The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-03-03

up memories in their own minds Of a
youth misspent for the most part. They
could not move further away because
they were camped under the only shade
in sight. They thought Of dragging him
on beyond earshot, but while every one
would have been glad,to have It done.
no man could do It himself. Their
horny hands had grown gentle in their
ministering touches.
Escape was long since out Of the
question. for the horses were worse OF
than the men; not one Of them could
carry saddle. much less a rider. Each
man had saved a last charge in his re-
volver, knowing that that perhaps
would be their only deliverance from
death TOO horrible to name. All but
"Eas: Side" who, whsp a decision had
to be made between himself and his
horse, had led her out behind a little
activity and put his last charge through
her game little heart, Now he must
make Ills exit in some other way. Il he
would let his disembodied spirit pass
on unincumbered by q sun parched
frame. The knife he carried in his boot
was a miserable hack Of a thing, At
only for shaving tobacco or chunking
bacon. He felt a momentary regret as
he ran his fingers along It's Jagged
edges that a man with his record
SHOULD be obliged to make his end With
SO mean weapon. The big swede in q
moment Of madness. had raised his pls-
tot as Il 1t had been a jug. saying:
wall. boys. here's TO a wetter coun-
try!' Put he had not shot. The cold
iron seemed to cool the rashness Of his
brain. and tho mlrag, Of hope lured
them on a day further.
After the second day the Mlssourlan's
talk began to grow less, his raying suS-
sided into a weak. incoherent babblIng;
at last 1t ceased altogether, and ne lay
staring wide eyed into the relentless
sky. As they had done everything else,
they did this silently, stolcally. A shall
low. bel was scooped out and the can
vas taken of the wagon for a winding
sheet. When the broken circle closed
in around the open grave. the boss
cleared his throat and said: Boys,
before we go any further, some one
must make a prayer, sabe7"
They sabed. but although every mans
soul might be consumed with voice.
less cry to some power above himself
for the repose Of the departed soul, and
release from q like fate. they wers all
dumb when confronted with the thought
of taking the name a God reverently.
InstfnctlveiY they Turned to East
Side"
"It'syour lead. East Side" they said.
And East Side" CROPPED blindly back
ward toward the memoric3 OF his youth,
tried to recall something Of religious I'M
port. Slowly through his dessicated
brain percolated line from a church
hymn. From Greenland's Icy Noun
taIns," but although the thought was
pleasant In this burning desert. the
words were not to the polnt-besides,
that was all he knew Of 1t, He shook
his head sorrowfully. In the begin
nIng'-he thought he had struck the
rIgA lead therein the beginning God
created"-. But again he was stuck,
and could get no furthee."
Lead up, East Side," they urged.
Then The light broke The backward
cropping had brought him to the days
Of his childhood, to the words his grand
father had been wont to say as with
bowed heads the family. to the third
and fourth generations was gathered
around his table on Thanksgiving Day.
So, under the burning sun, whose only
shadow was cast by the nocks OF carrIon
birds that clrcled above the remnants of
the outfit, they stood over the grave Of
their dead companion, waiting for like
fate. or death by their own hands, TO
be torn by coyotes, perhaps. before the
breath was out of their bodies, the six
gaunt men, with bowed. uncovered
heads, while East Side" pronounced in
solemn tones
"Oh, Lord. for what we arc about TO
receive make US devoutly thankful.
Amen"
A prayer was prayer 10 East Side"
Anything shat began with Lord" In
reverent terms and ended with amen"
was prayer His grandfather had been
a godly man, and he had said 1t, there
fore II was appropriate on this occa-
sion. The effect was the same upon
the others, for the words smacked OF
the phraseology Of the wandering eS-
horters they had heard.
After the passing Of the Missourlan
there was even less to dol the meE were
more taciturn with each other. but
there was noiceably less profanity
among them. possibly because they
harbored their strength more jealousy
and the exertion was unnecessary. or
because their mouths were too dry to
arilculate many words It WINS now
glxteen weeks since they had set out
across the sink" expecting to get the
cattle on their hand and have n little
slime" in the city before starting back
to the camp, but the wlld-eyed, sorry
looking things seemed unpTomislng
enough now even for glue factory.
AS East Side lay upon the ground
looking up through the holes In his hat
they stood upright. and walked no more
than was absolutely necessary, for that
required an expenditure OF strength
Iaziiy watched the flock OF birds that
swooped and poised In the air above
him. he discovered, or thought he did,
that they cast shadow against the
siIy--a tiny gray shadow that he watch
cd for the utter lack Of anything else
TO watch. When the birds few lower
the shadow seemed to grow larger, but
when finally the new away there was
stlll the shadow, larger and darker.
with a wild whoop he aprang to his feet,