The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1897-03-20
LOPEZ'S HOME COMING

N~@S DIV 49, ~ - IN attAASAoH |
futter Of scarlet as a gay breeze caught
the unwonted curtain in her cabin win
dow, and, steadying her deftly poised
ola with one brown hand, darted, 1.-the
and swift as a young panther, across the
plank and up the we'll trod trail.
From his carved cradle in the corner
'Cencion's black eyed baby gurgled and
shouted at his mothers temperance, |
but she passed him with scant notice.
The f~rijoles steamed, brown and savory,
in the great kettle; coffee bubbled in the
pot. The outlaws daughter placed her
burden on the table, and, setting plates
and cups for two. turned hastily to the
stove again to spread tortillas on the
Kissing lids.
With her skin flushed by the strong
heat, 'Cencion bent to her task, piling
the crisp sheets, one after another, upon
an earthen dish. Once she Strengthened
up her graceful length and smiled ap-
provingly at the toothsome heap. Just
as the last cake found its place a fugi-
tive step ratified the pebbles before the
door.
The flush on the girls face deepened,
and her full eyes widened expectantly.
She sprang to meet the. newcomers
warm caress, took his rife and sombrero
from him and hurried to serve the meal
while he unwound the folds of his dun
serape.
II saw thy signal, querida," he said
In a musical bass, finging down the wrap
and moving to the cradle side. "How
fares my son? Is all well with ye since
I last Gamer"
The baby slept. 'Cencion laid her
eager face on the mans shoulder, smil-
ing down at the wee, dark profile.
"All is WE'LL" she answered.
"And Juan?"
"Comes not till the Monday. You
have four days of safety, mi muy caro-"
A little frown drew between her brows,
but her lips still smiled. Come, senior;
the supper coolsl'
Smarting under his i'll fortune and
fiercely angry at his false comrade, Ju-
an Lopez gathered together the wreck
age from his outfit and set his face to-
ward home. 1t had been a disastrous
trip from the very start. He might have
known when Altar refused to bulge
from the corral and only passed the gate
protestingly under the quirt that the
expedition was destined to failure.
Juan tied up his injured arm as best
he could, holding the bandage in his
teeth, and, hurting a vivid imprecation
in the direction taken by Manuel after
the upset, logged doggedly back over
the route Of yesterday. "Madre de Di-
os,'' he muttered stormily, "much good
may his burros do himl May they stun
BILE in the streams and drown! May they
stampede and lose him in the desert!
AS for me, my load floats down the an
yon and / go home. Again I shall know
not to travel with one cursed by an evil
STAR"
All day Altar and Selim plodded with
dropping heads under the staring SUM-.
The chalky powder rose like smoke I'M
der their steady hoof falls. The dry
sage scent weighted the mans lungs.
The fever of his hurt grew in his blood
and resentment consumed him.
Good st. Bernard, reward him!' he
cried as a heavy jolt gave an extra
twinge to his soreness, and, shaking an
excited fist at the cloud capped heights
above: 'Send mist from thy mountain
to bewilder him in the passes. Let him
fall and leave him-as he left me!'
Superstitious foreboding haunted his
tortured senses as he brooded over his
loss and desertion. Misfortune had fol-
lowed him from the cabin. Had he cast
off the incubus with his i'll starred
friendship, or was some fell spirit still
tracing his movements? Insensibly, as
the return road shortened and no further
evil marred his journeyiug, the wan
escent dread took the shape Of a name
less fear for 'Cencion and the child.
His head throbbed, the breath of even
ing floating down the canyon could
not ease his sick discomfort, the weary
pace nettled him. When at last the
~frowning walls around him lowered,
and, turning from the main trail, the
heavy cart numbered over the baked
earth along his own arroyo, Juan urged
his horses into a trot in spite of the pain
IN his left arm. and, with a final male
diction on the recreant Manuel, ratified
quickly over the last bare hillock and
sprang down by the corral gate. In a
few minutes he was following his wife's
footsteps up the steep ascent to the cab
in door.
1t struck him with a creepy chill that
no 'Cencion stood on the threshold call
ing down her welcome. Then he laugh
ed aloud at his foolish fear, shifting
high up Oh his well shoulder his gun,
which, thank the saints, had come safe
ly out of the scrimmage at the second
ford. His eyes twinkled in a momentary
revulsion of feeling. How fine a surprise
would he be to his prima querida! He
stole upward silently. The fever flush
caught him with his hand ON the latch.
Something gripped his throat--a mel
low, musical tone; then madness surged
into his brain.
This, then, wal the meaning of his
disasters. this the browning trick of his
evil genius! His pulse scorched.
He had never doubted her, never for
one instant dreamed that her isolation
was not complete OF his long monthly
trips to Vallecita. He had forgot, fool
that he was, that strain Of lawless blood
secure in his infatuation, but now
pow-he did not feel the wrenching Of