The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1905-02-16

II
"a freckles on an Indian. The
alkaii laden sand scurried
over the desert, binding us and our
ponies and enveloping old landmarks
In cloud. Toward shutdown it eased
up Il little. and when we had finished
our dry tea only an occasional puff
came 10 remind us Of the days dis
comfort.
When lull came in the conversation
l arose and sauntered beyond earshot
of the camp. Juan, the Mexican.
seemed to have been waiting for a
break in the circle and started in the
opposite direction. CHANGING over my
shoulder saw Metcalf standing alone,
throwing an arlnful of brush on the .
fr2.f"l fire. Macpherson and Williams, ,
being old cronies and bit exclusive in |
their tipple when towns were far /
apart, had gone off, ! thought, to fin |
ISL the Rnndsburg bottle.
was dinlly conscious of something /
strange about the whole proceeding.
On the desert men never wander away
from camp, especially when IL stranger
is RtII On IL MS
anything that was dim and uncertain
in my consciousness gave way to
CLEARLY defined image-this Metcalf had
bean picked Up at the Needles. and. In
the prospectors' way, we asked no
quest ions None Of us knew him. Sup
pose. ! thought, he should put his heel
OF that dancing bit Of flame? Sup
pose he should pack everything Of val
uc on the ponies and make bee Zine
for civilization?
h.sltated between two impulses.
The camp needed me, but since carly
morning | had waited impatiently for
this hour wanted to be alone.
wanted to sing.
Something other than the sense per-
suadea me the MUSIC breaking for ut
terance WAS Of high order. Having
oniytan indifferent memory for sweet
sound, and. | must confess, taste
that might be termed popular, was
carried Off my feet as much by the
recognition Of Its merit as by Its con-
tinual recurrence. But. strange as 1t
might seem. despite the continual re-
currencc when l was surrounded by
distractions. at the very moment | had
an opportunity to do more than listen
in dumb ecstasy. try as l might, could
not recall single note. Laying the
blame on my anxiety over the possible
loss Of our traps, l allowed the other
impulse to get the upper hand and re-
turned to camp.
lx-fp h{S hooly SnDnfS-
ing There was no greeting. He did
not even turn his head. About his In
difference, which was extraordinary, l
cared nothing, for just as got within
six feet Of him the tantalizing air
came again full born into my brain.
wondered at my grasp Of such a
masterpiece. My conception was COM
plete to the final note, and, though l
had never taken a lesson In music,
kncw-felt. rather-wherein 1t conform
cd to the highest standards Of the art.
I followed the futelke tones that
were ringing in my car, and, finally
obey!ng something stronger than my
will. threw back my head and
shaping my mouth as l had seen the
fellows Of the glee club ut the UNIVERSE
ty shape theirs. sang
Metcalf's greanlng brought me to
realization Of the absurd figure l cut
standing In the center Of the camp
beating time with a wtsp Of sage ant
singing to the moon as though my life
depended on 1t. Hastily throwing
Some scrub on the fire. set OFF Will
the determination Of reac!iing the tina
cadence without interruption II walk
ed to the other side Of the desert
When beyond Metcalf's hearing
stopped and gathered myself together
The discovery of talent Is somcthin!
to be we'll considered Perhaps my abil
fly as n composer would rank me abov
meGlocrity. 1t would be impossible t
conceive Of one musical theme exhaust
ing my originality; rather might it b
expected to aid development In that di
rection.
Throwing back my head formed M
lips to sing. and not a note came fortl
All my mental turnings and twisting
We're Of no avail: not suggestion o
the melody that was to open up nc
Bile career for me came to the fore
ground Of consciousness. My castle
We're ruins.
The reaction caused by my failur
brought a feeling akin to DISCUS
Waiting. dull and inent, not caring
the elusive air ever returned. my ca
caught the faint echo of whistling Of
to the right. l went in the direction G
it. AS | drew near enough to distiI
guish between the sounds there SCENE
: strange familiarity in them. B
stretching the Imagination a resen
blance to my own elusive air could
discovered
Forgetting the Indifference of nj
ment ago. grew furious Here wa
some sceundrel who had EVIDENT
heard me ,practicing near the fire TT.
ing to steal the product of my gepiu
Drawing near, was about to tax hil
with his dishonesty when he stoppe
and, stretching his arms above b
head, rose from the sand heap. II
.bueno. senor,' as be passed on h
way to the camp told me 1t was Jual
the Mexican, the kindest and gentle
Of men. Nothing but folly would a.
pear in accusing him Of anything bl