The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-07-16
Stories of an Inland State.

| OI0Yf6S OF oil uudItQ
| Evening came on, while Madge was pre-
pairing him his supper over a fire of drift
| wood. She tore bark from the trees and
| the smooth inner surfaces served them, Tor
mates. There was sufficient for their sup
| per. thanks to the purloining achievements
| of Dick Thomas and she noted there was
enough for breakfast, TOO. Tomorrow she
must make an excursion to a neighboring
| town. Joey had told her he had money;
had arranged to send some to her mother,
to which she did not object When sup
4 per was over she sat on the grass at the
| door of the little cabin, and through an
opening in the trees looked upon a threaten
| ing sky and was lost in q brown study.
| The wind-weary trees a. last stood idle,
and the leaves became unnaturally still like
/ those in a painting, motioniess upon their
slim, unsteady stems. The golden OF
/ faring sunset mingled with the hush OF
| evening. and twilight like a siiken veil, now
brooded in the under-brush, now o0scured
| it, while in the fainting silence drowsy Ma
! ture nodded, nodded yet again, and slept
Silence. Silence everywhere, engulfins
everything swallowing the goodnight chirp
of the swallow, the call of the cricket and
/ the splash of the neighboring musk-raf.
| Ard far in the north upheaved the ma
| sonry of the sky, clouds. twisted and torn,
| interlaoed, piled mountain high. with gorge,
and valley and rocky canyon, crags OF
angry vagor, curling, inyoluting. boiling and
writhing, now in golden, now in purple, now
| in ether blue but always in sullen anger.
| in sullen power, in sullen, malevolent dis
order. Jagged fans of light tore the white
haze of the upper sky into strips of faintest
blue, Ike banners before the Storm King
in whose path all Nature must be pros
| trate.
Still silence here, while roaring anger
there. This was the hush OF fright He
called to her and his voice seemed enguifed
by the silence as she turned.
F. "Madge," he said. II believe I have
fever. Can you tell?''
She placed her hand upon his forehead.
You have fever. We must have med1-
cine soon.'
pressing complaint, and now. he could not
protest, that the fever was nothing, but he
turned uneasily and tried to sleep.
She gathered up her wraps and placed
her hat upon her head and looked again at
the storm. The hush of fear had passed
and before the breath of the storm the trees
were all a-tremble.
THE money!" she asked.
He turned and cried:
'Why Madge, you are not going out to-
night?'
Eyes; you must have medicine"
"But tomorrow"
THAT win be too late
But the night will be dark"
81 shall not have the company OF rogue
at least"
He smiled family.
at is not modesty that bids you leave to-
night, Madge?"
mo. 1 go for medicine. And we must
have food
But tonight you can rouse no one"
Il may have to travel all night"
'You were I'D nearly all last highland
the long walk-and then again tonight. No!
Nov'
"You are afraid to trust me with the
) money" she said with seriousness for
, ruse.
Trust you! Madge! Here. The bills are
in the left of the book
He handed her a fat morocco pocket
book.
Now" she said. Don't move. Stay
where you are will be back tomorrow
| with medicine"
But without food and sleep or rest?"
She would have said she was a country
girl and knew endurance but the envy
! which suggested it in her mind should not
be recalled and she said nothing.
"a storm is coming. I could stop at the
farm houses on the way but that would
arouse suspicion. I shall go direct to
town. shall be back. Good bye"
"A kiss, Madge. You are SO good
But she turned quickly and was gone.
On she trudged, her weary feat at the out
set burning as If she were walking on Goals,
her eyes benumbed with the wide-open
blindness which comes from fatigue. The
storm broke upon her while she still press
ed on, the rain-drops springing myriad
miniature mines in the dust of the road.
Pitch darkness had come with the wind and
the rain. Egyptian darkness and Jagged
seams of lightning which flashed the long
road before her into ghostly view and
blinded her again. The storm was at her
back, but she was soaked through and
through. But she went on in savage de-
termination. feeling, not thinking of the
| service to him. Now in a whirl of the nag
ging blast, she faltered, now recovered her
self, but always pressed onward. If the
night had terrors she did not know them.
And the storm that drove the rain against
her, that had torn her hair down lankly
wet about her face and neck, that fastened
her wet dress about her legs and hips and
bust and set her skin tingling with smart
ing saturation, that filled her shoes and
made them squeak and cluck at her every
step, the storm which was binding her and
benumbing her could not blow into her
heart one thought of hesitation. Her eyes
were smartng with fatigue and moisture,
her skirts were clinging so tightly now that
they rendered further progress almost inn
possible. She struggled on despite them,
stumbled and fell head-long in the mud.
! She tore off the skirts and wrung them out
as best she could, bundled them up henea tn
her arm and went on, half naked. This
was a relief But her breast was smart
ing with the wet and she tore off her upper
garments and adding them to the bundle
went on in the night a western Godiva
clothed in the night and the storm, with no
Peeping Tom TO feast his eyes on the rain
splashed glntins wh:teness OF her rounded.
moulded beauty as the jagged lightning
flashed 1t to view and back. into the gulf
of night again.
| At last she came TO town, vaguely con.
| scious that il was not the town for which
she had started, and putting on her clothes
passed up the little business street TO find
the drug store which IN such towns the all
| night light proclaims. She aroused man,
doctor who ran a drug store along with
his practice. A shrewd man. he; brother
| to the sheriff and as ne heard the woman's
request something for rever-for an
adult-nct for baby and noted the marks
of her rough journey, certain diamond
| thief who had escaped three nights pre-
viously came 10 his mind and he resolved
to help his brother 10 a reward. So he
gave her her medicine and told her 10 b
1 rxs-