The New era-leader. (Wagner, Charles Mix County, S.D.) 1911-1912, 1911-12-01

for one a the same class, she -
manned IN silence. her veil merely
lifted enough to enable her to peer
out through the grimy window 1t the
barren view slipping slowly past. This
consisted q the bare prairie. brown
and desolate, occasionally intersected
BY some small w~atercourss, the low
hills rising and falling like waves to
the far horizon. Few incidents broke
the dead m%onotony; occasionally .
herd Of antelope appeared In the dis
lance. silhouetted against the sky
line, and inc they fairly crept for an
hour through q mass Of buffalo, graz
ing so close that . fusillade Of gums
sounded from the front end Of the
train. A little farther along she caught
. glimpse Of q troop Of wild horses
dashing recklessly down into q shell
tering ravine. Yet principally all
that met her strainfng eyes was ster-
lie d~esolation. Here and there q great
ugly water tank reared It's hideous
shape beside the track, the engine al
ways pausing for 4 fresh supply. Be-
side 1t was Invariably q pile of coal.
. few construction cars, a hut half
buried under earth. loop-holed and
barricaded. with several rough men
loaing about, heavily armed and in
Quisitive. A few Of these points had
once been terminal, the surrounding
scenery evidencing past glories by
piles Of tin cans, and al manner OF
debris, with occasionally q vacant
shack, left deserted and forlorn.
Wearisd and heartsick. Hope turned
away from this outside dr~eariness to
contemplate more closely her neigh.
bors on board, but found them scarce.
ly more Interesting. Several were
playing cards, others modify staring
out of the windows, while q few were
laughing and talking with the girls.
their conversation inano and punctu-
ated with profanity. One man was
figuring on . scratch pad, and Hope
decided he must be an engineer en-.
ployed on the line; others she classed
10 small merchants. saloon-keepers,
and frontier rin-ran. They would
glance curiously at her AZ they
marched up and down the narrow
aisle, but her veil, and averted face,
prevented even the boldest from
speaking. Once she addressed the
conductor. and the nan Yha fin.
uring turned and le-sed back a. her.
evident attracted by the soft note
Of her voice. But he made no effort
at advances. returning Immediately to
his pad, otlivious to all else.
1t was growing dark. the outside
world. now consisting Of level plains,
fading into darkness, with . few great
stars burning overhead. Trainmen lit
the few smoking oil lamps screwed
against the sides Of the car, and its
occupants became little o than
dim shadows. All BY this time were
fatigued into silence, and several were
asleep, finding such small comfort a.
was possible on the cramped seats.
Hope glanced toward the heretofore
noisy group at the rear-the girl near
est her rested with unconscious head
pillowed upon the shoulder Of her
man friend. and both were sleeping.
How haggard and CHASTITY the WON.
ans powdered face looked, with the
light just above 1t, and all semblance
of Joy gone. 1t was al though q mask
had been taken of. Out in the dark
ness the engine whistled sharply and
then came to . humping stop At soyIe
AArnrk ~%~ffnA nrhrnh ~ A
window a few lanterns Gould be seen
pickering about, and there arose the
sound of gruf voices speaking. The
sleepers inside, aroused by the sharp
stop, rolled v and swore, seeking
easier pastures. Then the front door
opened, and slammed shut, and a new
passenger entered. He came down
the aisle, glancing ~carelessly at the
upturned faces, and finally sank into
the seat directly opposite Hope. He
was a broad shouldered man, his coat
buttoned to the threat, with strong
face showing clearly beneath the
broad hat brim and lighted up with a
pair of shrewd. kindly eyes. The con-
S0AAC SAAOu&As uSQ0Cu at UlIUs
and passed on. Hope thought he
must be some of1cial Of the road, and
ventured to break the prolonged 81
lence with ! question:
Gould you tell me how long 1t win
be before we reach Sheridan
She had partially pushed aside her
veil In order to speak more clearly.
and the man. turning at sound Of her
voice. took on his hat his searching
eyes Quizzical.
+: well. no, I cant, madam" the
words coming with ! jerk. For I'm
not at all sure we'll keep the track.
Ought to make It in an hour, however.
II everything goes right. Live "a Sheri.
dan?"
! She shook her head. uncertain how
frankly to answer
J mo loss to you-worst place to live
In on earth-no exceptionsI know
been there myself three menths-get
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