As I Quickened My Pace
He Looked Back, And, Seeing Me Gain Upon Him, Urged His Horse To Its
Utmost Speed.
Down hill and up hill, through grass and mud and water,
the race continued.
A sheepskin fell from his saddle, but he heeded
it not as he went plunging forward. Human beings in those latitudes
were very few, and if I did not catch him I might be totally lost for
days; so I went clattering on over his sheepskin, and then over his
wooden saddle, the fall of which only made his horse give a fresh
plunge forward as he lay on its neck. Thus we raced for at least
three miles, until, tired out and breathless, I gave up in despair.
Concluding that my fleet-footed but unamiable young friend had
undoubtedly some place in view, I continued in the same direction,
but at a more respectable pace. Shortly afterwards I arrived at a
very small hut, built of woven grass and reeds, which I presumed was
his home. Making for the open door, I clapped my hands, but received
no answer. The hut was certainly inhabited - of that I saw abundant
signs - but where were the people? I dare not get down from my horse;
that is an insult no native would forgive; so I slowly walked around
the house, clapping my hands and shouting at the top of my voice.
Just as I was making the circuit for the third time, I descried
another and a larger house, hidden in the trees some distance away,
and thither I forthwith bent my steps. There I learned that I had
been taken for a recruiting sergeant, and the inhabitants had hidden
themselves when the boy galloped up with the message of my approach.
I FIND DIAMONDS.
"For one shall grasp and one resign.
One drink life's rue, and one its wine;
And God shall make the balance good."
Encamped on the banks of the Black River, idly turning up the soil
with the stock of my riding-whip, I was startled to find what I
believed to be real diamonds! Beautifully white, transparent stones
they were, and, rising to examine them closely in the sunlight, I was
more than ever convinced of the richness of my find. Was it possible
that I had unwittingly discovered a diamond field? Could it be true
that, after years of hardship, I had found a fortune? I was a rich
man - oh, the enchanting thought! No need now to toil through
scorching suns. I could live at ease. As I sat with the stones
glistening in the light before my eyes, my brain grew fevered.
Leaving my hat and coat on the ground, I ran towards my horse, and,
vaulting on his bare back, wildly galloped to and fro, that the
breezes might cool my fevered head. Rich? Oh, how I had worked and
striven! Life had hitherto been a hard fight. When I had gathered
together a few dollars, I had been prostrated with malarial or some
other fever, and they had flown. After two or three months of
enforced idleness I had had to start the battle of life afresh with
diminished funds. Now the past was dead; I could rest from strife.
Rest! How sweet it sounded as I repeated aloud the precious word, and
the distant echoes brought back the word, Rest!
I was awakened from my day dreams by being thrown from my horse! Hope
for the future had so taken possession of me that the present was
forgotten. I had not seen the caves of the prairie dog, but my horse
had given a sudden start aside to avoid them, and I found myself
licking the dust. Bather a humiliating position for a man to be in
who had just found unlimited wealth; Somewhat subdued, I made my way
back to my solitary encampment.
Well, how shall I conclude this short but pregnant chapter of my
life? Suffice it to say that my idol was shattered! The stones were
found to be of little worth.
"The flower that smiles to-day,
To-morrow dies;
All that we wish to stay
Tempts, and then flies."
A MAN WITH TWO NOSES AND TWO MOUTHS.
I was lost one day, and had been sitting in the grass for an hour or
more wondering what I should do, when the sound of galloping hoofs
broke the silence. On looking around, to my horror, I saw a
something seated on a fiery horse tearing towards me! What could it
be? Was it human? Could the strange-looking being who suddenly reined
up his horse before me be a man? A man surely, but possessing two
noses, two mouths, and two hare-lips. A hideous sight! I shuddered as
I looked at him. His left eye was in the temple, and he turned it
full upon me, while with the other he seemed to glance toward the
knife in his belt. When he rode up I had saluted him, but he did not
return the recognition. Feeling sure that the country must be well
known to him, I offered to reward him if he would act as my guide.
The man kept his gleaming eye fixed upon me, but answered not a word.
Beginning to look at the matter in rather a serious light, I mounted
my horse, when he grunted at me in an unintelligible way, which
showed me plainly that he was without the power of speech. He turned
in the direction I had asked him to take, and we started off at a
breakneck speed, which his fiery horse kept up. I cannot say he
followed his nose, or the reader might ask me which nose, but he led
me in a straight line to an eminence, from whence he pointed out the
estancia I was seeking. The house was still distant, yet I was not
sorry to part with my strange guide, who seemed disinclined to
conduct me further.
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