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

A Christmas on the A rkansaw.
His companions rode up and dismounted.
"Bless the little kid; she's blooming
as a pink," said Horace Greeley, beaming down upon her.
Rupe's eyes were wet as he looked at
her. He tried to speak, but his voice
stuck in his throat. Jack was the first
of them to notice the figure lying at their
feet.
"My God, a woman here in the snow!
He knelt down beside her, and pushed
back the thin shawl. "I tell you, she's
the one you need to look after; she's
cold as death now."
Milton made no movement. He
seemed not to hear the man's words, but
the others turned quickly. Rupe stifled
a cry as he saw the still face so white
and ghastly in the moonlight, and muttered under his breath, "The child's
mother!" Perhaps Dolly heard him.
"Paw, mamma's here, don't you see
her? She carried me off; I did n't want
to go; she don't like you and she says
you shan't have me, but you've got me,
have n't you?" She laughed gaily, and
patted his cheek with her little warm mittened hand. "When our horse slipped
on the ice and hurt himself, the Mexican
swore awful and rode away. Mamma
asked him to take me, but he said the
snow was so bad it was all he could do
to save himself,'specially as you'd be
after him. Pretty soon I got cold and
cried, then mamma took off her jacket
and wrapped me up, and first I knew I
was asleep. I love mamma sometimes,
don't you?"
Her father said nothing.
"Paw, what makes you lpok so? I'm
going to give the cloak back to mamma;
she told the man she'd die there before
he could send anybody to help her, but
she won't, will she? you came just in
time." She slid from his arms and made
her way to her mother.
"Don't rub snow on her, Rupe, she's
cold enough now; don't you know any
better? Jack, you needn't pour that
stuff from the bottle down her throat,
you'll choke her; she never drinks it
that way; she has it in a glass and says,
'Here's looking towards you, Frank,'
or may be' Charlie!' Put this fur sack
round her; that will make her nice and
warm. Wake up, mamma, wake up."'
She revived a little under their efforts
but showed no consciousness of her surroundings. They wrapped her in blankets, and Jack took her on his own horse;
then Milton, still bestowing no attention
on the mother, took the child in his arms
and they journeyed back, all of them
except the little one half dead with cold
and exhaustion.
Hours later when they reached the
camp they found a warm welcome. The
Christmas tree with its many stars shone
gloriously, and the fire was such that no
one could stay near it. Milton staggered
and would have fallen with his precious
burden; a dozen arms were reached out
to take the child. She promptly expressed a preference for AIneas, and it
was against the breast of that proud
youth that she presently leaned back
with a yawn and stretched out her toes
to the fire, while the men looked on with
worshiping eyes.
Every attention was bestowed upon
the suffering woman, but it was soon
plain that the terrible exposure had been
too great for her. She lay on a pile of
blankets, and for a long time watched
with half-closed eyes the men as they
came and went about her, painfully eager
to do something to make her more com fortable.
"Put it away; brandy can't help me
now," she said in a faint voice to Hor ace Greeley who stood near holding a tin
cup. "I'm cold all through. Call him,"
pointing towards Milton.
"Go to her, Dave; we think she's
dying," whispered Rupe, and Milton
obeyed. He looked down unpityingly
upon the beautiful face of the woman
who had ruined a happy home and made
his honest name a reproach.
1889.]
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