The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1914-06-24


the pass nor of Gadsden nor OF who
would be awaiting them there. Their
talk was like that of children, incon
sequential and happy. They told Of
the times when they had seen each
other, and what they had thought; OF
the days of their childhood, before
they had met at Fortuna; of hopes
and fears and thwarted ambitions and
all the young dreams OF life.
Bud told Of his battle-scarred father
and their ranch in Arizona; of his
mother and horse-breaking brothers,
and his wanderings through the West;
Gracia Of her mother, with nothing of
her father, and how she had fiirted in
order to be sent to school where she
could gaze upon the outstanding Amer
leans Only Bud thought of the trail
and scanned the horizon for rebels,
but he seemed more to seek her eyes
than to watch for enemies and death.
They rode on until the sun sank low
and strange tracks struck their trail
from the east. Bud observed that the
horses were shod, and more tracks Of
mounted men came in beyond. He
turned sharply toward the west and
followed rocky ledge to the hills,
without leaving footprint to mark
the way of their retreat
Those hoof prints brought Bud back
from the land of dreams in which
he had been wandering to realiza-
ton Of the dangers that lurked about
them. But little way ahead was the
pass they must cross, and he sud-
denly realized that they could not
safely do SO in the broad light Of
day. He must not take such chances
of losing his new found happiness.
By the signs the land ahead was full
of bandits and ladTones, men to whom
human life was nothing and a woman
no more sacred than a brute. At the
pass all trails converged, from the
north and from the south. Not by any
chance could man pass over it in the
daytime without meeting some one on
the way, and If the base revoltosos
once set eyes on Gracia it would take
more than nod to restrain them.
So, in sheltered ravine they sought
cover until 1t was dAk, and while
Gracia slept, the heavy-headed Bud
watched the plain from the heights
above.
AS he watched he dreamed Of q
home in which this woman now sleep
Ing beside him was the queen He
dreamed Of years to come with un-
bounded happiness throughout all Of
them. Thoughts Of Phil and duty to
his pardner we're far away. Nothing
on the plain below served to distract
him from this dream Of happiness.
AS far as he could see there was
nothing that savored of danger for
the woman in his keeping. There
were no sounds or signs Of either
federal or revolutionary troops, from
both of which they were fleeing, and
from both Of which he must guard
her. Again they were in a world that
was all their own, an Eden with but
one man and one woman.
For an hour and more he watched
and dreamed. and with the dreams
came the desire for sleep, the cry of
nature for rest. Gracia stirred, then
spoke softly to him. calling him by
name, and her voice was as music
far away.
When she awoke and found him nod
ding Gracia insisted upon taking his
place. Now that she had been re-
freshed her dark eyes were bright and
sparkling, but Bud could hardly see.
The long watching by night and by day
had left his eyes bloodshot and swol-
len, with lids that dropped in spite of
him. If he did not sleep now he
might doze in the saddle later, or ride
blindly into some rebel camp; so he
made her promise to call him and lay
down to rest until dark.
The stars were all out when he
awoke, startled by her hand on his
hair, but she treasured him with a
word and led him up the hill to their
lookout. 1t was then that he under.
stood her silence. In the brief hours
during which he had slept the de-
serted country seemed suddenly to
have come to life.
By daylight there had been nothing
to suggest the presence of men.
But now as the velvet night set
tied down upon the land it brought