The Press., 1904-03-31
UNDER THE
COPPER MOON
By CHARLES
SLOAN REID
Cop, right. 1903, by i. 9. Mcclure.

nv a copper moon whose rays were
filed with uncanny figures of miasma
arising over the swamp that stretched
away southwark from Il cabin on a
knoll. From the muffied distance came
the sound of the pile drivers sinking
timber on top of timber into the marshy
soil Of the swamp. 1t was the night
shift at work The construction of the
railroad was being pushed as rapidly
as the situation would allow, and men
there were yielding up their lives ev-
ery day to the insinuating grasp of
malaria.
On the steps of the cabin sat u young
woman, gazing with hollow eyes to-
ward the moon, while from beyond in
the deeper darkness of the cabins in
terror came sOnorous sounds from the
nostrils OF man in drunken sleep.
At last the young woman arose and
walked across the yard to the dense
shadow of palm, and she limped with
pain. At the roots of the palm she sat
down and rested her chin in her small
hands. The sound of light footstep
reached her ear Il moment later, but
she did not raise her head until her
name was called close to her ear.
Gus" she murmured "Tve been
hopin' ye'd come, though l don't reckon
it's hardly right to do it. But how can
body help it, Gus, when he does the
way he does?'
Cant, Mag, an I'm proud We can't.
| reckon it's selfishness in me, an it
may not be right for me to be steppin'
in between a man an his wife an
shown We my love the way l do, but
We warn't mated right, Mag, an Jim
knows it as we'll as you do. But, little
un, what I'm thinkin' about is where's
the help"
"That's so, Gus. Where's the help:
l took Jim for better or for worse, an
if it's worse | reckon it amt for me TO
complain-that is, to anybody but ye,
Gus
81 notice yere limpin', Mag. More
of Jim's meanness, l reckon?"
"NotJlin' much, Gus. I-F'-
81 reckon ye'd as we'll tell it, Mag
to me-"
Eyes, know. But Jim didn't know
what he was dom hardly, an the ia
BILE was rickety anyhow"
jest about made We run over the ia
BILE, l guess. But, Mag. l been won
derin' if We had any rations. l know
Jim amt struck a lick since-I mean
in the last two weeks"
Il know what We mean, Gus. le
mean since We give me the last monng.
An'-an' I'm obliged to say it's so.
don't know how, but somehow he found
out l had the money, an he wanted 70
borrow it, an l didn't see any way 70
refuse him."
81 reckon not. He always gets
enough to get drunk on. But what ]
want to know is how long ye'vc been
without anything to eat?'
Mag gaze,i for moment toward the
silent, the muscles of her gaunt face
twitching slightly at a suggestion of
the hunger she felt.
Mag, I reckon ye'd jest as well tell
me-"
II know, Gus. know-but"- Mag
dropped her face into the crook of her
arm and began to cry.
Gus sat on the ground a few feet
away, gazing upon the woman, with
all the love and yearning of his soul
in his eyes, and allowed her to cry in
silence. But at last he spoke again.
II know it's been long enough" he
said, lingering a gold piece he had TAX
en- from his pocket.
Mag looked toward him. "Since yes
terday mornin', Gus, an reckoned
I'd die this time. An, though ye'd
hardly like to hear it, was kind of
hopin' 1 would
"Magv Gus was on his knees and
had seized the girls hands. II was
afraid it was comm to this again, an
1 tried to get back sooner, an l know
now l should have sent Tom Bolus in
my place"
mo, We shouldn't, Gus. What right
had We to be sendin' any one in yer
place to earn yer money, jest so We
could be here on my account? Some
times most forget Gus" Mag nodded
toward the house and slowly withdrew
her hands from the mans grasp.
But Gus caught one of them again
and pressed its slender finger down
from his pocket.
"Mag," he said, sit don't look like it
would be wrong for me to take We in
my arms an kiss We jest once. But,
then, | reckon it would be, since ye're
Jim's by the law an the gospel, SIGH
as it was"
There was silence for a few moments
after this speech; then Mag reached
out and laid her hand on Gus arm.
when I'm dead. Gus" she said,
"won't ye come an kiss me when no
body's lookin'? There'll be no harm
then"
mag Magv Gus had seized her by
the shoulders in a frenzied grasp.
Don't We talk about dyin' or I'll kiss
We to death right here now in spite O.
Jim an the law an the gospel
Mag drew quickly away from him,
and he, too, shrank back and arose.
Both realized how insurmountable was
the barrier between them. and Mag re-
treated slowly toward the cabin Just
as man staggered to the doorway
from the dark interior and called her
name gruffiy.
The next day Gus exchanged places
with Tom Bolus. Tom had been set
ting poles for one of the pile drivers,
and Gus had been captain of the team
gangs hauling supplies from the coast.
Among the supplies of the commits
Sary was an abundance of red liquor,
and it was this which, kept Jim from
working as long as he could obtain
cent otherwise with which to buy
whisky. And Gus was surprised on en-
tering the comnissary at noon to see
Jim in the act of throwing upon the
counter the gold coin which he had
pressed into Mays hand the night be-
fore.
Gus turned on his heel and, taking up
his unopened dinner pail, carried it to
Jim's cabin and thrust it inside the
door to Mag. Returning, Gus met Jim,
= l.x44 -. all