A Christmas on the Arkansas [pp. 26-40]

A Christmas on the A rkansaw.
I'm around to hear it. You see," he
added, turning to the crowd, "Dave
heard as the kid died some three years
ago, and to him it's like seeing her walk
out from under her monument, as he
says. He'lows to send her East after a
little."
A respectful murmur of sympathy
ran through the group. The Mexican
walked away cursing under his breath.
For the next few days the live-stock on
the range was somewhat neglected. The
men lingered around the few tents and
shanties that made up the camp to catch
a glimpse of a small person in a blue
dress and red stockings. The child was
shy at first, and rarely went anywhere
without her father, to whose hand she
clung tightly; but gradually the two
boys worked their way into her confidence, Jim by performing startling feats
of horsemanship on a fiery, untamed
mustang, -feats which left her cheek
colorless, and made her little heart stand
still with fright, but she was a true
woman in embryo and already loved masculine courage and boldness: then
AEneas, renewing his youth, discoursed
to her of Cinderella and Jack the GiantKiller and the Three Bears, and she took
him into favor. The scar on the face of
Jack from Montana and his general lack
of comeliness she came to overlook in
time, in consideration of a long string of
rattlesnakes' rattles which she had discovered one day hanging to the canvas
door of her wagon. Horace Greeley cut
out the bottom of the best and largest
bread pan, spent hours in rubbing it
bright, scratched a Remember Me on
it, and presented it to Miss Dolly for a
mirror. It was a masterstroke of policy.
Her father was delighted at the friendly way in which she received the overtures of the camp. It was no merit of
the men's that they found the little one
sweet amd lovable, but it was royal condescension in her to look on them at all.
As for himself, he seemed to spend half
his time in a dream of bliss, and the
other half in mortal terror lest he should
wake and find it nothing but a dream.
She rode over the range with him by
day when it was not too cold, and at night
visited the camp-fire, curling up close to
his side while the men played cards or
told marvelous tales of their prowess.
When the long-lashed lids began to close
over the dark eyes and the yellow head
nodded and then dropped against Dave's
arm, the story-teller's voice would sink
low, and the poker players almost stop
their game to see the child go to sleep,
just as easy and natural and contented,
they said, as any baby in a velvet cradle.
II.
ONE day Dandy Jim woke to the discovery that Christmas was drawing near,
he took his brother behind a wagon and
broke the intelligence to him; if both
youngsters had not felt it beneath the
dignity of cowboys in good and regular
standing to be homesick, they would
have owned to each other that they
longed for the delights of the holidays,
that they yearned to behold a bright array of gifts on the breakfast table and
to hear the merry greetings of the day.
Jim tried to subdue the quivering of his
chin, and rubbed his eyes with the leather
sleeve of his jacket; he was not thinking
of crying but the Colorado sun was so
bright, perfectly glaring. Steady sunshine for weeks and weeks might be a
good thing, but for his part he would be
glad of some variety in the weather,a little fog, a drizzle of snow, a dash of
east wind. Eneas was more of a philosopher than his brother, he reminded
him that Christmas lasted only a little
while anyhow, and afterwards school
always began again and then things
seemed worse than ever; he would like
to see the folks at home, of course,
and probably they would have given him
a bicycle this year, but what was a bicycle in comparison with a horse that stood
1889.]
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