SHORT STORY

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 6962, 30 October 1909, Page 2

SHORT STORY

PRAIRIE KALPH (By Lawrence Mott. in "Pall Mail Magazine.") 1.-THE LIE. Far 1 out on the undulating, seared prairie a solitary horseman sat moodily in his saddle, gnawing listlessly .at the end of his quirt. His pony's head drooped in an attitude of dejection. "My God, will it ever rain?" Prairie Ralph looked up at tho skies as lie muttered. One vast smothering glare of heat they seemed, and the sun was as a huge coppery ball whoso merciless rays sifted through the atmosphere, blasting the very Ground. Cattle everywhere, some staggering m tho last nsonies of death by thirst, others lowing pitifully, and numberless others fallen in grotesque heaps, above which swarms of vultures and buzzards circ od slowlv, their ceaseless evolutions dizzying the eye. Thev knew the feast that awaited them, but they feared the grim figure on the iarrovo-top. . ~. "My God!" he whispered again, pulling the sombrero further over his face. On and or. and on, fading away as a heaving -sea dwindles at the horizon iho interminable brown and ugly grey o. the baked soil vanished mysteriously, apparently blending ittelf with the heavens. Nothing moving save the tortured beasts—not a sound but that of thensuffering. As though in mockery of it; all, the pebbles of the arroyo bed glis-i tened and shono whore the water that should be there had polished their surfaces. . "There'll be none left m two days* more, unlessH " He stopped; Bobs,, .tearless sobs shook his frame. "What ia»-onv!" he burst out; "I'd sell my soul, ,I'd Tie, steal, kill, to stop this!" Tho passion in his voice roused ,tlie pony. It looked at him and whinnied very, softly. "Dick, old man, I believe you know, too. I*t's go home." Snaffle lying loose, the pony turned apathetically to the wefit'ard, and brokej into a weak iope. Through what was ( left of a magnificent herd it kept on, tho man almcst dreamily counting tho •dead and dying on his right side. "Threo hundred, one—two—five—eight' '—nine—eight. . . . Guess I must be going the samo road! Can't even count!" 1 Sweat poured from him, spotting the silver-mounted horn of his deep sadd'e, soaking into -the lariat that was: coiled over it. Slower and slower became the lope, then down to a walk. Prairio Ralph dismounted, uncorked, water-bottle, then, thumb over its neck,, he shook it. The small amount of litvr'd gurgled. The pony heard, and rubbed its muzzle gently on the roan's sleeve. Craving water, whose very pound made 1 the craving worse,' Prairie Ralph hesitated. Tho pony edged nearer, and shyly held up its off fore-foot. "She taught you that, Dick; the water is yours!"

Inserting the neck of the bottle between the teeth,' he poured slowly, the pony rigid with gratification. "There, old man; "that's all—every drop—and forty miles to go!" Into tho west they went, facing the killing heat; past gophers' villages—but the cheery little barks and scamperinge were stilled, and lithe brown bodies lay motionless about tho burrows.

At last, reeling in his saddle, brain scorced in his skull, Prairie Kalphdropped to tho ground before a long low building—his "squatter" home. The sun had long gone, but its heat, radiated suffocatingly from the grouna. Glimmering, dancing to his eyes, the. stars shone with metallic ferocity; even their light seemed hot. Not a cloud, not a breeze, not a. sound.

He wearily uncinehed, dragged tho' bridle from Dick, and turned him loose.

"There's nothing, old man—nothing but death now—unless " '

Dragging one foot -afteir the other, he crawled up the short steps. "Elsie?" Silence. ■'Elsie?" The b-z-z-z-z-z of green-bottle flies answered him. He struck a. match.

Her long fair hair tumbled about her faco and shoulders, the g'rl he lo*ed, his wife. lay stretched en the v-ide bunk in the corner, one tim ha: ging limply over the edge. With a groan and a curse ho shook her gently, half afraid of it:e rct-ult. She opened her eyes. "4ny clinic?— chance —of ?" she whispered. ".None!" he answered, and scuffed the end of his red handkerchief in his mouth to choke back strangling sobs.' With, that great unfathomable love inherent in woman, she understood h'S pain; forgetting her own suffering, she sat up. "There's a glass—of—of—water in the chest, Hoy," she faltered. ' "I saved it for yon." Ho sprang at her roughly. "When did you drink last? I've been gone mvo days ! Answer me!" "Don't, Ralph: you hurt—please don't."

"Answer me!" She could not lie. to him. "Test--yeaterday."

Ono bound, and ho was at the chest, had the glass of precious water in his hand, then back hy her side. "Drink!" "Oh, Ralph, as you lovo me : you need it niore than I do; please—oh.my God!" He had seized her, forced her lips apart and poured the -water down. The ecstasy of satisfied Nature was too great. She fainted, a tiny smile dimpling the haggard cheeks. He dashed the glass to the floor, its crash and tinkling breaking the stillness weirdly.

He stared round the neat interior with minute care. The flour-barrel was there, full; bacon hung from the (rafters, uncut; the bags of potatoes and onions •wfir'.i in place, practically untouched; coffee and tea urns wkev.-> they l-eionged; all neat and clean. And by tho door the shining wator-poils, glistening strangely—empty. Ho flung himself on tho floor. "And now then? What's next?" Wafer! water!

Every sin»w, *&ah irt-rro, Itii whol* beiuff wfll bwaff torn apart, »o it »»£tned to hku, by tho av.-ral loosing. His only peaiw—minute enough—was to haeir her breathing, softly and »«£ulaxly. "I can't last, hut she may! Oh. mercy, God, mef«y!" He screamed the last word; she did not move.

Slowly at first, then foster and faster, his mind wandered. He had hallucinations that he was home in England

again, 'mid the Kentish bills; he heard water running, babbling ovor moss-cov-ered rock, and saw its loam as it tumbled down into deep sparkling pools. Yes, and he could bathe his hands in it . instead ho convulsively opened and shut them on the hard, hot boards. The hours passed on. Sometimes he was unconscious, sometimes abnormally alert. During one of these sane moments he rose suddenly as the sound of hoofbeats came thudding over the priarie. A horse and rider, silhouetted against the dawn, appeared. "Hide me, Ralph ! They're after me!" Bleeding from a wound in his shoulder and a deep gash over his eye, Tom Watte lurched in.

Senses keen, Ralph stared at. him: "Who's after you? What is it?" "Shot—shot Al Hayman day before—before yesteday. He had plenty of—of water from—his—his damned well, and mt-2ny cattle, my wife an' kid arc dy—dying. The. devil laughed at—at me an' I kil—killed him! The Mounteds (R.N.W.M. Police) aie cloec—hellish close—be—behind. Hide me!" A stern look came over Prairie Ralnh's face; tho other saw it, and crawled to him.

"■I know you're trus —trusted by th' Police, Ralph, 'cause ye've never—noveir lied to 'em nor to nob —ody; but Ralph, I'm hit. hard, nn' my wife's dyin', Ifjilpli —dyin' 1 What's to become of—of—of her" if they"get me?"

Silence. Then the other began again; the same tense expression on Prairie Ralph's face. "God'll reward ye, Ealph—if there be a God; an' if thetfe ain't, well—well, some —body will lift—a hand for ye when ye nopds it—it most. I'm all in, Ralph, an' dono!"

Walts sagged to the floor in a heap. Prairie looked out into the growing blazing light with that same curious tensity.

Not* a cloud anywhere; nothing but the unerring forecast of another: murderous day. And as lie stared his own words came back to him of the day before: "I'd lie, steal, bill, to stop this." Something moving yonder? Yes, one, two, four, five! The Police! AVith a quick motion he picked Watts up, carried him to tho bunk and put him beyond the girl. Sho wakened. "What is——?" "Quiet, Elsie: bo asleep; don't wake whatever you hear!" Trusting implicitly, sho closed hei eyes. Ho sat down on the sill. "Nearer and nearer came tho moving figures till they drew up before him. "Hello, Ralph! Hell, isn't it?" Corporal Dickson said, adding sympathetically : "Passed through your cattle last night; they're holding out better'n most, but dying fast. Got any water?"

.. Ralph shook his head. ' "Here, Jack, fetch up your jug. Thought you'd bo shy, so 1 brought along a bit for you!" With tho ravening of an animal, Prairie Ralph seized tho vessel, rushed into the big room and poured again down his wife's throat, drinking himself afterwards.

The unspeakable bliss 'weakened every fibre of his body. There was a bit left. ''Dick!" ho whistled through parched lips. The pony stumbled forward, and he gave it the rest, dropping the jug. The police were sorry for him. They knew what tho awful drought meant. lOften when on patrol they had stopped overnight at his home, and he told them of his struggle to make tho cattle pay track his all that he had invested. This iwaa to have been tho banner year, and now !

"It don't seem right, Kalph, that ye should_ be. hit,so hard. Ye've always clone right and gone straight; damn me lit it ain't a hell of a shame!"

Prairie Ralph pulled himself together by an effort as he saw the figure beyond the girl on the bunk move. "What brings you boys into this furnace?"

The Coirnoral sighed, lighting his pine. "Nasty job, Ralph. Tom Watts killed Alf ITayman two days ago; deliberately shot him. Not that I'm blamin' Tom Watts, because Hayjnan's selfish 'bout his water; but law's law, an' orders come from the Commissioner yesterday to 'get him.' You know what that n'eans, Ralph."

The other nodded, glancing involuntarily at the bunk.

One of the police followed his look. :'"Phe missus bad, too?" Real tears came to tho ranchman's jeyes; he did not answer. Out of sympathy no one spoke. The Corporal broke the silence with nn ,awkwair3 cough. "Well, well, Ealph, it must rain soon; •think of that,, man. By tho way, he haven't seen anvtkin' movin' in the shape of—of ?" "No." Ealph lied doggedly for the ■first time in his life "I .haven't seen him."

"We got his track in what's left ol the mud at Ilickford's Gulch, an' he was headin' this way, so I thought we'd drop across an' bring ye tho water at tho same time. Most likely Tom 'll .head it for th' American Line, but he ■started off wounded by Bentley, who's been shifted to th' Lower Run, an' Tom had no water, so we'll find him " he paused, then added slowly, "somewhores ; but I guess he'll have 'cashed in.' His poor wife, too." Tho far figure on the bed stirred. "Water! Water!"

The Corporal started as Ralph jerked lis v/ater-bottlo free. "Why, that sounds like

"Here, Bill, here you are, and plenty of it."

As the wounded man drank, Prairie Ealph turned his head. "New man 1 'took on. Lot of use he is now! Comes .from Calgairy way." "Oh-h-h." Tho ranchman's eyes never wavered under the Corporal's keen stare. "I see," the latter said distinctly; then, "Come on, men; we'll be movin* on."

As they filed out with quiet good-byes and ""better luck," so as not to disturb the girl, Ralph watched dully. The Corporal reached out his brown wiry hand and whispered, "Ralph, you'ire white! God give yon rain!"

When the sound of their Tiorsos' feet had died away, and the sight of the bobbin? figures had vanished blurredly in the heat-waves, .1 roaring burst in Ralph's ears; everything whirled round him, ajid he fell a sonseless mass.

Ihe girl opened her eyes. Seeing him on the floor, slio cirawled to him. I "Enlph! Ealph!" | She, too, fainted again. . | The afternoon wore on, all three in ' the stifling interior like so many corpses. At sunset a terrifying change came ever the brilliant heavens. At first, as an ink line on the horizon, a bank of cloud appeared. It rushed forward darkening everything, blotting out the western ski&s; and then, with a vicious hiss-5-3 and long-drawn wail of wind, tho rain came, while peal upon peal of gigantic thunder rolled and volleyed and wchoed, shaking the low building. U"lv shafts and jagged lines of lightning dart-' ed everywhere, and water came in solid sheets. It trickled through the sunwarped, shingles, and a stream fell on Ralph's face.

Ho sat up. His eves became terroretneken. "Oh, my God! not madness. Let m.e die, Tnit not madness!"

Still the stream poured on him. Yes. it wan wet—wet! He rcreauwd aloud now.

"Elsie!" ranting, he draped lwr outside, and stretched her flat.' fnoe up , "Tom! Come, man ! Rain ! liain !" Heedless of the other's wounds and his own weakness, ho got him too out into the fearful downpour. Then every bucket, pail, cup, saucer, that he could find in his delirious joy h» put out. "Elsie, girl* ea» yo* f««l it " "Yes, Boy: thank Ood, thank Bed \" ' "Can you h«ar mef" "Yes."

He told her Tom's story, and how he had lied. She was sil«nt for a moment. "This must be the answer, Boy,". ira» all she said.

Watts crooked himself on his. good arm. "I said that Somebody would hold out a helpin' hand, didn't J.Ralph? He's gone an' done it.'' The threo sat there, Elsie's head on the big ranchman's shoulder, while the water soaked into their bodies and the seared blood in their veins cooled. "Thank God!" the girl whispered peacefully; then she added, "Do you think Dickson knew?" Ho did not answer. And fctill it rained.