Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-11-03
A DESERT ROMANCE
BY Edmund Stuart Roche.
CHRISTOPHER MORGAN sat upon

CHRISTOPHER MORGAN sat upon
u box in the shade of some large
powders and within whip-reach of
the circular path about the arastra, and
ateachrotationo Of the mule stimulated
him by touch of the whip lash. 1t
was a drowsy occupation. The monet
onous creaking of the wooden shaft,
the grating of the crush stones, and The
sound of the dull thick wash of the
tailings thus kept in muddy commo-
ton, acted as a sedative on Morgan,
who had already several times almost
dropped asleep. He was about falling
into still deeper doze, when he was
made alert in a moment at the sound
of voices from little mesa above the
camp. Presently, riding down the
steep and almost obliterated trail, came
first a lank, elderly man in faded over
ais and a flannel shirt, and after him
& girl dressed in coarse blue denim ard
A sunbonnet of the same material, rid
ing astride on mans saddle. She had
a light, girlish figure, and her face was
to Morgan a revelation of loneliness,
and his estimate of her attractions was
not altogether without some founda-
ton. Her mouth was perhaps little
too large and her nose trifie too Tip
tilted" for an exacting taste, but her
gray eyes were full of life and sympa-
tketic intelligence, her hair golden, her
teeth as white and regular as young
animals, and her complexion fresh and
blooming.
The elderly man hailed Morgan in a
loud voice which woke the echoes all
about: "Good morniD', companero.
How goes it?'
Morgan acknowledged the vocifer-
Gus greeting and went to meet his Wis
itors as they rode up toward the ar
.-astra. "My names Bascom,' said the
man, "and this here's my daughter
EBoly,' short for Bolivyer. A man pass
ing along the road, night bafore last,
said as how you'd bought in this here
Belshazzar property. and Boly and me
lowed it'd be the square thing to come
over and get acquainted"
Meantime his guests had dismount-
ed, and, holding their ponies by their
brides, sat down on a broad fiat rock
near the arastra, while Morgan re-
:sumed his seat on the box facing them.
"You done well when yoH bought
this here property" continued Bas-
com. "I've known the ledge this ten
years. and if you go slow, you'll come
out ahead of the game. Them there
fellers, the creditors, shut down or
and busted up all natural enough, as
seer they would when l first set eyes
on 'em. Bull Horns all right"
Miss BoIy said nothing, but fixed her
IL. H.
regarding him in a frank and interest
ed way which somewhat embarrassed
him. Mr.. Bascom was not only curious
as to the past, present and future of
his host, but was loudly overlooking
with information as to himself. "My
place is just over t'other side of this
here ridge in the other canyon" he ex-
planned. 81 took up land there ten
wears ago. never thinkin' I'd stay there
this time. And 1 wouldn't if it hadn't
been for thievin' pardner of mine
"How's that?"
s.Why, this away. I'd made Il stake
before ever I'd come in here, landin'
arms for Bol1vyun insurgents, and this
nardner, this ere trifiin' Teller Meeks,
was in with me. We had SIS, 900 profits
between us, mostly in big, yellow TWEEN
ties; and he comes up to my place
here sayin' as he'd help develop the
claims back over the ridge on which We
had located together. We was goin' to
nut that coin sll in to developin, but
one mornin' l wakes up to find him
clean gone, along with his share of the
money and mine too. / tracked him
ont on to the desert down Mud Springs
way. and then lost his trail altogether,
and / never seen hide nor hair of him
or heard where he went to. Since then
I've had to rustic for livin'. Boly,
here. she helps out herdin' few cows
I've got on the bunch grass flats on
-t'other side the ridge" Boly blushed,
LAUGHED and cast down her eyes a. this
laudatory and pointed personal refer
@ence.
When his guests had remounted and
slowly climbed the trail again, Morgan
watched them till they were out of
sipht. with an unaccountable mixed
feeling of wild joy and deep depres-
SION in his heart to which he had
hitherto been a stranger, and it was
with an impulse TO sing, which ended
With a sigh, that he flicked up his mule
and recalled his attention to the re-
-ouiremeEts OF the arastra. During
the nexr few days the image of Boly
prew more and more deeply impressed
nm his hitherto unsusceptible heart.
This state of mind was progressive:
sud ,sSes. on the third day after Boly's
visit. he lad Iaade satisfactory test
cleanup, ii was in the best spirits that
he determined to knock off from work
and return Baseom's visit. On his way
over the ridge he diverged from his di-
rect route to Bascom's toward little
fat. where he saw three or four cows
feeding and a pony near by, which,
even at a distance, he recognized as
Boly's. A few yards away. seated in
the shadow of great rock. he recog-
nized TIE blue-clad figure of Boly her
self.
ST allowed you'd be over before
lang xhe said. with q smile; 81 kind