The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1906-02-10

II was the wee man. Jim. who first
began to reflect resentfully on this in
trusl0n on his sumbers. He had been
sleeping well and comfortably when
some grownups came with lot Of
noise, and his father had gone away
with them. II had frightened him. but
his mother was here, anil why should
she not put him to s.ccp again?
"Muvvy. sing Dway Wolf" And
as she paid no heed. but looked at him,
| white faced and strange. hc again re.
peated, with his most in7InGa ing and
begullinc tricks Of eye and smile:
"Muvvy. sing Dway Wolf for Dim.
my"
The child put his head In his mothers
lap. and Aida began. scarce knowing
what she did:
"The gray wolves are coming fast over
the hill.
Run fast. little lamb do not baa. do not
| blcat,
For the gray wolves are hungry; they
4 come here 10 kill
And the lambs shall be scattered
No, no, Jimmy. muvvy cannot sing.
oh, cant you feel, child? Judith, Ju-
dith, why were you ever born?'
1t was still In the valley. Had they
come to the dead cottonwo0ds yet?
Had they begun itp The children
shrank from this gray faced woman
whom they did not know and but yet
a little while had been their mother.
An awful silence had fallen on the
night. The range cattle no longer bel
lowed in their thirst; the hot wind no
| longer blew from the desert A hush
not OF earth or mir or the things that
were of her ken seemed to have fallen
about them, mufilng the dark loneli
ness as by invisible flakes The chill
dren had crouched close together FOR
comfort They feared the little gray
faced woman who seemed TO have
stolen into their mothers place and
looked ut them with strange eyes
Jimmy looked at the woman who
held him. hoping his mother would
come. and he could see them both And
while he waited he dropped off to sleep. !
and little Judith. hiding her head on
Topcka's shoulder that she might not
see the looi IN those accusing eyes. |
presently dreamed that all was well
with her again. anu Topeka reflected |
that il her mother should ask her in
the morning whether she had dreame, |
last night she would have II fine tale 60 !
tell of men riding M and loud voices
and trying of the door and father go.
ing away with them. Her mother had |
questioned her this morning when /
nothing had happened TO warrant II /
Surely she would ask again tomorrow, (
and Topeka could tell-she could tell .
all
Tie children were sleeping easily |
The hush that bad hung like II pail over !
the valley lad not lifted. Had they
Gone Il? Was it over yet? She went {, \
the door anu listened. Surely the 81 |
lencc that wrapped the valley was n |
thing apart. 1t was us no other silence |
that she could remember. II was still |
Still. and vet there was vibration TO It. /
like The muilied roar within shell |
She strained her ears. Was that the /
sound of horSemen going down the |
trallI No, no, II was only the beating |
Of her foolish heart that would not he
still. but beat and 1uttered and would ,
not let her hear. Yes, surely that was
the sound of hoofS. II was over then |
They were going
She would go and look for him Per /
haps It would not he too late. She had |
heard of such things, \ dynamic force
consumed her She had no conscious /
ness of her body. Her feet and hands |
did things with incredible swiftness-. |
lighted II lantern. selected knife. ran
to the corral for an old ladder that had I
been there when they took possession /
of the deserted hOuse-and through all (
her lrant., haste she could feel this f.
new force, ns II were lick up the red |
blood In her veins burn her body TO
ashes as it gave her new power
II was dark in the valley, but the
mcnacing stiffness seemed to he lift
ing, The range cattle had again taken
UP their plant, the sounds Of the deS-
crt night swept across the stony walls
of the canyon. Aida knew that II
must have happened at the dead cot
tonwoods. There We're no. other high
trees about for miles, Again she lis
toned before advancing There was no
sound of hOof or Champing hit or men
moving quickly. They had gone their
way into the valley. She ran swiftly,
her lantern throwing its beam across
the scrubby inequalities of ground, but
for her there was no need of its bea-
con. Tonight she was beyond the halt,
ing, stumbling uncertainties of tread
TO which man is subject. There was
magic In her feet and In her hands
and brain. Like the wind she ran, the
wind ON the great plain where there
are no foothills TO hinder its course
The black, dead trees stood out dis
tlnctly against the starry sky, and
from a cross limb OF one of them dan
gled something with head awry, like a
broken jumping Jack, something that
had once been man-and her hus-
band, She could touch the feet OF this
frightful thing and feel it's human
warmth A wind came up from the
desert and blew acr IS the canyons
rocky wallis into tho yaIIav aud tho