Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1904-03-10
/. CHAPTER Il. !

"Give Me My Dreams Again.

In one Of the Western States Of
America IN Nevada, to be exact-there
is a small town Which is perishing off
the face ofAthes earth. Not that it ever
existed AZ any large sextent;Ffor it was,
at best, of mushroom growth, and
sprang up, If not exactly in a night,
at least in feyerish fashion in a few
days. va
The name pf the-town does not con-
Germ us; you will not find it on any
map. "A boom created it; a lying re-
port concerning certain unworlled sill
Yer mines was y responsible for its
birth. Coming into existence SO sud-
denly and with such great prospects,
It had of%neces tps be built I'M
furry; So that its tumble-down houses
are.of wood. SALT had originally several
saloons and a dancing hall; in that
first mad rush strests We're designed
and lever finished; aelath and plas-
ter hotel was run up that neyef got
roof to eoverit. Attic far end of one
of the struggling streets was a, little
house OF wood, standtngs quite apart
from 1.-THE fanfnishedi town, as though
waiting, shyly enough, for the town to
come soutaand meet It'll With that
house we are intimately concerned,
fora matter OF sonassnig IT, hot and
MINDLESS night in summer Within
the little house a light shone, and an
old man-thin and shriveled and dried
up-sat with his elbows proppeG on a
table, staring straight before him.
His eyes bloodshot. heavy
and Wild; his thin, @ lknottesd '' Hands
We're clawing at his lips, as though HE
hnngered, for something and dreameh
he might get it. 49, s!4gs
The man was not really old; only
something had withered the flesh off
his bones, and cracked and yellowet
his skin until it looked like parch-
ment. In one corner of the room in
which he sat was an old SOFIA gaudy
thing, that had been brought in the
first Hush Of supposed prosperity to
the place, and remained, incongrouos-
~ enough, as sthe one ironical note iii
the furnishing of the room; for the
rest, the room held only wooden
chairs and an upturned box or two
and the deal table at which the man
sat ~ H.
On the CANDY couch lay young girl,
covered over with an old and tattered
blanket = The mans back was to-
ward her, yet he shuddered every now
and then as she turned restlessly and
muttered and moaned unintelligible
things. He knew that she was dying
and he could do nothing to help her.
They had come long way for this;
it was the bitter end of a weary jour
ney-and the end was death.
Down below in the ruined town 4
few lights shoneAtlfea last Pickering
signals, as it we're, that had been set
hopelessly enough at tho end of a
hopeless day. For few derelicts
still fingered in the place, and man
aged to exist in some mysterious
fashion; even one saloon kept open,
and FROM within it could sbs heard the
sounds of battered and jingling pi-
ano, all out .of,tune.k Occasionally a
shadow fitted across the street, or
one stridant voice called, to another.
From somewhere out of the depths
Of it a wreck of man had got to the
little house. twice that ,day-a man
who once had called himself Doctor.
and had not quite forgotten what he
had learnt; and this wreck of man
had shaken his head and. had given no
hope. Save for this young girl, there
was no woman about the place; she
was to die alone, just as the hopeless
day was dying over the ruined town VA
/ Then from the north Of sthe town.,
coming out of the dark and VIII diess
night like two spectres descending;
upon 1t -came man and woma q,
riding hard. sFrena the dust upon ~ them
and from the heavily breathing horses IS IS
they had evidently come long way =
the woman, though She rode W ell, yet
dropped over her saddle. and had TO
shake herself now and then or be
BY ais harpswUrd from the
man sanas VII rode with herr to keep go,
ing ct ALI: Theslhan was adaTk-eyed,
fellow &C kless-I king
and with certain gay adornments to
his picturesque dress. and certain n
bright buttons about 1T, that bespoke
AnaSin his face as heTodes
and In the quick chances he ayssfr sseal
time t6 tane behind him. was a dead
IL fear that had gnawed at his heart.
Ind. at.the heert Of the woman 4eafor
many hours. ss.s.s 80 II
,.IIeld sup, I Joyce!" he cried sud dem
II. we stop at the next place, wRers
ever It iss wa can 60 no farther. even;
IL we have to get foods and horses at
th y q, Rausz,s 81 81 I. shs ay shooters
save. :yors ttseethl I'M alfs right
said the wdma Dgkanl yss Did you
ever know me to give In yet? Did
you even know me to- turnsb back from
anytling 4 dspdt my hand toa Il Do yon
think I've come SO far, 40 this 10
A0yr ~ Il. ~ - q