The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-06

one room, dirty, and long since deserted; 1T one corner a rust-eaten stove, in the other bunk. small window without panes and sashless lit up the interior dimly.
 Leggitt stepped softly over the sill and tiptoed to the rough chair beside the bunk where, huddled on the soiled mattress her head piliowed on a blanket-roll, a woman lay moaning, half in delirium.
 She was small much smaller than the man at her side; had she been standing. she could have stood beneath his extended arm. Her face. once pretty and plump. was worn and drawn in lines of care and grief The brown eyes. aside from the fever's glow, were tired and filled with pain. and the thin hair drawn back tight over tho temples, was streaked) with grey
 She tossed and turned her head as the man crossed the room and let himself down on the chair beside her.
 Water" she moaned feebly, "give me some water, Sam; I'm burnin' up"
 Picking up the tin cup from the floor. he filled 1t. and putting his great hand be- meath her raised her up, and awkwardlIy held the cup to her lips.
 She sank back with a sigh of relief and lay staring at the ceiling. Sam shad seat ed himself and rolled a cigarette.
 Feel any better, gal?" he asked. A note of tenderness, haif-fearing detection had crept into his voice. The sight of the faded woman lying there rolled back the cloud from his memory
 She feebly shook her head and moistened d the fever -parched lips with her tongue.
 '1 reckon I'm past feelin' better now, Sam. ] ain't as strong as I used to be- She made pitiful attempt to smile. " Member the first time you seen me, Sam? I was strong then. was totin' a bucket O water. an you came along behind me an took off yer hat real perlite. an made me let you carry 1t long to the house. You hung round the place thar, till you leased me inter goin' and gittin' married" {"
 Gosh" she laughed again. but pa was mad reckon pas gone by this tlme.' She sighed softly.
 For time both were silent she lying with dreamy eyes, he sitting chin buried deep on his chest. Presently she spoke.
 You was good man in them days, warent you, Sam?"
 "I tried to be. Minnie The note of tenderness was there now, weak as first, but gaining strength with every word he spoke
 An sam." she turned her head and held his eyes, that story bout you an'-an' Mexican Kate-was that so, Sam?"
 "No. gal" he said vehementIy. that waren't SO. I ain't bin what yer might call an angel, but since ye thanked me with them brown eyes O yourn when I sot that pail O water down on yer pas doorstep back in Missouri. there aint bin no other woman's arms aroun my neck"
 'Tm mighty glad Sam" she said, simply. The hard lines were smoothed from her face now. and 1t was filled with ineffable soft ness.
 ''sposin' git well agin." she questioned eagerly "mightn't we go back there an try an find pa an settle down? I reckon the officers wouldn't find you there Sam D
 NO, I reckon they wouldn't" he assent ed. humoring her. He was thinking of the time that Red" Tobin had followed A man for three days through foot-hills withou, food and with arm broken by A fall and how he had walked into the Gulch at the end of the fourth day leading a pony, the outlaw strapped to the saddle.
 sigh from the bunk interrupted his thoughts and he saw that she had fallen asleep. He got up and stretched his lonp legs stiffly and stepped into the open air,
 The sun was pouring down with increas- ing intensity. the heat from the sandy soil beat into his eyes and burned him. Driven to shelter, the locust had ceased it's chirp- ing and the silence was oppressive
 He pulled the wide hat brim down over his eyes and searched the winding road with something like a sigh of relief. he turned and made his way toward the hobbied ponies nibbling at the sparse cIumps of grass. dry as finder
 The stiffness was getting on his nerves. the silence of the wilderness sapped his eourage' stepping on a bit of dry brush, which broke beneath his boot with a snap. he jumped like a startled horse. The al- most incontrollable desire seized him to run and run until he dropped. anything to es- cape rom the maddsning. death-Iike si- lence.
 savagely cursing himself he bent down to examine the hobbies. The broncho lashlng his Hanks with his tall diekad