Notes on Bible Texts

THE RAT'S PARTNER 633

Fall and winter, wandering through the waste places of the desert, which he knew almost as well as a sage hen does her nest, always seeking his bonanza. "Twenty-five years; yes, it is a long time," mused the man stretched by the fire. "But we're bound to find it, sure, sure, either here or on the desert, and when we do, Babe, it'll be in one great pocket, I feel it in my bones; I'll be blowed if I don't." The world, to him, was just as full of golden promise as it had been twenty-five years before; in fact, more so; for at that time he had been forced to drink from the cup of dis- appointment and drink deeply. He found solace in Nature and gradually forgot that there had been a dull drab spot in his life. — — Tomorrow next week by the time snow flew, he would — "strike it" would find his El Dorado. Babe browsed near; the fire shot up in one thin little flame before settling into a cuddling bed of coals. "Time to turn in, Babe." He spread his blankets, heavy and warm, slid down between them and slept. Long before morning touched the mountain tops with her wand of gold and rose, the aroma of breakfast was perfuming the air. His hunger satisfied, the packs diamond-hitched again, and with the sweet briar pipe whistling gleefully, they set out to follow the newly cut trail. "Go 'long, Babe. Seems strange to see signs of life here. If I remember, there is a rocky shelf a bit higher and a little mesa with a spring and a dab of good soil. S'pose some lunger has come up here in hopes of cheating Death." Plodding along slowly, they rounded a rocky promontory, and there, perched on the ledge, just as the old man had guessed, stood a doll-sized cabin. It was built of shakes and a few sapling logs. At one end rose a mud chinked chimney of rocks. A small garden was showing its fresh greenery in the "dab of good soil," below the spring. As he was debating whether to advance or retreat, the door opened and, like a picture in a frame, stood the figure of a woman. Was it surprise or annoyance on her face? The man at his distance could not determine. The tension of the situation was broken by the appear- ance of a boy child. "That's him, mother. I told you I saw him last night." The shrill treble of the little voice carried the words distinctly.