Hesper (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1903. Excerpt: ... Ill Raymond of the Goldfish Ranch BARNETT'S ranch, one of his chief amusements, lay at the head of a valley surrounding a spring which was the source of Wild Cat Creek. The buildings stood just where the ravine opened out upon a grassy meadow. It was a comfortable place, shielded from the desert winds by the low hills to the north, while a small, artificial pond, gravelled and rimmed with cottonwoods and willows, gave it enviable distinction among the bleak and barren farmsteads. It seemed a very beautiful spot to those who dwelt on the unrelieved plain, for the pond overflowing upon the bog kept it green perennially; and the house, though built of cottonwood logs, was unusually large and well-kept. In brief, it was a show place--a shady spot to which lovers drove on a Sunday as to a bower. It was known as the "Goldfish Ranch," for the reason that at one time Barnett had filled the pond with ornamental fish. At about five o'clock of a hot and windless July day, a horseman galloped swiftly up the valley into the yard, and was met at the door of the house by a tall, composed young fellow in broad hat and spurs. "Hello, Perry " he said, quietly. "You made good time." Perry, a young Mexican, showed a score of his white teeth in a grin. "Here is letter. Some people coming to rancho to-night." The young man tore the end from the long envelope, and read the letter in silence. His face darkened. "Well, that's a nice case o' beans. So they're on the road, are they?" "Yes; 'bout fo' miles back." The young foreman turned towards the house, from which the faint strains of "Annie Laurie" came. A plump, light-haired young fellow of about thirty sat tilted back in his chair, with one leg thrown across the corner of the table, playing a mouth-organ. His eyes were closed ...