The Tupelo journal., 1903-01-23
By w. h. IRWIN.

THE first time that Dudley Latimer
L kissed Belle Sharp, the half
spanish 'help" at the p. l.. Ranch, he
was not in earnest; he would have
oeen the last to say that there was
any serious intention in it. He did
. 1T partly in a spirit of pure bravado,
and partly because the morning was
as warm and white as new milk and
she, smiling back over her shoulder
as she emptied her pals, looked a
part of it. Equally innocent of any
harmful intent, she let him after a
formal struggle. He was tall and
clean, and as handsome as a young
Englishman can be when he Is in per-
fect condition, and has a fine, red
coat of tan. Then he babe her good
by. He had been at the ranch a week,
ranging the hills in a vain hunt for
antelope, already then, in the early
SOS, becoming scarce. His canvas
covered wagon and his side part
ner," the Hon. Justin Weymouth,
waited by the gate.
The Hon. Justin was taking a part
ing nip with the "Old Man." and did
not see the diversion, and none of
the four noticed that Emilio Gonolez,
horse-trainer and man-of-all-work,
coming in through the kitchen
yard carrying an antelope so freshly
killed that it's throat was not yet cut.
Emilio stood and watched. He saw
the struggle, heard the girl cry "The
gall of you'll" saw the color torn as
she lifted her face with unwilling will
lingness, saw her throw at young Lat
inner, walking away, a look of admira-
ton that he took for something else,
Then Emilio slipped round the barn
with his quarry, and came upon the
wagon in front. Dudley was smiling
across the fence at Belle, who had
found business in the front yard. For
half a minute, Emilio looked what he
felt; then smiled as he slipped into
view, and said: Il make-a present you
~thees antelope. He ees fresh. My
self, 4 shoot heem. He come YER
close."\
Careful how you tie it, Emmy
said the Old Man. dump it in for
'em. Well. boys, stacking in the
north field. Good-by, and luck to
you"
While Dudley chatted across the
fence with Belle, Emilio was eXplain-
ing to the Hon. Justin how an ante
lope should be tied and hung for a
journey. "Head down SO he bleed
the dust bother ver' leetle-oh, yes.
a lee-tle cut on the throat so he bleed
slow. That ees bes'. L cut heem." A
slow, read stream trickled over snowy
throat and gray jaws. The wagon
drove on. Down the road behind it
trailed an irregular line of wet dots,
the centers for an army of noisy flies.
lawfully jolly girl" said Dudley,
as they bowled easily along through
the red dust. The Hon Justin pulled
at his pipe, and made no answer. He
might have said that he FASTENED
their going just because his compan-
ion was very young and the girl very
pretty. A flock of ~sage-hens started
from the olive-green brush to one
side. Justin pulled W, took out his
shotgun, and followed, Dudley throw
ing stones to make them rise. A right
and left shot brought down a brace
They gathered up the birds, and
turned to the wagon, and as they
did so, the elder man looked back
Just level with the ranch house, two
miles behind, a cloud of red dust
yelled the road and Tapped far over
its edge. Through the thin atmos.
phere came a muffled rumble, and
then a few dots, followed at an inter.
val by another, heaved out of the
mass.
'Cattle," said Dudley. ''That's
jolly. 1 always wanted to see one OF
those big droves on the foot. Shall
we wait for them to pass?"
"I think not" said the Hon. Jus
tin. mot until we get to the next
ranch. They say hat those wild
range cattle do singular things
But still they stood and watched, fas-
cinated by the shimmering, shifting,
red cloud, the distant rumble, the
CLINT of a blazing sun ON the sabred
heads of a thousand Texas long.
horns.
OF a sudden the dust cloud, which
had spilled over the road only to the
right, away from the ranch fence,
widened out, shifted to the left. They
had passed the fence corner and were
on open range. No dust arose OF
that wing; it was hard prairie, tied
close by sage brush. And inexperi
enced as we're their eyes, the two
Englishmen could see some commo.
ton running through the mass; the
units composing it were spreading
hither and thither; two compound
dots, mounted men, were swinging
wide about them. The rumble grew
louder, 1ulled, rose again, and above
the noise came the sound of a Dozen
shots, fired in quick succession.
Justin started at the sound Of g
frightened snort in his ear. He
turned to see his horses quivering in
every nerve. Almost before he could
catch it's bride the near n was
plunging and pitching.
"Get the reins!" yelled Justin;
sswe'd best be out of here"
The team broke into q dead run
Looking back, Justin saw the cloud
ominonsly, frightfully cal. A strug
Cling advance guard of long-horns
heaved out before, and ahead of them
were two men, riding like demons