Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-08

Gerry looked upon his guest with new
| wonder as he handed back the clipping.
Kemp put 1t away carefully, rolled fresh
| cigarette and blew thick puff of smoke
| out into the moonlight Cant say it's
! po'try and | can't say II amt All l
| know is 1t roped me. l know that writer
| feller never munched no mangoes, cause
mangoes don't munich. l know he never
sat on no wall an heerd catfish callin'
cause catfish don't call But he seen It
all, stranger, jest the way he writ IL
down, an I ben dreamin' purple cities
ever sence / read his scrced."
Did you start right out to look for
them"' asked Gerry gravely.
Nav" said Kemp, ~ didn't have
nothin' TO 20 on. But one day drum
mer feller thet | was stagin' across the
White Mountains give me plant maga-
zine, and it had an article on commercial
orchids with pictures in colors
"Thcy was mostly kinder pu'plish an
reckon 1t was that what got me started.
It was the foreman pointin out my mount
to me an didn't lose no time. drapped
my rope on him an I've been ridin' him
ever sence."
"Found any purple cties?"
mot rightly. I seen cm-more'n once.
But I guess purple cities is always yon
side of the mountain You can't jest ride
up an put your brand on 'em. They're
born mavericks and they die mavericks.
An say, good luck to EN-" Kemp rose,
tossed away his cigarette end and stood
leaning with crooked elbow and knee
against veranda pillar His keen
aquiline features and deep-set eyes were
lit up by the moonlight and seemed
scarcely to belong 10 his great, loose
jolnted frame. He was loose-jointed but
like flail-strong and tough. There's
one thing about the purple cities" he
added. "the daylight always beats you to
'em jest like in the POM" He turned
and went off to bed.
Gerry sat on in the moonlight seized by
a strange sadness-the sadness the spirit
feels under the troubled lowering of the
unattainable and the mirage. Life had
queer turns. Why should a cowboy start
out to look for purple cities? 1t was
grotesque on the face of it but, beneath
the face of it, it was not grotesque.
Margarita stole out to seat herself be-
side him. She slipped her hand into his.
She was worried. She was always wor-
ricd when Gerry's thoughts were far
away. "The Man" she said, for thus she
had Chrstened her baby boy from the
day of his birth, "the Man sleeps He
cried for thee and thou didst not come.
So he slept, for he Is a man."
Gerrys thoughts came back to his lit
tie kingdom He sighed and then he
smiled smile of content. ut is late
then, my fowcr?" He put his arm around
her. LET us go to bed, for tomorrow
there is work"
Tomorrow there is always work." said
Margarita. at am not afraid of work
Geree. The end of work never comes. 1t
is the things that end that make me
afraid" She, too, had felt the flutter-
ing wings of the unattainable. Unknow-
ingly she stood beneath the shadow of
the strangers purple citys walls.
The next day Kemp tried honestly to
help Gerry with the tilling of the SOIL
but the effort was still-born. Kemp had
almost forgotten how to walk and his
high -heeled boots fell foul of every hum
mock. 'Look'y here Mr.. Lansing" he
said after half an hours toll, "ain't there
10 colts-bad uns-you want backed nor
calves to brand? This here diGGin' wakes
up the rheumatic in my j'ints."
what about milking the cows?" sug-
yested Gerry.
Kemp actually bIushed. He cast a quick
glance at Gerry to see II this was some
weak wlttlcism to be promptly resented,
but was reassured by the surprise in
Gerry's face. Stranger" he said, 81
amt never touched no COW with my
hands. If you want 1 should rope 'em
an hog-tie 'em, I'm your man, but some
missus will have TO take the milk away
FIN EN-"
Gerry threw back his head and laughed,
but his laugh was stoppeu SNORT ny the
CLINT in Kemp's eye.
"That's all right, Kemp" he said. 1.-THE
missus is milking them, right now.
What's the matter with you just taking
q holiday? You've done a hard ride and
1t won't hurt you TO have a loaf"
Kemp wandered off to the house with
solemn face. When Gerry came in to the
midday meal, he found him with a saddle
dropped on the arm of a bench giving
the delighted swaddled heir to Fazenda
Flores his first lesson in equitation.
That night they sat again on the
veranda steps, but Kemp was not talk
ative, He whitfield a stick until it dis