The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-11-02


low, beetle browed cabin that faced
them in the wilderness carried in it's
rude completeness hint Of the pres
tidigitator's aria world of desola-
ton, and behold log cabin with smoke
issuing from the chimney and curtains
at the windows! The interior was un-
plastered, but this shortcomins was
surmounted by lacking cheesecloth
neatly over the logs, a device at once
simple and strategic, as in the lamp
light the effect was that of plaster.
Miss Carmichael, suddenly released
from the actual rumbling Of the stage,
felt it's confused motion the more
strongly in imagination, and hardly
knew whether she was eating canned
tomatoes served uncooked directly from
the tin, fried steak, black coffee and
soda biscuit, in company with the fat
lady, the stage driver and the woman
who kept the road ranch, or if it was
all some Alice in Wonderland delusion.
The fat lady had brought her own
bedding-an apoplectic roll of bed
quilts-and these she insisted on max
Ing bed of despite the protests of the
ranch woman, who seemed to detect a
covert insinuation against her accom-
modations in the precedent Miss Car
michael profited by the controversy.
The landlady, touched no doubt by the
simple faith of a traveller who trusted
to the beds Of a road ranch or because
she was young or girl, led the way in
triumph to her own bedroom, and, in
dicating an imposing affair with pill
low shams, she defed Miss Carmichael
to find a more comfortable bed Gin the
east
IN the unaccountable manner of
these desert conveyances that creak
and groan across the arid wastes with
an apparently numbering inconse-
quence, the stage that brought the tray
elers to the Dax ranch left at sunrise
to pursue seemingly cratic career
along the North Platte, while Miss Car
michael and the fat lady were to con-
tinue their journey with one Lemuel
Chugg, who drove a stage northward
toward the Red desert when he was
sober enough to handle the ribbons.
Breakfast was largely devoted to
speculation regarding the approximate
condition Of Mr.. Chugg-would he be
wholly OIL partially incapacitated for
his job? Mrs. OAK, flirting feather
buster in the neighborhood Of Miss
Carmichael in futile effort to beguile
her into giving reason for her solita-
~ journey across the desert, took a
gloomy view Of the situation
But Miss Carmichael kept her own
counsel. Not so the fat lady. Falling
into the snare ENORMOUSLY set for an
other, she divulged her name, place Of
residence and the object of her travels,
which was to visit son on SweetWa-
ter. But loquacity apparently, like vir-
tue, is its own reward, for the landlady
scarce vouchsafed q comment on this
dismal recitative, while Miss Carmi-
chael remained the object Of her per-
s1stent attentions
But there seemed to be no topic Of
universal interest but Chuggs condi-
ton, Mrs. OAK finally asserting, "Be-
fore Id trust my precious neck to him
ia get Mr.. OAK to shoot me'
Meditating on this Spartan state
ment, Mary and the fat lady became
aware for the first time Of a subtle, 81
lent force in the domestic economy.
But SO unobtrusive was this influence
that one had to scrutinize very closely
indeed to detect the evanescent person
nllty of Mrs. DaX's husband. Leander
was his name but it is safe to say that
he swan no Tablespoons for the mas
terful wife of his bosom. Otherwise he
was slender, willowy. bald If he ever
stood straight enough to set the habitu-
ally apologize crooks out of his knees
he would be tall, but so in the habit
was he Of depressing himself in the
marital presence that Leander passed
for middle height. He waited on the
table at breakfast with the dumb SUBJ
missiveness Of a trained dog that has
been taught to give pathetic limitations
Of human servility.
But no sooner had his lady left the
room than Leander began quite bra
zenly to call attention to himself as
man and an individual. coughing
rafting his dishes and clearing his
throat. Mary and the fat lady out
Of pity responded to these crude sig
nails with overtures equally frank, and
Leander ventured finally to inquire if
they aimed to spend the night at his
brothers ranch, it being the next mess
box between here and nowhere. They
admitted that his brothers ranch was
their next stopping place, and Lean
der went through perfect contortions
of apology and self effacemcnt be-
fore he could bring himself to ask them
to do him favor.
'"Ten him send my compliments ~
he whispered: and, looking about him
furtively, he repeated the blood cur
ding request.
els that all?' asked the fat lady, at
no pains to conceal her disappoint-
ment
cts enough, if it was known, to
raise a war whoop and stampede this
yere family His glance at the door