The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1908-10-31

II SdlO MIS-. Taxing
long look around over the hills.
1t was an afternoon late in August
blue haze, the smoke of distant for
est fires, lay upon the land, lending to
the old familiar hills an air of mystery
and remoteness, like that of yelled
faces. Down in the valleys and upon
the long hillsides the blue faded softly
into the gray of the sage brush, and
the gray into the vague green of the
creek bottom
Mrs. Albright, the wife of the man
eager, and 1, the governess, of the Big
Red ranch. were sitting on the porch.
Il don't know why" she continued;
perhaps because it's such a very lazy
day"
Ten minutes later we discovered
more convincing reasons for the tenor
of her thoughts, in the weekly paper,
brought by mounted messenger from
the post Office over fifty miles away.
The population of the Big Red COM
prised three women, four men and five
children; the cowboys, of whom there
were about fifty, being absent upon
the roundup, while Mr. Albright was
away on a trip to New York We were
60 miles from the railroad and from
the nearest town, ten miles from any
other ranch, and quite so from any
one whom we could call neighbor
And now, as though aware of our un-
protected position, the Indians had
taken occasion to go on the war
path!
''Willfuliy and maliciously!" ex-
claimed Mrs. Albright, as she sat
reading blood-chilling accounts of mas
sacres that had taken place or were
about to take place-accounts which
were further supplemented by the
messengers report of the burning that
very morning of ranch only 40 miles
away.
At the other end of the porch sat
the five little Allbrights in a circle,
holding a solemn consultation. There
was Tony, the eldest, the 12-year-old;
the twins, aged ten; Billy, seven years
old; and Ethelbert Van Twiller All
bright, aged five. They were all look
ing very sober, and each child was
decorated with a generous piece of
black silk, torn off the bottom of an
old skirt. In the center Of the circle
stood an empty box, over which were
draped the remains of the skirt, and
which probably represented to Tony's
cultivated mind a bier The twins
shared between them a very crumpled
handkerchief, with which they occa-
sionally rubbed. their eyes.
What is the matter, children?"
exclaimed, as 1 took in the details of
the scene.
Tony was silent until he had mar
shaled his features into a state of due
solemnity; then, in a voice carefully
modulated to fit the occasion, he re-
piled: "At the break of day Miss Jug
departed this life"
She has gone over the big divide,
added the twins, who never let pass
an opportunity of using a cowboy
phrase.
"Ole Miss Jug as the children
called her, was a portly dog of great
age and immovable dignity. In the
opinions of the five young Allbrights
she was as old as the oldest tree"
Certainly she was as old as the old
est mourners. And now, as Tony
would have said, in the fullness of
time she had gone whence no dog
returneth.
''She was a mighty fine dog" said
one of the twins, sorrowfully.
And" said Tony, visibly brighten
ing, I'VE are going to give her the
very finest funeral we ever had"
At this the four other young ALL
brights also frightened, and a few mo-
ments later the five marched around
into the back yard, where the body
lay in state, and there I could hear
them cheerfully discussing the ar
engagements for the funeral of the de-
ceased Miss Jug.
Had Tony lived some hundred years
ago, he would have become pope, or
certainly cardinal so great was his
| love of ritual. The burial of a hen
under his direction became a most
| IMPOSING ceremony. Theatricals were
| his passion. ROBBED in scarlet table
cloth, and armed with bread knife,
he would recite Hamlets soliloquy in
such a melancholy voice, and with
such expressive motions of his weap-
IN, that the twins would be thrown
into quite an ecstasy Of horror, while
The younger part of the audience
cOW0rSQ III lSIIOI uuUOT IuS DSQ
clothes, the exhibitions taking place
generally at bedtime, being more i'm
pressive by candle light.
Late that evening Mrs. Albright and
sat alone on the cool piazza, rock
ing, thinking, waiting. AS long as
daylight had lasted and the little All
brights had borne us company, we had
kept up pretense of cheerful CONVEX
sation. But now that the small folks
were tucked away in bed, and the
men had foregathered in the barn, we
had relapsed into a silence whose
gloom was accented by the deep minor
| chords of night, the croaking OF
frogs. the distant lowing of thirsty cat
tie waiting for the rains, and now and
! then the hungry bowls of the coyotes
holding revel further down the creek
+, BY this time it was quite dark
! Even the long, narrow sea of smoky
green that had cleaned so long over
J the western hills had faded. About
the top of nearer peak, that of {
rocky hill, quarter of mile or sc
to the east of US. which Tony had
/ -