The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1917-04-28

lad gwen their lives to drive the
eagle of Mexico across the Rio Grande
much of it remained forbidden land.
Even today it is alien. It is a part of
our Southland, but d South different
to any other that we have. Within it
there are no blacks, and yet the whites
number but one in twenty. The rest
are swarthy, black-haired men who
speak the Spanish tongue and whose
citizenship is mostly a matter of form.
The stockmen, pushing ahead of the
nesters and the tillers of the soil. were
the first to invade the lower Rio
Grande, and among these "Old Ed"
Austin was a pioneer. Like the other
cattle barons he was hungry for land
and took it where or how he could.
Those were crude old days; the pio-
neers who pushed their herds into the
far pastures were lawless fellows, ruth
less, acquisitive, mastered by the en-
pire-builder's urge for acres and still
more acres.
As other ranches grew under the
hands of such unregenerate owners, so
also under "OId Ed Austins manage
lnent did Las Palmas increase and
prosper 1t comprised an expanse of
rich overland backed by miles of
range where "Box A. cattle lived and
bred. In his later years when the old
man handed Las Palmas to his son,
young Ed" as a wedding gift, the
ranch was known far and wide for its
size and richness. Las Palmas had
changed greatly since Austin, senior,
painfully scrawled his slanting sigma
ture to the deed. 1t was a different
ranch now to what the old man had
known; indeed. it was doubtful if he
would have recognized it, for even the
house was new.
Alaire had some such thought in
mind as she rode up to the gate OF
the afternoon following her departure
from the water hole, and she felt a
thrill of pride at the acres of sprouting
corn, the dense green field of alfalfa
so nicely fitted between their fences.
They were like clean, green squares of
mating spread for the feet of summer
Mexican boy came running to care
for her horse, a Mexican woman greet
ed her as she entered the wide, cool
hall and went to her room. Dolores
fixed a bath and laid out clean clothes
with a running accompaniment of chat
ter concerned with household affairs.
She was a great gossip, and possessed
such talent for gaining information
that through her husband, Benito. the
range boss, she was able to keep her
mistress in fairly intimate touch with
ranch matters.
Alaire, as she 1eisurely dressed her
self, acknowledged that 1t was good TO
feel the physical comforts OF her own
house, even though her homecoming
gave her no especial joy. She made il
religious practice to dress for dinner,
regardless of Eds presence, though
often for weeks at time she sat in
solitary state, presiding over an empty
table. Tonight, Ed was at home. II
was with a grave preoccupation that
she made herself ready to meet him.
In the dining room. Ed acknowl.
edged his wife's entrance with a care
less nod, but did not trouble to re
move his hands from his pockets. As
he seated himself heavily at the table
and with unsteady fingers shook the
folds from his napkin. he said:
You stayed longer than you intend
ca. Um-m-you were gone three days
weren't your
-Four days, Alaire told him, real
sziax with little Inward start box