El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-07-25
oily" the Texas Ranger
(By S. ]. Adams of Dallas Tex)
(By S. J. Adams of Dallas, Tex)

and of his life previous to his joining
0ur COMPANY f1 PSn m l hne" than the
And so 1 lay stretched out in one di-
rection. while he lay in another, and 1
stIoIed the man, while I watched the
play Of his features, and wondered at
the changes that came over his face.
twenty-five years old. according to
! the rolls of the company, five feet 10
inches high, weight 142 pounds, heavy
black hair, with black bushy eye brOws,
and large gray blue eyes This much
l knew, and no more, and 1 knew as
much as the captain knew, or any other
member of the company.
As l studied the man change came
over his face, and 1 saw him as 1 had
never seen him before. The old reckless.
grim, determined look 1 knew so we'll
suddenly passed away; the face of the
man was replaced by that of boy, and
with longing eyes he looked out into
gaze al a picture, the work OF a master,
or at some far away object elevated
and unattainable.
What is it, Polly?" 1 thoughtlessly
asked. ITO what do you refer?" said
he, looking me in the eyes with the
face of the ranger.
What were You thinking about?'
said 1. why do you ask, Shag?" said
he.
Because, Polly, 1 don't like the look
that came over your face just now"
replied. L don't like it, Polly, and
am here 10 tell you So
4 hardly understand you, Shay" said
he, perhaps you will be kind enough to
en.ighten me-"
Polly said L 1.-The dream age is be-
hind you and me, and when we buckIed
on these Colts reYolvers W did so to face
LIES grim realities, we are here for a
purpose, and We have no right to turn
lack to the past
How far did we ride last night.
Shag?" said he, looking me in the face
in a way to command my attention.
Why, let me see," I replied, noting in
my mind the points of interest passed.
Seventeen, IS Sc, IL, 80 miles, Polly,
as near as l can figure it out, why?"
"Fifty-two miles, he replied. We'll,
that is just about correct Silently we
rode those % miles, for it was policy to
make as little noise as possible. How
many eyes do you suppose looked long
ingly upon us as we rode along the
way? How many panthers looked down
upon US, how many lobOs, and how
many devils, with guns in their hands
stood grating their teeth and shaking
their cowardly fists at US as We passed
them by? Look there now" continued
ne, pointing to a giant prickly pear
standing some seven or eight feet away
Look at that fellow lying coiIed up un-
der that cactus-he has been watching
me and I have been watching him ever
since / lay down here" and following
the direction of his finger I saw a great
fat lazy looking rattlesRa<e, with head
erect, and coiled ready for a spring
Now by chance" continued Polly, L
lay down just a few feet out of his
reach and if 1 had not he would have
had his fangs buried in me long ago.
Next time 1 may not be so fortunate In
the murderous scoundrels we are after,
Shag, even today, there is but little
danger, we dread them not. neither you
nor I, because we know them. we can
see them, we can face them-but the I'M
known and therefore unavoidable dan
gers surrounding us and hemming US in
from every side, would, it appears to me,
cause the most reckless man among us
to pause and to think seriously upon
the life we lead once in awhile
You spoke of a change in my fea-
lures, just now, perhaps there was a
change just for a moment, and I will
say this 1 have seen the same look on
the face of every man who amounts to
anything in this little old hard lot COM
pany of ours, I've seen it on your face
many time. You may not understand
it but I do. There is a history back of
every man on McNelly's rolls. That
history is a sealed book, and, Shag, I for
one would hesitate some time before
breaking that seal
MY history is closed, but the book is
not yet sealed, can open it if 1 so de-