She stopped in mid-stream, while Jimmie got his
bundles into his "bark" and shoved off, amid a hail of "good-byes."
The engine palpitated, the big wheel churned the water astern, and we
drew away. Jimmie bent on his paddle with the quick body-swing habitual
to the Indian, and after a time grew a speck on the reflection of the
red sunset in Temiscamingue.
The Abwees sat sadly leaning on the after-rail, and agreed that Jimmie
was "a lovely Injun." Jimmie had gone into the shade of the overhang of
the cliffs, when the Norseman started violently up, put his hands in his
pockets, stamped his foot, said, "By George, fellows, any D. F. would
call this a sporting trip!"
THE SOLEDAD GIRLS
"TO-NIGHT I am going down to my ranch--the Soledad--in my private car,"
said the manager of the Mexican International Railroad, "and I would
like the Captain and you to accompany me."
The Captain and I were only too glad; so in process of time we awoke to
find our car sidetracked on the Soledad, which is in the state of
Coahuila, Mexico. The chaparral spread around, rising and falling in the
swell of the land, until it beat against the blue ridge of the Sierra
Santa Rosa, miles to the north. Here and there the bright sun spotted on
a cow as she threaded the gray stretches; a little coyote-wolf sat on
his haunches on a near-by hill-side, and howled protests at his
new-found companions; while dimly through the gray meshes of the
leaf-denuded chaparral we could see the main ranch-house of the Soledad.
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