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Show T The Violets. H A letter with pome violets H Ah, how my fancy backward sots, H Until my brood Inn thoiiKht begets H A fn co beguiling! H Twin rosn bud lips In Cupid line: H A brow whero curls o'er droop and twlno; H Seep cycH thnt tenderly meet mine, , And aiiHwer smiling. H And fastened loosely on her breast H A bunch of (lowers! What fairer nest H Could blossoms have wherein to rest H In any weather? H To heart her dear heart bent, and know H If when I whisper so and so, H It throbs a wee bit faster oh, 1 1 wonder whether! Scenting their delicate pel fume, 1 I catch somewhat of her tmect bloom 1 A loveliness that lends a room 1 ThroiiKh which sho passes M ,. Tho wilding wlnsomencss of spring, H The vernal air and light that cling H To apple brunches bourgeoning, H And vernal grnssos. H Ah, violets, you cannot dream H How much of blessing and of beam s You bear with you joy's perfect blcnrn n Transcended never; H Oh, fragrant firstlings of tho year, H Because she loves you doubly dear, H t Your lover I, and, year on year, H Her lover ever! H Clinton Scollurd In I'uck. iISD0I-AYAf. (Copyright, 1001, by Sho looked ncross n shimmering wasto of barren sand and withered buffalo grass, from which tho heatwaves heat-waves radiated until tho distance was hazy with thorn. A few distorted cactus cac-tus plants reared their wolrd forms In tho heat, nnd hero and thoro a dead and parched mosquito bush helped to break tho monotony of tho scenery. Afar off, to tho southwest, tho tops of the mountains in Old Mexico could bo scon faintly, miles and miles away Sho liked to speculate on how pleasant pleas-ant it was beneath the tcces on their slopes where tho cool waters flowed, tho wild flowers blossomed and tho birds sang. Sho was tired and utterly weary of tho whole business. Four long years sho had lived here sho married John Hawkins back In tho stntes, and camo out to tho El Dorado ranch, where ho wns going to make his fortune raising cattle. Ho was only foreman and sho was cook for tho cowboys. Tho worst of it was, sho was regarded by htm as scarcely moro than a cook. He would como homo lato at night, gulp down an enormous supper, tumble In bod nnd snoro llko a grampus until daylight, day-light, when he would holt his break-fast'anrt break-fast'anrt start out on tho range again. Not a word of sympathy, of fellowship; fellow-ship; not a bit of tenderness, no sentiment, sen-timent, only work, work left to herself, her-self, her lonely thoughts and tho eloomy contemplation of tho dreary wnVio- 'wh.ov'b J.r.Li.- , 77 sdornctimes ho was away at nigh,-1-' and she had heard him Joking with Bomo of tho cowboys"about Klta and then no would watch her covertly out of tho cornor of his eyes to soo if sho heard, or understood. But sho did not botray herself, nnd thoy went on talking of , whero tho mescal and tho music and pulquo, and women drovo mon mad. That wns whoro Rita Btayed. Itlta waB, perhaps pretty and dainty. Well, maybo Rita did not havo to cook cook, all tho tlmo for a lot of mon, nnd wash dishes and sweep up nnd preparo for another meal whon ono was finished. That would take tho good looks away from anybody. And when John had talked of coming com-ing west, sho had dreamed of cool adobe houses with splashing fountains in tho patio of orange and lemon troos In blossom of great scarlet geranium trees and vines nnd flowersan flow-ersan indolont, easy "mnnana' sort of existence. But this,, instead. Sho looked about tho rough plank house In uttor disgust and weariness. What was tho uso of It all? What did it amount to? What was there to look forward to, except a continuation of tho drudgery? And day by day hor youth, her good looks woro slipping slip-ping from her, ground Into nothingness nothing-ness by toll of nn unremitting sort What was there left for hor, now that eho had 'found out tho bnso clay of hor John now that lovo was dead? Looked across the shimmering waste. Sho romombered a llttlo verso sho had read somewhere, in hor raor 'Impressionable 'Im-pressionable dnys, and thero was a refrain running through It at tho end of each stanza: "and tho light' of a wholo Hfo dieB, Whon lovo is done." Dally Story Publishing Co.) It kept ringing in her ears, Just that much of It. Sho could not recall the rest of tho lines. "Senora!" She turned about from tho pllo of dirty, grcjjsy dishes, and wiped tho porsplratioiS from her red faco and frowsy brow. "Oh, it's you, Rafael? Sit down." "Yob, Senoora, It me. Senor 'Aw-kins, 'Aw-kins, 'o toll mo to toll yo' ho goner Fronteras on cr business ho not come back for day or so." "All right. Rafael. Make yourself comfortnblo as you can; Lord knows it's mighty hot hero," Sho liked tho Mexican. Ho was always tho quint-essonco quint-essonco of polltcnoss to hor antlcl- "Senora, I lofe yo'." pating her every wish, and treating her with tho deferenco of a princess. Ho wns tho onlxJUie of all tho men who seomerrfo Tombmbor that she was n woman, nnd wa? hungry for sympathy sym-pathy and attention that sho was more than a cook. Something impelled impell-ed her to turn and look at him. Ho was fanning himself with his sombrero, som-brero, nnd looking at hor with a glance that was unmistakable, Ho sprang to.hls feet and took cyio of her hands, wet with the groa'sy dish water "Senora Helon I lofe yo dam my soul, but I lofo yo', ah, so much. Yo' so good, on so kind, en swoot, en so hard workod, on yo' Senor 'Awklns, ho doan' lofo yo no mo' ho lofe dat fandango sonorita down at Fronto-ras." Fronto-ras." "Rafaol , stop, you mustn't talk that way." Hor head spun a little. It was tho heat, "Senora, I lofo yo'. 1 lofo yo' t'reo year. I not mako yo' cook, on cook, dnm do cookln', come en go vamos, wl' mo, I'll mok do pcon3 do do cookln'. cook-ln'. I got bin 'dobo house way down In Durango, cool,nlco 'dobo houso wlz what you call him squirt water up In tho patio oi4 do ferns. Dn do orange, On do foeg, on do roso trees all 'bout do houso It so cool, on shady. I got land, hoap land, en cattle. I only stay 'roun' hyar 'causo I lofo yo'. Yo' como on I got do padro to marry us do padro 'way down in Durango ho know no deeferonco if Senor 'Awklns bo Hvo. Ef yo' eay So 1 go keol Senor Sen-or 'Awklns?" Ho had his arm nbout hor now, und with tho other hand ho smoothed tho damp hair back from hor forohoad tendorly. "No no, Rafaol, thnt would aovor do. But aro you sure that you would lovo mo always, and not mako mo cook and not bo moan to mo, and not mnko mo stay affiomo all tho tlmo and work nnd you would not lovo any fandango glrlsZ. "No no I hopo do good Qawd sen' mo to hoil w'on I do not lofo yo'. I lofo yo' always always, an I troat yo ns bos' I kin. Como on I catch a pony for yo' on wo got way, way down In Durango to my homo, on 'Awklns ho never find ub, Wo got dor In week. Como Holon come Iob' go now, now, down doro do mountains aro bo cool-on cool-on I lofo yo' boI't Sho listenod to him. As ho spoke sho thought of tho purplo mountains In the distance of the shimmerlnc blue Pacific waters of a lifetime's dreams utiattalnod. Sho was not old and when Bho had a rest and somo new clothes sho would bo better looking. look-ing. Insonslbly, sho know that her heart had already turned during the toil mnrked months to this "Greacer" this Mexican gentleman. At last sho bowed her hend. Sho thought of all sho had lacked, and from tho withered wastes of a heart from which lovo had faded, thoro blossomed blossom-ed anew tho flower of hopo. "I will go with you, Rafael," she said, simply. As the sun went down that ovening Its ruddy rnys glided a man nnd a woman on horseback loping steadily, swiftly, toward tho mountains in tho purplo distance. Thero was n llgnt on each ono's face brighter than that of tho sun tho light of a great lovo. "Well, I reckon she's vamosed for tho states. It was,, pretty tough on a gal ter keep her out hero In this derned shack, cookln' nil tho tlmo. Oh, well, sho can havo her fling, and somo of theso days I'll go back after her and dress her up fine and bo nice to hor to mako up for It all. Then sho'll forglt all nbout hor troubles. "Como on you fellers, we've got ter go tor Frontcrns ter git somo supper besIdQS, my llttlo Greaser gal Is anxious tor seo mo. I'll sot up tjio drinks first I'm dry as this damned sand. Whoro's the old woman? Oh, damflno. Gono back to the states, I reckon. Como on." |