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Show Alone we rode on the desert. 1, and my good marc "Ik-ss", When far olT In the dust blurred distance I sp'.ed a m hooncr in distress. Swift ; s t he clouds, wind driven, 0c.r sage and sand we tore And my heart boat fast with pity As on the wreck we bore, She was a prairie schooner. Listed far to one side, llcr paint was cracked and blistered. Her canvas floated wide. I peeked in through a port-hol?, '"lie place was deserted and Ir.re, No signs of human habitation. No iixhtg thing there. i Rut ii; a corner forgotten, Mifie witness of scenes long gone by, Wr.s :,oii!etiiii;g to set the heart throbbing To .,nv? sparkle and light to the eye. They must have been jolly good follows. v j That traveled this rocky main, j For to welcome a thirsty stranger, j They'd left a quart of champagne. I "Queer thing to find in the desert" I said, with a laugh and frown, For my throat was aflame with the longing, To seize it and drink the stuff down. Yet, when I reached out my hand for the boille, A vision came over my eyes, And once more I was back on Rroadway, With all that a worlding could prize. I again heard the clang and clatter, Could smell the sick odor of wine, Could see bright lights quiver and glitfer. Could feel soft hands clinging to mine. There were women with hearts like dead roses. I With lips that were made to be kissed, I With faces as fair as the- angels, And arts that no man could' resist. I I strove to fight free from their clutches. While struggling aml )anlim, rr breath-Like breath-Like drowning things crazed by their terror. Th0' tIhlr wlHi the strength of grim death. Th'e heal and the clamor were maddening, j My wine glass Ud thirstily drain. Till I shrank with a sickening shudder. ! From the odor of dry champagne. With a start. I woke from my dreaming. ;"UR,od ,,y '"' Bood mares' neigh, Quick as thought I had leaped in the saddle And was over the sand and away. j Once more a reckless cowboy i At home with the sage and skv. I W v rode alone on the desert j V'y good mare "Hess" and I j h"t; oft when the su KllIn,s holly ! Al 41 ," ,lt rasps ror raIn lf'"t lonely Hchoone'r ' ' And that of dry champagne. i |