Argosy All-Story Weekly, July 1, 1922 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

WHISPERING SAGE. but there was none of that shy, languid manner about her he had so often observed in the women of her race. The sight of the crying boy, the strug- gling girl, the fishing-poles, and the pathetic little string of fish warmed something with- in him. He had turned his back on child- hood and the comforts of a sheltered life years and years ago, yet he loved children. How poignantly this fishing-party brought back ‘his own boyhood! How he envied the thoughtless little beggar on the burro! He would have loved to roll up his breeches and wade in and fight the burro with them. Neither the girl nor the boy had seen him. Suddenly the girl slipped, as she tugged at the rein, and sat down uncere- moniously in the water. Blaze laughed out- right at that, and then, unmindful of his clothes, jumped in and picked her up. Mercedes had been quick to hear his laugh, and almost as quick to retort. Now that the stranger held her in his arms, how- ever, and she could see the twinkle in his friendly eyes, a feeling of awe and embar- rassment filled her. Unconsciously she tried to draw her wet dress about her bare legs. ‘When Blaze had set her on the bank, he smiled despite himself. Mercedes’s intui- tion told her there was only kindliness back of that smile. She felt her own mouth re- lax, and they both laughed. Fifty yards away he had thought her beautiful; mow that she was so near he found her entrancing. The finely carved nose, her well drawn chin—yes, he looked away and remembered them; but the thing that set his heart heat- ing was not her face or her flashing eyes; it was the unbroken, unsophisticated spirit of her. He had lived in the wilds, and knew its creatures well enough to sense in her a vague similarity to them. His discovery of her and the ensuing in- cident had taken only a few seconds, but even so he had half guessed who she was. He saw that the little fellow was blind. It served to bring Melody’s words back to him. ‘You are not frightened?” he asked. ““Oh, no, senor,’’ she answered with a smile. ‘“ But the baby—see?” 813 “Tl get him off in a second; then we’ll try to persuade the burro.” Blaze waded out to get the boy. As he reached up his hands to lift him he spoke. “ Here we are, Basilio,” he said. ‘ Don’t drop those fish now.” Mercedes felt a delicious thrill pass through ther as she listened to his voice. She saw her brother wrap his arms about the big man’s neck. It came back to her then as a second thought that he had ad- dressed the child by his name. And yet the man was a stranger. She had never seen either him or his horse in the valley before. Basilio had stopped crying. Something in Blaze’s voice reassured him. And then, too, Blaze had emphasized what to the boy was the most imperative need—to save the fish. A second later he set him on his feet beside his sister. “There we are,” he said with a laugh, ‘“‘ safe and sound, fish and all. Now we'll make Mr. Burro move.” He drew his six-gun and, holding it back of the animal’s ears, pulled the trigger. The burro leaped for shore as if he had been shot out of a cannon. ‘Ha, Capitan! Por Dios, you move quick enough now,” Mercedes trilled. Capitan stood on the bank, waving his long ears in Blaze’s direction, apparently determined that he would not be taken by surprise a second time. Wet, but laughing and happy, Kildare waded ashore. The girl regarded him with a smile as he stood before her, the water pouring from his clothes in tiny streams. Her eyes caused Blaze to look down at himself. He was a sorry sight. “ Shucks,” he said, ruefully; “ now I’ve gone and got my feet all wet.” Mercedes had pulled on her shoes and stockings, and now, while one arm was around Basilio, with her free hand she sought to tuck her rebellious hair into place. “ Did the man shoot Capitan?” the child asked timidly. | “What, shoot that good twelve-dollar- and-a-half burro? No, sir!” Blaze assert- ed. ‘I just creased his ears for him. When you say arre to him, now, he’ll move.” ‘‘ Senor,” Mercedes asked, “ how you know the baby’s name?” comicloool C©