Evening journal., 1905-02-27
The Last Flower
On the AzaIia
lOrigInail

y
peculiar to certain portions Of the west
There is but one house In sight, and that
O log cabin. No Tense incloses II; no
trees shade it. The only attempt 70
beautify it is a row Of flowers on each
side Of the little stoop in its front.
From a well in the rear a young girl
Is carrying a watering pot to give the
flowers their evening sprinkling. Her
dress is a common calico, its skirt
reaching only to her ankles. On her
back hangs a sunbonnet. thrown on
now that the sun has lost its power.
Tenderly she bends over her plants,
which seem to raise their lips to drink
in the refreshing draft In all that
landscape there is no other cultivated
beauty.
so wrapt was she in her occupation
that she did not hear a step behind her
till it was very near; then, turning, she
saw a figure and a face before which
the beauty of her flowers paled. Till
this moment they had been her COM
l panions, her children, the only objects
to love in that lonely land. Hearing
step, she turned A handsome, good
natared, boyish face. with kindly blue
eyes was looking at her. Amused at
her startled appearance and the pleas
ure she did non attempt TO conceal, the
stranger unslung a rife from his back
and rested it ON the ground.
do you think" he asked, that /
could stay here all nightg'
"I'll see" And she went into the
house. When she returned to say that
he could have what he wanted she
found him pouring fresh pot Of water
oh her plants, which he had been TO
the well 10 bring. A mother seeing one
feeding her hungry children could not
have been more affected. Indeed. ey-
erything about the stranger tended 20
bring the girl under his magical inhu-
enee. Whence comes this young fellow
to sympathize with the one delight Of
her life7 She neither knew nor cared.
She only felt his presence.
The huptsman spent the night at the
cabin. There were no rules to govern
the conduct Of the two. and they sat
out on the stoop under the stars till
the moon rose and eclipsed her heaven
" sisters with her greater splendor.
The man had been used to forms, but
he forgot them now Only an hour
elapsed between his arrival and his
FIRST word expressing what both had
felt for that whole hour.
MAY / have klss?" he asked.
, He whose manner was that of a god
to ask for a kiss from daughter Of
the DESERT
In the morning he was gone. II
seemed to her that instead Of the sur
rising il had set. oh, that the hunting
grounds had lain near the cabinl But
he had promised to return that way
She did not question that he would
She simply waited and watched and
thought of him TIN be should come.
One morning she arose, threw opeT
the shutter and looked out. The SUI
was rising, and his first soft morning
? rays lent to the desolate scene some
; thing like beauty. The few trees die
not look 80 lonely, the uncovered coun
try did not look so barren, now thai
I the suns light shone through mellow
Z ing mists. But If the orb OF day wat
n rising in the east the sun Of the grill
!. heart was rising In the west Glanc
: ing thither, she saw a 1.-THE figure step
l. ping lightly along the road. 1t was thu
: young stranger. and he carried some
thing in his arms.
When she went downstairs, there OF
the stoop sat the huntsman, and neal
A., him in an earthen pot was a plant-on'
!. that she had never seen before.
=, "when on the line OF the railroad
: he said. "I sent to the city for It Had
: I not been waiting l would have re
s turned earlier, for TO give you one mo
ment Of happiness is worth more thai
1 all the game in the west"
I 1T is not in bloom" said the girl.
4 mo; it will not bloom till com'
again, or, rather. when It blooms agaii
{ / will come"
: They spent one happy day together
/, then the stranger went on. Autumn
faded into winter. A traveller stoppe'
i at the cabin one day and, seeing
, name written on a bit Of wood tied 4
+ the plant, asked:
, ''Has he been hereW
: "Yes.1
Look out for him, little girl; he's
I heart smasher. Hunts hearts as b
Z hunts deer or antelope"
The girl turned pale
T "Did he give you that azalea" aske'
the traveller.
Eyes. When does it bloom7p
"In the early spring"
From that time the girl began to wilt
1t seemed when the winter was passini
1 out and the azalea began to take on II
; new life that 1t was drawing its Yigo
}. from Its. mistress. Before the traveller
arrival she had not doubted that th
!: giver would come when the plan
!. bloomed. Now she felt that he wouli
}. never come.
One morning bud opened, then an
4 other and another, till the azalea was 4
}. full bloom, emitting a rich odor. Th
: girls vitality flickered as a candl
:, burns down into its socket Meanwhile
: the flowers dropped away. One ever
i Ing she went out to sprinkle her plants
Carrying the water exhausted he
: strength. But one flower remained
i She stopped TO inhale its odor and fel
j A strong arm raised her. Looking W
> she saw the smiling face OF the hunts
man looking down at her.
'1'm not too late to keep my prom
: Sc" he said. There's one flower left.