The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-11-11

actors.
TT seems" she told, that I was in
the desert. such a vast, terrible DESERT
where the little dust devils eddied and
swirled. and the merciless sun beat
down until it shriveled up every grow
ing thing"
Polly nodded her head sagely.
That's the way the desert looks
and no water"
Echo paid no heed to the interrupt
ton. Her face became wan and bag
gard, as in her minds eye she saw h
weary waste of waterless land CULVER
and swim under the merciless sun. Not
a tree, not a blade of grass not a sign
of life broke the monotony of rum
bling cliffs and pinnaeled rocks. On
ward and ever onward stretched yellow
ridges and -whitened ravines.9
binding the eye and parchlng the
throat.
"Then I saw a man staggerag
toward me-" she continued; Ibis face
was white and drawn, his lips cracked
and parched-now and then he would
stumble and fall, and lie there on his
face in the hot sand, digging into It,
with his bony fingers seeking for
water
Echo shut her eyes as If to blot out
the picture. Its reality almost over
powered her.
Suddenly he raised his eyes to mine"
she resumed, after a pause. 1T was
Dick"
In her excitement she had arisen.
stretching out her arms as If to warI
off an apparition.
HE tried to call me. I saw his lips
move, framing my name. Dragging
- ~ rwra- 80
with his arms outstretched Then an
other form appeared between us fight
ing to keep him back. They fought
there under the burning sun in the hot
dust of the desert until at last one was
crushed to earth. The victor raised his
face to mine, and-it was Jack"
Echo buried her face in her hands.
Dry sobs shook her bosom. Awe
stricken, Polly gazed at the over
wrought wife.
"Pfew!" she laughed, to shake OF her
fright. THAT was a sure enough
nightmare. If I'd a dream like that
I'd wake up the whole house yapping
like a coyote"
AS the commonplace ever intrudes
upon the unusual, SOFA knock on the
door relieved the tension of the situa-
ton. 1t was Slim. He did not wait for
an invitation to enter, but, opening h
door, asked: "Can 1 come in?"
"Sure, come in cried Polly. glad to
find any excuse to shake off the depres-
sion of Echo's dream. t
"Howdy, Mrs. Payson, just come
over to see Jack" was the jolly
sheriff's greeting.
Hes down at the corral" she in.
formed him.
l.--t-I L. 49, Ana-
kitchen at this moment: Echo. come
here, and look at this yere cake. It
looks as If it had been sot upon"
Echo closed the lid of the piano and
called her mothers attention to the
presence of Slim Hoover. w
How dye do, Slim Hoover ?-you
might nave left some of that dust OUT
side"
The sheriff was greatly embarrassed
by her Gliding. In his ride from Flor
ence to the Sweetwater, the alkali and
sane stirred up by the hoofs of the
horses had settled on his hat and waist
coat so freely that his clothing had
assumed a neutral, gray tone above
which his sun-tanned~face and red hair
doomed like the moon in a fog. Josepn-
ines scolding drove him to brush MIS-
shoulders with his hat, raising a cloud
of dust about his head.
stop it," Mrs. Allen shouted shrilly-
'Slim Hoover, If your brains was dyna-
mite you couldn't blow the top of your
head Off"
Polly was greatly amused by Sims
encounter with the clearly Mrs. Allen.
Slim stood with open mouth, watching
Mrs. Allen fiounce out of the room arter
Polly, who was trying in vain to sup
press her laughter. Turning to the girl,
he said: Amt seen you in some
time"
Slim was thankful that the girl was
seated at ting table with her back TO
him. Somehow or other he found he
could speak to her more freely when
she was not looking at him.
THAT so?" she challenged. Come to
the birthday"
mot regular" he answered.
Polly glanced at him over her shoul-
der. The look was too much for Slim.
He turned away to hide his embarrass-
ment. Partly recovering from his bash
~fulness, he coughed, preparatory TO
speaking. But Polly had vanished. AS
one looks sheepishly for the magician
disappearing coin, so Slim gazed at IGOR
and ceiling as if the girl might pop up
anywhere. Spying an empty chair be-
hind him, he sank into it gingerly n
awkwardly.
Meantime Polly returned with a
broom and began sweeping out the evil
dences of Sims visit She spoke again:
Get them hold-ups yet that killed
'Ole Man Terrill?" she asked.
mot yet. But we had a new shoot
in over'n our town yesterday.
Slim was doing his best to make con
H. If-. nflf