Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1898-02-03
I NV MEXICAN EPISODE.
~ CLAIRE POTTER.

Inn rolOred edfln.
BE au me fences, the corral, all wore
tlse '' Sotpd shade of the level
be I.1 saD The silence was not a strange
f :, dreamy thing, as is usual IN SOU
I'D u' Twas hot, fierce, aggressive
aie' , r~bicb seemed to challenge dis
SsDss, .a No bee or flying thing
a l..ad in the air, and, as far as eye
NIl'u .,acb no shade came between
nua -V s,n and the flat gray mesa.
p ss n''9 wind, always defiant, blew
iuI across the sagebrush, carrying
r n.s him the remonstrant breath of
WV srn who protested against the per-
w. ',' ' rivalry and would not give him
sn srav, Their competition gave life
' ~ bo cattle On the range, to the suf-
@ @tDg cowboys, and to the small
ro1D of people on the ranch-house
T. sIoping roof gave shelter from
y, snr's rays, and the wide-open
INV, through the long hall caught
rsT Whit Of the erratic wind as he,
Mi warning with the sun, blew here
and there !.
Inv hammock occupied the most
,,,dd spot, and in it swung girl.
u.r fare was dark and small and her
Mile head was covered with a thick,
,bort crop of black cur1s; her eyes
we're yery large and darkly gray. All
,,p about her was small-the tan-col-
mod shoes, the slender hands, the
saret mouth-and she took but a
meek of room in the wide hammock,
brning piQuant contrast to the two
men beside her. They were both tall
and athletically built; their skins were
d the same color as the house and
arth with a liberal dash of added
red. One was pronouncedly dark; the
other blue of eye and yellow of hair.
Even before they spoke they were pro-
damned Englishmen. The darker one,
Frank Farringden, turned toward the
GIRL and said:
Well, Jack, when did Harry say
& he'd come up from Santa Fe? With
that fuss over at Ortegas, and Slaw-
son. the manager, gone, you'll be left
quite alone, won't you?"
oh, yes; but only for two nights.
Ny brother is coming back on Satur-
I aT there no one to bother"
The girl put one toe to the floor and
swung forward, showing the "gun"
which graced the carved Mexican belt.
This belt held together the corduroy
Airt and white duck blouse; a scarlet
six scarf was knotted around the
tNWn throat, and a large, heavily
Aked sombrero Law on the floor be-
] Gde her, Looking out over the mesa,
ae said:
The sun seems to be standing still
out there. You should have visited
Jour cousin earlier, Captain Charters.
Lulu gOu IL OOCh AoAAN t$S
counts of his adopted land"
The Captain replied with the deep,
BELOW voice Of his country:
Well, really, Miss Delaney, the
country is beastly bad; but Frank
SEEMS to find the people all right"
The people! "a pleased mockery
ID the shrill American voice. "That
must mean us, for ue are really the
oily people about here. Well, Harry,
ia nice boy, but Slawson and Au-
sSta Victoria can't be called social
anaments, Then there's myself; but
= Now, Captain Charters" rls-
ns in the hammock and swinging for
Yard directly in front of him, will
m tell me if 1 am different from Eng
80 girls-very much worse, I mean?
nov please tell; l want to know truly
ia honestly"
Oh, really, Miss Delaney, girls are
|eo0t all alike, you know, only Eng
10 girls are more kept in the back
Pound, and that sort of thing
But, Captain Charters, if an Eng
IN girl lost her father and mother
lien she was only three, and had had
Five out here with her brother, be-
Isase he wouldn't live anywhere else,
IN she WASH t-well, wasn't real
'sadly strong herself, would she have
zen very different from me?
There was an appealing earnestness
The high voice and breathless in
Sest in the dark eyes. Charters
@Sed at her with cool admiration, re-
|Nalg that he would answer her ques-
~a at another time. She sank back
sI,dissatisfied and hummed a song.
"nen the sun showed the first
|S0ptoms of descending the men
s'aAted their horses and rode away.
S'lngden turned in the saddle and
s ~,so to the girl, ''We'll stop with the
Nj on our way home"
1O~ different was the old adobe
~ 'S'S later, when the sun had given
~ ~'e 10 his fair rival, the moon. The
aayness had all gone, and the
n, Iueu' unlovely earth looked cool
~, sui In the clear light. The sage
s,, u and cactus plants were tempo
M gwen a tint of silvery green,
nn,s eue wind. tickle fellow, seemed
suereQ hy tho ooot1a rooou FIR.