La Junta tribune., 1907-06-29
Fire and Water
BY LOUISE J. STRONG.
Copyright, 1907. by r. c. Eas,menI
Copyright. 1907. by r. C. EAs,men.

The fever scorched him physically
and befosged him mentally. He tossed
In a hot, restless haze. at times bab
bling chIldishiy Of mother - th>
mother whose loss three years before
had sent him TO the far west TO try "a
mister the new conditions attendant
Oh ranch life had taken him out OF him.
self and done him good. aud as success
crowned bis efforts dreams OF home
again. made SO by the presence Of q
sweet faced girl wife, lighted his toll.
They were only dreams ms yet. for
he held himself humbiy and had hesi-
tated to offer his love until he felt that
his affairs were on a frtn basis imam
cially. as they would be when his pres
ent abundant crop was harvested.
In his partial delIrium and hazy wan.
'tiering he muttered now the long re-
pressed confession. whispering II enger-
ly with feverish impniience for the re-
sponse his heart hoped for
At length the silence which lay like
the paii OF desoiation upon the lonely
steps on the planks al the door. and
bur,y fellow strobe In with n noisy
greeting: Hello. Harris! Laid up.
heyT'
The sick man reused 10 consciousness
and smiled feebly: How do. I-amson.
Glad you came In. Yes, I've been laid
up bit-cnn't remember how long
fever mudd,es my head" His speech
was broken and dragged thickly.
"Ain't wanting 20 eat much. I s'pos@.
and good thing that Is. too. for an old
bach that's got nobody"
Harrls WINGED Mother had been In
his sick fancy SO much and with such
vIyIdness that his bereavement seemed
but few days back. With an effort
he replied:
Il w8nt nothing but water, and Slade
brings me paIlfui mornings. when
he doesn't forget. rs hc did today" He
gcsturc,l toward the empty bucket ON
the chal- beside the bed. but the visitor
did not notice lt-nor the longing in
the fevc- red eyes and the cracked lips,
"poctoc, OF co,irseF'' he intimatcd
briskly.
"No: Slllc woulln't - for him. and
no one el.r's been IN
"Sladc wouldn't go. llu. In. Guess
not much. You don't gc, the old
ground hog thnt far from his hole hack
of the hill. Everybody's busler than
In sheep sncaring time. you know. har-
yestin- th.ir grain. Reason No ones
.,ecn along. | reckon. I'm through in
fine shape. tell YOU. and I've prom
m IN q,
week. Aud man. you'd ought to be
looking after yours. It's spelling fast.
I noticed" He laughed mt the startled
expression that widcned the hollow
eyes. Forgot II, had YOU? Well. you
want TO sse to II right away. | must
mosey. I'm ont on sweet errand.
Got my new house done It's hcaut.
too. and furnished tiptop. And now the
cage Is ready I'm going up 10 settle
the date "f taking home my bird. Liz
zie's fought shy, but she'll pull steady
when were tied all right. Iia. ha.''
'Iizziet'' Harris repeated vaguely,
his voice hcs!tatin- and troubled.
Sure. Lizzie Bradlcy-L -Lamsnn. Kind
o. tidy name. take II: something Ike
those swell New Workers.. Ha, har'
ne INuttu b'l-NtltHNiN Ut MS iiuNh w
wit We'll, hope you'll pull up soon.
So long" He stamped away. whis-
Ting leaving the door open.
In the silence that again closed upon
him Harris lay and stared out at the
gulverlng heat waves and little dust
cddies that whirled in at times. aggra-
waiting his burning heat and thirst.
But he did not notice them. He was
striving to steady his throbbing br,iin
and analyzc the torturing inner sense
OF pain and loss which now intensified
his tbtifly distress. - '-isi-s =
The crop-the c-r-o-p-that was all
right. 1t was great. He could put urf
the dainty cottage he had planned so
often these last months. since the
premise Of early summer had shown
such abundant fuifiilmeni In the ripen-
Ing fields. The crnp-the crop. Who
said II was spelling? 1t was all right.
He would begin on 1t today. when he
had drink. He could drink the well
dry. He fumbled ciumsily with the
bedding and essayed to rise. hut fell
hack inertlr. little foolish smile on
the parched lips. His head was SO
big. lie had not known ones head
could he SO big and heavy. And the
crop? The crop was all right He
would build the cottage-for-for Liz
zie. Lizzie. He cried out hoarsely.
with pang Of anguish Mt the sudden
dull recognition of his loss. There was
no Lizzie for him-none- none-nor
had been. What mattered the crop?
Let 1t spoil What mattercd anything
now Lizzie -Liz-z-i-e--b bird-cag ge-Liz-
zie 'rad--I.ix? He scowlcd imratiently.
He could not get the name right. His
head was SO big. He was SO hot
burning.
Mother. Where was mother? Was
she in the fiery lake that Elder Wat