The Dolores star., 1909-12-10
Old Lights from
the Rio Bravo
By WILL LEvINcToN COMFORT

Copyright. BY J. B. Lippincott Coz
A woman or q gold discovery will
change the whole order of living in .
man or a town. The case In point be-
gins on the night that Reeder came up
from Sorocco with lady. had the
honor Of knowing Reeder In the old
days. Reeders lady was vividly new,
as only q girls fair face can be: and
II 10 not her fault. nor mine. but the
conditions Of Sodom, inasmuch ~
was reminded that night Of being .
colleger once. q clothes-model and
rejoicer In life. back In the dim behind.
But this is not my story. It is Did.
sey's. Didsey IL my bunkie. haven't
been ten yards away from Didsey for
. week all told in two years. and since
we've run onto gold, religion and
smallpox at the same time, think
I'm beginning to understand the lad.
rs that the Reeder you used to
know?" he questioned.
YES" said.
HE seems to be dyin', Wesley"
Looks that way. Didsey."
'Is II the hangover Of them 13 bull
let holes?"
Listen" I whispered.
We had put our guests away In the
old gospel tent for the night. Sodom
not being metropolitan in its accom-
modations for the rarer sex. Just now
from the tent came cough that Ari-
soma knows we'll; and. after the cough.
low laugh from Reeder. that game.
nerveless laugh that had Leard years
before, when the poker lights we're lit
on the Rio Brava, and the man who
sat next to the wall was safest.
Il see." said Didsey softly.
We went over to the tent again pres
entity. Reeder was closer to the dark
than had thought. She was brave,
bright little thing. with soft voice
that set my memories strumming like
. harp. and big eyes that lit my way
back into the old epoch. l see that
Ill have to screw up the tension, and
repeat that this is Didsey's story.
IF had your manners. Wesley"
Didsey whispered, when we were back
In our own shack. I'D never stop until
! copped q girl like that fur all my
own. Amt she sunrise with trim
min's?"
She's sure sweet some." whis.
pered.
But Amt got no more style than
. blue shirt" he lamented.
might have told him that It isn't
style that gets to a white woman, but
he would have wanted to know all
about the origin Of my theory. We
were quiet a long time. was think.
Ing Of the great. gamey days when old
Arizona was new, and the women
came out from the east. as they al.
ways come to the edge of wars, for us
savages to fight for their dances and
drop weltering for their smiles. They
meant q lot to me together-the man
with the cough and the fair, 1.-the girl.
1t made me think that the west was
old-old and going out-and that the
east was still In her youth. All that
the west stood for in her prime was in
that dying man over In the gospel tent
cards that couldn't lie; drink that
brought vine leaves but no madness;
sAsS ooAA sh0S bROhC bL anu IdBIp ana
the smile that death-in-tLe-dark
couldn't twist or whiten. To the
death bed Of all this came a slip Of q
girl-out of the east.
Didsey had never known a woman,
but the ghosts Of all the fees he had
passed in trains and dreams and towns
were gathered together that night by
the presence over yonder.
What would you do for q woman
like that, Didsey?" l asked.
had ieaped aboard the very train
OF thoughts he was despatching. 'Td
be good to her." he said. "Td bring
her dresses and nuggets and posies,
an take her where she wanted to 90.
wouldn't let her do no work that
would make her hot or soil her hands.
! wouldn't boss none. an / wouldn't
drink-by Gawd. wouldn6t drink,
Wesley"
The big fellow sighed and threshed
around In the dark. knew he would