun will get
action on you and you will pop like
corn! Lord. isn't it hot!" And he looked
about mt the blistering white and blue
and cudgeled out of his memory certain
verses:
And when grim spirits come 10 that curse
land.
To be- where wanderers fell.
\ They look In terror at the burning sand
And hurry back to hell
And that : desert Nevada, and whe re
we are driving and swearing and sweat
ing through it to find the desert tribes
man. who is Il lie. p"
by the powers, it isn't lie!" yelled
Graves. his assistant Look
"A Chinese boyv' roared Ford. "And,
ye gods. redhcaded Chinese boy. and
on a camel. and i'll Nevada!'
Hong Foy was n dismal failure Me-
Goggin told him so daily. He could not
tamp Southern Pacific ties half rs well
rs Yo Hcave. or whatever the pockmark-
| ed Chinaman' name was, and Fon kce
could almost carry "a go pound 10 the
yard" rail by himself. while Hong Foy,
being young and pale and calm. found
il 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 McCioggin used words of the
same import. but of different pronuncia-
tion. Hong Foy, however. could cook,
and he showed Maggie McGoggin how
TO make u 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 i'll tank from sta
tion so or 100 miles away McGoggin
appreciated the SOUP and because of it
rcfrained for two weeks from discharg-
ing Hong Foy. But on Saturday night
of the month of June. in the year 1881,
he threw bolt ut Hong Foy. hit him
with crooked spike and made run TO
the Toulouse to get wrench to kill
him with. He had 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 n dog which had been whipped out
of its kennel but knows not where to go.
He knew two lines of steel over which
Cinnamon laborcd. while u redheaded
white man swore volubly at them. He
knew blue horizon, and these things
We're all he knew i'll that land-except-
ing the sun Where could he go? As he
leaned deJectedly against the Toulouse
and thought of his love making. he
wept, and weeping, Maggie found him
Hong Foy mad not dreamed of the fu-
ture. and had not expected the coming Of
the girl He had expected to sleep i'll
the Toulouse that night and be beaten
again i'll the morning But Maggie had
planned. The best part of her plan was
that she had brought huge bottle, and
it had water i'll it. We will go that
way, she said. pointing out into the
desert.
IL is not So bad To walk all night
through the desert if You are sure you
are going 10 have shade III which To
rest the next day But the next day
came, and rs Maggie and Hong Foy
looked about them all they saw was
what couple OF ants i'll plastercr's
box Of lime see. Far. far. far away,
round about and near it was white.
And it was SO fiat that they seemed to
look up out of basin to brim which
was white and blue, and the alkali and
the sky nestled so close to each other and
| the sky arched over rs though it We're
the roof Of the plain in such wise that
Maggie thought they might rs well
have been imprisoned in the she'll of
monster egg-only it would have To be
the biggest egg and biggest shell ever
created, and there would be room for
only one Of such like in the world The
sun was beautiful i'll the early morning.
and there We're roses i'll the desert east
Just rs there are roses in the east of the
orchard land. The sun looked on them
with friendly rotundity for an hour,
and then he frowned. and the frown
was of white heat. And slccpily they
plodded on, searching for brush big
enough to east two square feet of shade.
They had no means Of telling time
other than by the sun, but the girl knew
the secrets of the sun and knew il was
10 o'clock when the pale, calm face of
Hong Foy looked into hers with dumb
pitcousness. and he sank i'll swoon
Hurricdly the girl uncovered his head
and saw for the first time the great.
jagged, ragged hole made by that bent
spike thrown hy her father The iron
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