Anadarko daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Oklahoma) 1901-190?, 1902-02-13
OUT OF THE WRECK
by EDGAR wELToN COOLEY
Wopyright i@a. by DAILY story Pun. co..
80

valentine leaned back In his chair
showed his hands into his trousers
pockets and contemplated. with a sud
denly awakened sa%yageness, the nnfn-
ished letter before him.
Again and again he read the care
fully written lines. the frown on his
face deepening with each %perusal. One
sentence particularly displeased him.
Looking back with a judgment So
bered by the intervening three years"
this sentence ran Il realize that my
i%mpetuosity misconstrued your display
OF just indignation at my u%nfounded
charge OF duplicity. and that my tenn
per, always too hasty. forced ny lying
lips TO utter those foolish and heart
less words OF farewell-words | would
give my soul. almost, TO recall
For the twentieth time Valentine
read that sentence over. Then he
drew the point OF his stubby pencil
through the words and jumped to his
feet. For many moments he paced the
floor OF his cabin. his eyes cast down,
his lips compressed, his hands in his
pockets.
And finally he paused at the table
and again read the letter slowly, care
fully. Then he laid his broad, brown
hand upon the sheet. and hesitated.
looking out the door at the gathering
dusk and thinking, thinking, thinking.
Suddenly his hand closed angrily
upon the paper, crumpling. crushing
It between his fingers. Silently he
sccwled at the wall. the letter clutched
in his tightly closed fist, a steely gilt
ter in his cold, gray eyes. Then the
paper dropped to the floor. and walk
ing to the door. the man gazed medi-
tatively across the plain.
And after awhile he CROPPED his way
back into his cabin until he came to
the table Then he struck a match
and searched upon the floor until he
found the lettor he had written. Pick
ing 1t up by a corner. he touched the
burning match TO 1t and held 1t be-
tween his fingers until the lame al
most licked his land; then he dropped
IL and watched II burn-vatched II,
until it was all consumed.
Never" he cried aloud. again
pacing the cabin floor. mo. by hi!
I'll never write her. I'll die. right here
before I'll let her hear from me again.
I'll die and rot-rot like u dead coy
ote in a gulch.
What IL IL is lonely here in this
id country; what If / do 30 loco
who in HI cares? She? Ha! hal!
Why, she-she'd laugh If she knew |
was as crazy as a thirst-maddened
bronco-she'd laugh and cAake her
yellow curls and go dancing away with
some of those Rock Lick fellows.
81 loved her-God knows | loved hcr.
Who wouldn't love her? Who doesn't
love the sunshine and the blue sky
and the wild birds? Everybot.' loves
those things, and she Is all of them
together. Nina is-all Of them: the
and tn blue sky and the
wild birds. But she's n lirt, and
and-d-n her!
Write TO her? | write to her? Ha!
ha! No. No, l say. I'll so out there
on the prairie and let the id coy
otes gnaw at my worthless old carcass
before I'll write to her. | told her
when | left that | would never let her
know whore | was, and | won't-so
help me God, | won't. I'll stay right
here In this God-forsaken country and
turn into a dog-eating Indian before
I'll write TO her. | hate her-God,
how | hate her,-and I never want TO
see her again-nevcr,"
He ggitted his teeth and clinched his
fists in his rage ana his slow pacing
F-LA ~