Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine — page 105: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

| lexas « fever PY Charles V. Barney CHAPTER XVIII—(Continued). THE. URGE OF A DREAM, S Mary Ann gazed down upon the form of her husband he looked so gigantic stretched on the ground she wished she had married a smaller man or that she had more than a woman’s strength. For she had determined to get him upon her horse. : The poor beast was almost dead for want of water. There was no near-by stream and the animal had had nothing except the moisture that he had licked as he grazed on the leaves and short grass that grew close to where he was tied. Mary Ann had not dared to hobble him and leave him even that much freedom because she felt that in the horse lay their only hope of reaching Nacogdoches. She attempted to rouse Fred from his stupor, but it was useless. She then got to her feet and covered her shaking limbs with the garménts which had been over her husband during the night. She ate break- fast, which made a sad hole in the provi- sfons she had brought with her. But she was ravenously hungry and now that she had got the chilled blood to circulating in her veins she felt equal to anything. However, another look at Fred made her doubt her powers. “Still,” she comforted herself, ‘the good God who has helped me so far will not desert me now. Only I wish I had two horses instead of one.” She brought her own horse close beside. Fred, and roused him sufficiently, so that he could aid her a little; and so with infinite difficulty, she succeeded at last in getting the body of the man she had so unselfishly cared for, upon the back of the horse. Once there she tied him in place. She knew that she was hurting the poor sufferer, but he seemed to realize that she was doing all she could for his benefit, because he made no outcries and seemed to strive to wince and groan as little as possible. Sometimes he would open his eyes and look vaguely about him, but there was no recognition for her or anything else in their glassy depths. The struggles of mounting had caused Fred’s wounds to break open, and Mary Ann was terrified to see the wid- ening spots that soon completely covered the bandages. However, she strove not to look at them and, leading the horse, she turned her face towafd home. At the first stream she wa- tered the poor animal and resumed the jour- ney. She had her compass and felt sure that it would prove a trusty guide. But the big question was could Fred live to make the journey? She hoped so, she earnestly prayed so; but at such times the candle of faith burns low and Mary Ann was far from being a devout person. She had learned to pray as she had learned to read and do sums in arithmetic, but even Thetis Carrington had found fault with the girl’s knowledge of mathematics! The day wore on. Mary Ann was certain that she suffered more than the man tied on horseback beside whom she tramped. But, alas! she did not have the blessed balm of unconsciousness to relieve her suf- ferings. This story began in The Argosy for March 8. 447 commiclooolks.conn