" . . .
My Colorado Bedroom. ,
M If
c'I - - - ,
: , ' ' " , My ' Colorado bedroom has no lhnll to Its
wall ,
Ita root Is In the heavens , and the heavy
. . dewn that fall
Sprinkle floor and lawn and carpet , paint
the colors In the rose
That blooms around 'my bedroom and
blossoms In the snow
: My Colorado bedroom hI as broad as It Is
long ,
. .rl" ' . It was built by the Creator with foundations -
"I ) ' , . - - lions deep and strong ;
, V God Almighty laid the corners , spread
the carpet on the floor
That change as the seasons change with
I everythlllg outl1ool'
I My Colorado bedroom has no lock upon
I Its door ,
: No curtains on Its I windows and no
I chairs upon Its floor ;
: . The smoke goes through the ceiling and
I ns 1 rest tram care
I'll never find a sweeter place when I get
I I "over there. "
' My Colorado bedroom Is out In the open
. . ' air
Thert's no mortgage on Its freehold and
no landlord anywhere ; .
r:4f. The snow blows through the attic , but
t - - the sun shines In the door
i Bitted down through angels' lingers and
r spread out upon the lIoor.
f
My Colorado bedroom Is very dear to me
With the silent stars above it shining
- . like an astral sea ,
o. And when this life is over and the pearly
A . gates I sec ,
( & - May I rest within Us bosom ; It is heaven
. " enough for me.
-Denver Post.
t r
t {
THEMILK INTHECOCOANUT
By KENNETT HARRIS
( Copyr bt.1905.br Dslir story 1'ob.Co. )
1
On one social occasion Trooper WH-
Ham J. Jones made a public declaration .
tlon that be could whip to a rich
creamy froth any gentleman there
present and that any lady within
Bound of his voice was his to have
and to hold , whensoever he chose to
exercise his sovereign will.
The gentlemen present numbered
, perhaps twenty-five or thirty , and It
' was not their usual habit to disregard
t any challenge of this character , but
Trooper William Jones , six feet three
: I inches In his government socks , bull-
\ . throated , bullet-hended and with muscles .
I cles of might , jumping up and down
on the fiddler's platform , his eyes blaz-
Ing In alcoholic 'frenzy , his knotty
fists waving and lunging , was so grizzly .
zly and menacing an object that they
let the boast pass In lofty silence.
As for the ladles-well , perhaps the
. less said about them the better.
The Incident , however , Illustrates
1. the fact that Trooper William J. Jones
was addicted to drink ; further that
when he had Indulged In this form oft
vice he became aggressively pugnacious .
clous and particularly amorous. It
t .
, goes without saying that he was the
t cock of his company , and Company
D had some pretty husky men In Its
ranks too.
.
,
l\ \ . ,
lIfl
\
i
Ifl
'I
:1 : 1
'
I 6 .
" ,
I
l if ;
.
Jumping Up and Down.
One midsummer afternoon Trooper
Jones decided that he was superior to
military discipline. He was assisted
to this conclusion by a little yellow-
faced 'man ' In Indecently tattered can-
vas trousers who came Into camp with
a certificate of good character from
\J \ the Cuban general and a gunnysack
full of green cocoanuts. He presented
) . 1he captain and lieutenants of Com-
r Corn-
I
- . .
parry D with a cocoanut apiece and
they found the milk so mild and rev
freshlng that they hud no hesitation
In permitting the little 'cllow.facod
man to peddle the fruit around the
camp. Trooper William J. Jones pur-
chased cocoanut and he found the
milk so stimulating that he declared
his Intention of getting more of It , and
rose with the evident purpose of look-
Ing for the 'ellow.faced man.
"Sit down , you damned fool , " said
his bunltle. " 'ou're drunk enough now.
He's five miles off by this time. "
"You lie , " retorted Trooper Jones.
"Tho measly cocoanut didn't hold
more than a pint an' you drunk a
third 0' that , you grinnln' , ganglln' ,
spider-legged tnnlt. Tell me I'm
drunk on a half pint of new rum and
I'll make you swaller the heel o' my
boot. I'm goln' to glt some more it
I foller Mister Dago Amigo to hell
or Santiago "
Their shelter tent was within three
lurches and a stagger of the manlgua ,
at least those. evolutions took Trooper
William , J. Jones Into It and a moment
later the mottled and scarlet land
crabs were scuttling before his uncer-
tain feet as he steered .for the Sevilla
trail. -
Now It so happened that Dolores
Teresa Noyam r : Vadas had In this
unlucky hour decided to visit her sister '
tel' , Maria , at her little red.tIled house
on the outskirts of Sevilla. She had
no Idea that there was any risk attending -
tending the proceeding , for she was
a good patriot , and was not the presence .
ence of the generous and br.'lVe Amer
Icanos a sufficient guarantee that no
Spanish guerillas were In the neigh-
borhood ? So she mounted her little
donkey and set off. Right by the
spreading mango at the gate of the
Bendlzo plantation , at which point she I
entered the trail , she was delighted
to see Trooper Jones.
That Is , she was delighted at first.
She was a little bit of a flirt , was Dol-
ores , black , but comely , and the blackness .
ness didn't count in the province of
Santiago. When she first recognized
the khaki uniform and noted the
splendidly proportioned , almost gigantic -
tic form It clothed and caught the
bold , admiring look of Trooper Jones'
dark eyes , she showed her white teeth
In an inviting smile. But when she
saw how .he lurched In his gait and
the tumbllng haste with which he
approached her , the smile faded away
and she smote the little donkey vigor-
ously.
"Hold on , Senorita Peacherlno ! "
cried Trooper Jones , grasping the
donltey's bridle as It began deliberately .
ately to get under way , 'Valt for me ,
honey gal. Don't be scared , " he con-
tinued encircling her generous waist
with his arm , "I'm heap plenty amigo
an' you're just my slze-sabe ? Here ) !
Whu's matter ? I ain't goln' to hurt
you-jest want to love 'ou. Quit your
foollshln' an' let me pet you "
She screamed , and buffeting his bullet -
let head with both hands , strove In
vain to escape. Trooper William J.
Jones laughed and relinquishing his
hold on the donltcy's bridle , lifted her
easily out of the saddle and carried
her , struggling and kicking , to the
roadside and there set her down. Almost .
most at the sallle Instant he received
n stinging blow on the cheek from.tho
fiat of a machete and turning with an
oath , saw before him an undersized
mulatto In the dirty white drill uni-
form of an Insurgent lieutenant , who
was dancing up and down , shouting
defiance and brandishing his weapon.
Dolores Instantly availed herself of
the diversion. With a bound she was
on the little donltc "s' back and "Pep-
Ita of my Soul , " so adjured , forgot for
once the perverse obstinacy of her nature .
ture and trotted briskly down the
trail
As for Trooper Jones he likewise
wasted no time. The oath ho uttered
In his surprise changed to an inarticulate -
late howl and the next moment the
little mulatto lieutenant was caught
up In his arms and hurled like n stone
from a catapult Into the thorny aloes
that bristled at the side of the trail.
rt was only their stiff resilience that
saved 'Tenlento Jos 's neclt.
Then Trooper Jones , who was emphatically -
phatlcallr a man of one Idea , looked
. : .z. . + i + . v..zva armssa.weu.rt
- - - . , . . faws. , + wunww.t > _ , . , . . . . . . . . . _ . . .
-
for Dolores antI seeing that she was
rapidly attahtilig the vanishing point ,
gave chase. 110 was a good runner
and Pepita would have hind little
chance against him oven with her
start , hind It not been for the root
of a cedrilla that , stretching across
the trail , engaged his foot and sent
him sprawling with n force that
knocked the breath out of his body.
lIe was struggling to his feet when
a sharp , violent. pain idiot through his
thigh and n stream of high-pitched , excited -
cited Spanish assailed his car. It was
the little Insurgent lieutenant again ,
and this time ho had scored , as the
blood trickling down the trooper's
brown gaiters testified. 'rooper Jones
made another rush , but this time the
little mulatto was wary ; he sprang
"
1AJIIIL1c3
\ _
G
T
The trooper caught him In the pit of
the stomach.
aside and as his bulky antagonist
passed , his machete flashed In the
sunlight and bit Into the trooper's
shoulder , who whirled about and then
stood still. Trooper Jones felt sud-
denly sobered and alert. He looked
at his man. The mulatto's eyes were
blazing with fury and his lips were
writhed above his teeth In a devilish
grin ; but he too was alert , for all his
rage.
"No more rushes , " thought Trooper
Jones , "God ! If I only had a gun ! "
He glanced rapidly around for a sticker
or a stone. There was none In sight.
Then ho advanced cautiously upon his
grinning foe , who retreated three
paces and then suddenly lunged.
Trooper Jones leaped back , but not
so quickly as to avoid a sharp prlclc
In the side , and at that bo stopped
again with a sudden realization of his
helplessness.
"Hero , " he said , "I've got enough
of this. Amlgo-sabe ? I'll call It
quits. You vamos-vamos-sabe ?
You're all right , John-oh , damn you !
then get me If you can. "
For the mulatto made no reply , but
with the point of his machete advanced -
vanced , began to circle around the
American , his body crouched and his
whole expression one of absolute reo
lentlessness. Then , for the first time
In his life , fear crept Into the heart
of Trooper William J. Jones and ho
lifted up his voice for help In a 10 _ ,
shrill ululation.
The little man whirled his machete
again , but Jones avoided the blow and
rushed. Again his foe retreated and
began his wary circling.
Something In his crouching attitude
recalled to Trooper Jones a knife duel
between two Mexicans that ho had
witnessed In Juarez four years before.
It gave him an Inspiration. lie sud-
denly stripped himself of his blouse
and wrapped It about his left forearm ,
just In time to prove Its efficacy by
parrying a savage cut at his head.
Gaining confidence he rushed again ,
but the mulatto was too quick for him
and slashed him twice down the face.
Then with a shout the little man cut
at the unprotected wrist. But that
blow was his last , for the , trooper
caught him in the pit of the stomach
and as he staggered back sick with
pain Jones got him.
.
" . . . . -
They found him lying In the trail ,
the insurgent lieutenant almost dead.
Trooper Jones , bleeding from half
n score of ugly wounds , was as
near dead as a man may bo anti yet
be brought back to lIro. They patched
him up somehow , but ho Is not good
to look at , anti he will utter ferocious
boasts In the dance halls of El Paso
never more.
-
NEVER WRITE AT NIGHT.
Girl Philosopher Gives Good Advice
to Her Chum.
From 8 to 10 p. m. the tall girl wrote
letters. The next morning Immodi-
ately after breakfast she announced
that her time up to 12 o'clocIc would
bo devoted to correspondenco.
"Surely you love nol going to write
more letters , " said the top.fioor girl.
"You wrote a dozen last night. "
"I know I did , " waR the reply , "but
I am not going to send thorn. I never
mall a letter that I wrIte at night.
It Isn't safe. I say too many Idiotic i
things. I only write them us a kind ref r
of safety v.alvo. There are certain r
things that I must say to relieve my
mind. After I get those surging
thoughts put down on paper I feel better -
tel' , but you : couldn't hire mo to mall
thin lcttors.
"I used to , hut that was before they
got mo Into so much trouhle. 'Vo let
I
: our emotions run away with us when
writing at. night. Wo get entirely too '
! onfidentlal. Under the witchery of n
shaded gas jet wo tell things that
wild horses couldn't drag from us by
the light of dn ) ' . lopes , aspirations
and the history of deeds accomplished
are described in tropical languago.
Next morning wo realize what geese
we have made of ourselves , but If the
letters have been mailed It Is too late
to do anything , anti wo just have to
sit down and wait for the avalanche
to strike us. It har ; struck mo so
many times that It has endowed mo
with a little caution.
"I still write letters at night , but
only as a relief to my surcharged n
heart. This morning I shall write to
the same persons I wrote to last night ,
but the letters will not bo oven first
cousins to those emotional lucubrlca-
tlons. These will be safe and sane
anti warranted Innocuous enough to
be read aloud In the best.regulated
family without producing a ripple. I
can't say the same for the ones I tore
up before going to hed. "
The top . fioor girl looked uneasy. "I
wrote a letter myself last night , " she
said.
"BottoI' rend It , " the tall girl advis-
ed. "You'll be pretty . sure not to send
It If yeti do. "
The top.noor girl opened the envo-
lope and perused her letter slowly.
"I think , " she said , "that. i will go
. . .
upstairs and write another.-
Those Kindly Persons.
It happened ) In a railway station.
The baby cried and cried and crted.
"Perhaps ho desires his bottle , "
suggested a fatherly looking old party.
"He has not been raised on the bot-
tle , " cuttingly replied the handsome
young woman who held the InCant.
The baby's shrieks grew terrlOc. Ho
made unmistakable signs that ho
wanted his dinner.
"Beg pardon , ma'am , " said the elderly -
erly party , "but may I suggest that
you-or-permit the child to-er-
take nourishment ? "
"This baby belongs to my sister "
replied the young lady , blushing furiously
.Iously "and she won'l ue hero for
balf an hour. I'm holding It for hor. "
Politeness In the East.
.
In the battle of i'onghuangchong
the Japanese took among their cape
tures two enormous Chinese vaes ! or
thirteenth century worlunanshlp On
learning that they were a present to
Gen. Kouropatkln Gen. Kurokl
promptly dispatched them to the Rus-
sign outposts with a polite note cnd-
lag : "May the flowers ot friendship
blossom high In these vases. " In
Kouropatklu's reply he referred to the
Japanese as "a people of generous
friends whom I visited In peace , or
magnanimous foes In war , at whose
hands even defeat Is no disgrace. "
