The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-08-16
BY o. HENRY.

was but a melancholy Jacques of the
forest with ruder philosophy. lacking
the bitter-sweet flavor of experience
that tempered the veteran years of the
rugged ranger of Arden. And now In
his sere and yellowing leaf one scorn-
full look from the eyes of Panchita
O'Brien had flooded the autumnal land
scape of his heart with a tardy and
delusive summer heat.
But a sheepman is a hardy animal.
Dry Valley Johnson had weathered too
many northers TO turn his back on a
late summer, spiritual or real Old
He would show them.
By the next mail went an order to
San Antonio for an outfit of the latest
clothes. colors and styles and prices no
object. The next day went the recipe
for the hair restorer clipped from a
newspaper: for Dry Valleys sunburned
auburn hair was beginning to turn sill
very above his ears.
Dry Valley kept indoors closely for a
week except for frequent sallies after
youthful strawberry snatchers. Then.
a few days later. he suddenly emerged
brilliantly radiant in the hectic glow
of his belated midsummer madness.
A jaybirdblue tennis suit covered
him outwardly. almost as far as his
wrists and ankles. His shirt was OK
blood: his collar winged and tall; his
necktie a floating oriflamme; his shoes
venomOuS bright tan, pointed, and
shaped on penitential lasts. i little flat
straw hat with a striped band desecrat-
ed his weatherbeaten head. Lemon-col-
ored kid gloves protected his oak-tough
hands from the benignant May sun
shine. This sad and optic-smiting crea-
ture teetered out of it's den, smiling
g ;-.,l g.
men and angels to see. To such a pass
had Dry Valley Johnson been brought
by Cupid. who always shoots game that
is out of season with an arrow from
the CULVER of Momus. demonstrating
mythology, he had risen. a prismatic
macaw. from the ashes of the gray
brown phoenix that had folded its tired
wings to roost under the trees of Santa
Rosa
Dry Valley paused in the street TO
allow Santa Rosans within sight of him
TO be stunned; and then deliberately
and slowly, as his shoes required, en-
tered Mrs. O'Briens gate.
Not until the eleven months drouth
did Santa Rosa cease talking about
Dry Valley Johnsons courtship of Pan
chita O'Brien. II was an undesirable
procedure; something like a combina-
ton of cake-wa1king, deaf and dumb
oratory, postage stamp Irritation and
parlor charades. 1t lasted two weeks
and then came to a sudden end.
OF course Mrs. O'Brien favored the
match as soon as Dry Valleys inten-
tions were disclosed. Being the moth
er of a woman child. and therefore a
cleaner member of the Ancient Order
of the Mat-trap, she joyfully decked
out Panchita for the sacrifice. The girl
a,-ffx Il Id H., -
dresses heightened and her hair piled
up on her head, and came near forget
ting that she was only a slice of cheese.
1t was nice, too. to have as good a
match as Mr.. Johnson paying you at
tentions and TO see the other girls flut-
tering the curtains at their windows to
see you go by with him.
Dry Valley bought a buggy with yell
low wheels and a fine trotter in San
Antonio. Every day he drove out with
Panchita. He was never seen to speak
TO her when they were walking or
driving. The consciousness of his
clothes kept his mind busy; the knowl-
edge that he could say nothing of inter-
est kept him dumb the feeling that
Panchita was there kept him happy.
He took her to parties and dances,
and to church. He tried-oh, no man
ever tried so hard to be young as Dry
Valley did. He could not dance; but he
invented a smile which he wore on
these joyous occasions. a smile that.
in him. was a great concession to mirth
and gayety as turning handsprings
would be in another. He began to seek
the company of the young men In the
town-even of the bows. They accept
ed him as a decided damper. for his at
tempts at sportiveness were so forced
that theys might as we'll have essayed
their games in cathedral Neither he
nor any other could estimate what
progress he had made with Panchita.