Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-08-12
ONLY A STORY.

The afternoon sun blazed down on
the brown roof Of the little railway sta
ton, anil a train pulled forth great bill
lows of black smoke into the white heat
ed air. A group Of ~listless, lounging
farmers was outlined against the un-
painted wall Of the depot, the stolid
look of indifference upon their faces
seeming to make them akin to the
shrivelel grass and dropping clover.
That they were really hopeless was not
without cause. The summer had been
hot and wretched and desolate, The
corr had dried before it came to a tassel,
the wheat had rusted and the meadows
Drowned before the haying time.
Caine Denton took off his jaunty
straw hat and leaned from the window.
His quick eye took note of the express
sionless faces of the loungers and their
attitude of hopelessness. Poor devils!''
he murmured to himself. "Wonder
what they have to live for anyway
The keen eye moved on past the un-
painted buildings to the hot glare of
the sandy road. A child stood thrusting
her little bare feet into the dust and
watching him shyly under the shadow
Of her %sunbonnet. Caine whistled softly
under his breath-he loved a child-and
was rewarded by a shy smile, quickly
suppressed by the insertion of two little
brown fingers between the red lips.
1.-The only bit Of brightness in the land
scape," he thought, and as the train
moved laboriously forward, 'and now
that is gone" and he leaned back in
his seat YEARLY.
He was a handsome fellow, women
would say-and really they are the
Judges the world most honors-the
breadth of his shoulders and the depth
Of his chest making one forget that he
was a little short in stature. Perfectly
formed, with the muscles Of a gladiator,
he was a delight to the eye. Then his
face, clear cut, with a high, noble fore
head crowned with soft, wavy, brown
hair, the firm, square chin, the keen
blue eyes full Of fire and intelligence
under straight dark brows, was remark
ably pleasing. One studying it would
say, "He is a fnancier, practical, firm
born to success" but in the mouth
there was a contradiction Of this-a
certain full Tipped tenderness which in
Dictated a struggle with passion, the
kind which filings reason to the winds
and gloats in possession.
Was there anything wanting in his
life that was necessary to happiness9
No, the world would say. Wealth, sta
ton, hosts Of friends, YER his. Yes,
and love. All children loved him and
many women He had sown good seed
and brought many a broken life out Of
darkness into light.
He had never married-the reason,
perhaps, because Of the nonappearance
of his ideal. Several years ago he had
met a woman, and several times during
the progress of their acquaintance he
had imagined that he loved her. There
was in her flashes Of intellect that he
admired; there was the deep, under
;,round swell of passion that he secretly
loved in a woman there were the little
loving ways of speech and n that
reminded him of his dead mother there
was the desire to be helpful that touched
him and the Griseldalike patience that
hurt him, for he felt his incompetence
to ret as she would have had him act.
Yet there were moments-but she was
not beautiful-and he was an artist BY
nature.
The train whirled on through the
.leadows barer and browner. Caine
,rnod his tired eyes within. The crisp
~s.-vscf his magazine opened to a story,
'Nlaiows." YEARLY his eyes travelled
ttr its first page as they had travelled
vcr tie Grcariness of earth parched
n-.acspo. He turned the second page
nj T. frown of perplexity knit the dark
rs L~eeeriptionl How it
sIrva nf lrr,r rsro.