THE DESIRE OF THE MOTH.

By EUGENE MANLOVE RHODES.

"Well, sir, this here feller, he lit a cigarette and throwed away the match, and it went in that powder keg, and, do you know, more'n half that powder burnt up before he could put it out? Yes, sir."-Wildcat Thomp

son.

WO events occurred at Appomattox Court House on April 9th, 1865. One of them was christened Carrol McComas, but Dundee knew him as Dallas. This because the praises of that city had been the chief theme of his conversation when he first joined the Bar Cross outfit.

That had been in 1883, ten years ago, when he was a raw youngster of eighteen, whose stock in trade was a keen eye, a quick hand, a willingness to die trying, and a cheerfulness which no stress of circumstances could abate.

To this, the eventful years of his novitiate added a cool judgment, the ability to go over, under, around or through any obstacle whatever, and the poise and alertness bred of the thousand emergencies of his hazardous calling, where, on any day you chose to mention, a false move, or the delay of a fractional part of a second in making the right one, meant disaster or death.

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No mean equipment, you will say and rightly-for any walk in life. For while anyone can be a "sort of cowboy," to be a cowman right" with all that such infrequent praise means to the initiated, implies that possession of qualities, which-with the addition of a little coaching-up on the commonly accepted theories of property-would make a mark in any station, high or low.

And Dallas was "sure-lee a cowman right." Step by step he had worked his way up the cowboy's painful promotion. He had been night-wrangler, horse-wrangler, day-herder, bog-rider, water-mason, full hand, bronco buster, outside man-and now he was "top waddy "-or, if one wanted to be disrespectful, 66 straw boss."

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As the right bower is to the joker, so, and more also, the top waddy" is to the "Rod."

Wherefore, inasmuch as the average cowboy is very tenacious in his peculiar ideas of dignity, it was with some diffidence that Cole, the Bar Cross "rod," approached the project he had in contemplation as he helped drive in the bunch of strays Dallas was bringing from the Parage work. In fact, Cole's advances were so very tentative that Dallas was moved to song, by way of encouragement:

Cole laughed.

"We all went to the ranch next day,
Brown augered me most all the way,
He said cow-punching was only play,
There was no work at all;

All you have to do is ride,

It's just like drifting with the tide—”

"The fact is, Burt mixed it with that Stargazer bronc' the other day, and took second money. He broke his ribs pretty plenty, and we shipped him off to Las Cruces to get mended. All the boys are off representing, and—”

"And you want me to go to the horse-camp till the general work starts up. 'Sta bueno." And he began to sing again : "Oh, he put me in charge of the cavvyard, He told me not to work too hard,

He said there was nothing to do but guard
These horses from getting away;

I had a hundred and sixty head—"

"When you going to begin your old rodeo ?" he concluded, abruptly.

"Oh, about the tenth of next month. We'll begin out there and work through Rosebud and Good Fortune and down to the T ranch."

Muy bien, señor. I'll just take a small, short nap, and get up about two o'clock and start out. That'll beat traveling in the heat o' the day tomorrow."

"Oh, say, Dallas, just work on those broncos Burt was fooling with, will you? I guess you can get them gentle enough for the day herders. And shoe the ones that need it most. Burt left his bed out there, so if you don't want to take yours, I'll bring it out in the wagon."

"All right. I'll just take my war-sack and slicker, and won't fool with no pack."

It was cool and pleasant when Dallas saddled his horse, turned his "mount" out of the corral and drove them gaily up the road. At half past four he passed through sleeping Dundee, and turned out on the Bear Den road, keeping up the steady six-mile fox-trot. The dawn came fair and gracious, the slow sunrise flooding the broad plain behind while he rode on in the shadow of the mountains before him. He threaded his way between the hills, and at ten o'clock turned down the Bear Den draw.

He heard a commotion from behind a hill to his right and rode over to investigate. The horses kept on down the cañon to the ranch where they knew water awaited them.

He saw a bunch of pawing, snorting, bellowing, frantic cattle at the base of a boulder as big as a small house. When he

came closer he saw, perched on the farther slope of the rock, a very pretty and very much agitated young lady, a lot of scattered sketching materials and a small, penitent Skye terrier.

Dallas drove the cattle away with considerable emphasis, rode back to the rock, took off his sombrero, and said:

"You seem to be in trouble, can I help you? My name is McComas and I'm going to stay down at Bear Den with the Bar Cross horses." His private thought was, "Confound Cole's ornery hide, he ought to be killed for steering me up against this game."

The girl regarded her rescuer at first doubtfully-then with marked disapproval. Dallas had just come from six weeks' work in the Rio Grande bosques and had, as yet, been allowed no opportunity of sprucing up. Wherefore, he did not present a prepossessing appearance. His stubby beard was dusty, his brown face scratched, his shirt and gloves tattered and torn. Also he was undersized; and a life passed in ceaseless conflict with the immense, pitiless, irresistible forces of nature had left deep lines in his forehead, and fine crow's feet at the corners of his eyes. Naturally enough, the girl's inexperience attributed them to dissipation.

"It is all the fault of this wretched dog, Paderewski," she replied at length. "I was sketching, and he chased one of these cunning little baby calves. The cows ran from all directions, and he ran to me and we had to get up on the rock. Oh, how is Burt? Was he badly injured?"

"Burt? He's getting along fine. He ain't hurt none. How long have you been in a state of siege? Let me help you down." There was a quizzical expression on his face that she did not like.

"Only about half an hour," said the young lady, gathering up her sketching materials and stowing them away in her portfolio. "My mother, brother and myself are camping at Bear Den," she explained. "We're from Detroit, Michigan. Friends of the Colonel, you know. In fact, my father is a stockholder in the company. So we're out here on a vacation. Mother is accumulating health. Cecil is hunting, and I'm sketching and learning to bake bread in a Dutch oven."

"Then we are to be neighbors," said Dallas, smiling, as he helped her down. Now you get on my horse, and I'll pack

your plunder."

"No, thank you. He might not be safe, and I don't mind walking at all."

All right-neither do I. But old Calabaza is gentle as a dog." He took up the portfolio and they started down the cañon.

"You haven't been here long, have you ?"

"It's about three weeks since we reached Dundee, and nine or ten days since we came here. Perhaps you know my brotherCecil Calvert? He was out here two years ago with Henry Stirling."

Dallas nodded.

"I heard of your brother, but never saw him. The boys called him 'Frank John' for short.

Stirling, though."

The girl looked at him curiously.

Stirling ?"

"I didn't say so," said Dallas, smiling.

"You didn't like Mr.

"You mustn't, you know," with a swift, sidewise glance. "I'm engaged to him."

"How did you come to walk 'way up here ?" said Dallas, ignoring her last remark. "Haven't you got a saddle-horse ?"

"Oh, Cecil bought such a lovely horse for me and he ran off. Cecil says he'll go back to Dundee."

"Sure-if there's where he came from. It takes a long time to locate 'em. But why didn't Burt let you have a gentle horse ?"

"Colonel said none of them were safe for ladies' use."

"The Colonel tells naughty bad stories," was the cowboy's comment. "Mean old whelp-the Colonel. Didn't want you to ride 'em. Tell you what, I've got one of my own you can ride. He's as gentle as a cat and purty as a peach."

"Thank you I'll ask my brother about it," she said, with more reserve. "This is where the trail goes up to our camp. Thank you very much for rescuing Paderewski and me."

"Not at all-good day."

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Good day." And she went on up the right hand trail to the white tent under the trees.

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Humph!" said Dallas to himself. Sociable child! She might have asked me to go up to their camp."

He put in a couple of hours cleaning up the little stone hut and getting dinner. While he was washing up the dishes a shadow fell across the doorway.

'Come in," said Dallas, looking up. A tall, athletic, pleasant-faced young fellow entered and held out his hand. "Mr. McComas, I presume? My name is Calvert." "Glad to meet you. Wait till I get the dishwater off my hands and I'll shake with you. Come in and sit down."

"Bessie-my sister-told me how you got her out of a scrape. I came in to thank you for it, and to ask you to come over and see us." I've got

Dallas shook his head. "I'll come some other time.

to ride around and get the run of those horses today, and tonight I want to sleep. I left Aleman in the middle of the night. I was talking to your sister about letting her ride Tom-DickBob-"

"Tom-Dick-how much?" gasped Calvert.

"Tom-Dick-Bob-that's my private. He's perfectly reliable

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Can't you ride with us

Much obliged," said Dallas, with manifest constraint. "I am going out very early tomorrow and ride clear around the basin and find out where all the horses are running."

"How will I know Tom-Dick-Jim-Henry-Katie-Lee-and-Willie-Bunting from any other horse ?"

Dallas laughed in spite of himself. "I'll leave him in the corral for you. Just turn him loose when you're done with

him."

"Sort of a surly swine, this new man," reported Calvert. "Won't come over and see us, nor yet ride with us. It may be bashfulness, but I think it's original sin."

Dallas was coming back to the ranch late in the afternoon the next day. As he was about to turn up to the spring he became aware of Miss Bessie Calvert coming down the winding trail through the cedars. He chuckled to himself. "Guess Miss

High-and-Mighty's going to come down from her high horse. Most of these Eastern girls have a hazy idea that cowboys go on all fours and wear horns. Mebbe-so she's caught on to my walking upright and bein' half white. Hope so, anyhow. This rarin' back on my dignity don't suit my complexion."

He jumped off where the trails forked and waited for her. "Good day, Miss Calvert. I hope Paddy is none the worse for his adventure yesterday ?"

"He's recovering from the shock, thank you." she said, dimpling in the most fascinating manner. Really, it was very difficult to keep this person in his place-one forgot sometimes. 66 The pony was very nice. And I'd like to get him again." She held out her hand, "will this be satisfactory ?" In speechless wrath and astonishment Dallas saw that she was offering him a dollar. He took it with an exaggerated air of humility and gratitude. "Oh, thank you," he said sweetly. He took the coin and flung it away with a quick jerk of the wrist as if it were white hot. It flashed in the sunlight as it sailed away over the trees and fell in an ocatilla far below them. "Good day."

He took off his hat, bowed very low, threw himself into the