Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1901-08-09

uI1 MA AtI AANe III LEI ApiNh AA1 ahah-
ing her wet hair 10 the SUP. No one
had come, but King Billy was now
awake and wns s~iouching lazily OF to-
ward the bush. Ehie laughed as she
saw him, his great head bent forward
and his thin, narrow shoulders bowed.
She laughed TO think Of his laziness
and that he should Look 20 tired after
such a very little wood chopping.
She was still laughing NJ King Billy
Rs she opened the old worlbox 10 take
another peep at tie yellow treasure
and to make quite sure that the heat
hadn't melted II away. And II was
quite slowly that the laugh died from
her pretty eyes and mouth-tE g slow
~ because Of the moments Il took to
realize and accept n misfortune 50 ter
rible-when she lifted the coarrc socks
and looked and saw no little gold mug
get, saw nothing. Then horror ana
great fear grew In the blue eyes. ana
pale agony crept over the childish face
and made It cid. and the poor little
heart seemed to stop beating.
Ehie said nothing and made no cry.
but she closed her eyes tightly FOR a
moment aud looked In the box again.
No, It was no Illusion. The little mug
get was not there. The first gold her
father had found. which had been In
trusted to her care, which was to have
been taken to her mother-lt vas gone.
She put down the box quite quietly
and walked ont into the day. But the
sun wns shining very strangely and
mlstily now. and the blue sky had
grown black. and the trees seemed TO
move weirdly. and the locusts bad
ceased humming from fear. but tue
strange bird was somewhere neal
shricking b%rOkenly: What will father
say? What Will father sayT"
But as the child stood there despair.
ing her sight grew clearer, and she
SOW n black figure among the trees.
and she was conscious OF a pair OF
dusky eyes watching her through Tie
leaves. Then only she remembered.
and she knew who had done this cruel
thing. King Buy! Md she had been
kind 10 him. Elite suddenly burst ingo
passionate Sobblng. The black figure
still lowered among the trees, often
changing It's position. and the dusky
eyes still pecred through the leaves.
And the laughing jackasses few down
TO the old tree again and laughed more
madly tlau before-laughcd at Efie's
trust. at Billy's gTatltudel
=
1t was 10 o'clock. and darkness and
quiet rFigned in John Archer's hut.
Over among the tents behind the wat
tie gums n few gamblers and heavy
drinkers were still awake. and thell
voices. raised In anger or ribald mer
rimcnt, might occasionally have beer
family heard from the hut. But Arch
or. who had sown his Wild oats. wa
n true worker. ard he bad his litti'
daughter. for whose sake he had bull
the hut away from the noisy camp.
Archer had come home late ant
weary. as usual, had eaten his suppeI
and gone TO rest without. to Eftie's In
tense relief, speaking Of the little golC
nugget. The child was afraid TO speal
of the loss, and she was not wlthoui
vague hopes that a beneticPnt Provi
dencc would restore the nugget during
the darkpcss aud save her from thi'
great trouble.
For this she pTa yPd very earnestly
before she lay down TO sleep. Or die
she sleep AT all that night? She never
quite knew. But she thinks that I
was then that she first experience
that terrible purgatOrial condition
which Is neither w~akefulness mol
sleep when the body and mind arr
weary enough Il bring the profound
sleep which they require, but which
the brain IL TOO OVerladen aud toS
cruelty active TO allow. when dream:
seem realities and realities dreams
II must have been & dream when she
saw something small and yellow foat
through the tiny window on the ghost
ly silver mOonbeams. And yet when
having closed her eyes, she opened
them again 1t was still there, hoveriul
about In the darkness, less bright nov
and with a pale yellow halo. But /
faded quite away. II was a cruel
mockipg dream.
Then was It n dream when the ole
curtain which divided her corner o.
the hut from her fathers moved zeal
the ground. bulgod eighty towar,
her? II would be curious to sec. an,
she lay still. From under the curtain
seemed TO come q thin arm and slew
~, cautiously. nfter the arm n heat
with n great shock of hair. And tn,
moOnbeams just touched a face.
think they kissed IL, though IL wa
black, for they found In "A black han,
the little yellow object which ha,
hoated In the first dream.
II was all so real. 50 beautiful, tina
the child lay still, scarce daring I
breathe lest the vision should mel
away, and when In her dream cam
The voice of her father with the wOrdl
Speak. or I'll Gre"' her lips refused t
open.
But II was no dream when the she
came and the black king rolled Owe
on the earth dead. with the little gol
nugget Re had come 10 restore presse
IN the death agony against bis hear
where, co., wPs o little gold.
And the laughing birds in the oil
tree. startled from their sleep by ID
shot. laughed Ogre more. wildly an
madly, az Billy's honesty Exchange