Wanderings of French Ed

by J. Adelard René

up a small object on the ground. Theyare skillful shots in many ways, and one way that never fails toimpress the "tenderfoot," is the shooting of a clay pipe at adistance of twenty-five feet, while held in the mouth of one of them,who apparently does not see much excitement in the act. It is greatfun for them to "break in" a "tenderfoot," by which name they callany aspirant to the vocation of cowboy.

  The meanest bucking bronco is brought to him to ride and behold! ifthe poor candidate cannot hold on to the saddle while the kickingbrute is playing circus, the cowboys add to the excitement by theiryells, often throwing small stones at the bucking cayuse.

  Edward went through all their initiatory proceedings, and came outwith the respect of the lookers-on; his popularity counted from thattime.

  Since his departure from Chicago, Edward had received many lettersfrom his Russian friend, but very little had been said about Nellie.He was now a different man, not only in his general appearance, whichwas much improved by the open air life, but also morally. He had senttwo hundred dollars to Ben, who paid it over to Nellie, and while hestill felt more than a kindly feeling toward her, it was nothing likethe old passion. On their "day off" cowboys usually go to somesaloon, where they drink and play cards, and generally have asexciting a time as they can to make up for the monotony of their lifein the field; but Edward preferred spending these days at the home ofhis employer, whose daughter Grace showed much partiality for theFrench lad, or French Ed, as he was now called by every one on theranch.

  Mr. Goodnow's only daughter Grace was a splendid young lady ofeighteen, and quite a musician. She was very small and her face wastoo baby-like to be called real pretty, but her large blue eyes weresoft and full of melancholy. She was a very interesting talker, andher horsemanship could not be excelled. She never failed to cause asmile of satisfaction on her father's face whenever she mountedTopsy, her spirited little thoroughbred black mare.

  Grace always looked ahead to the time when French Ed was to come intotown, because she took much pleasure in his company. It was great funfor her to ride his mare Nell, while he rode Topsy. Together, theywould take long rides, sometimes taking their lunch with them, andstopping by some little running brook, where in the shade of sometree they would eat and enjoy life.

  Grace was very much interested in everything that pertained toEdward's life. She too questioned him about his past, his schooldays,his folks, and one day she gave him one of her pictures to send tohis sister. She never seemed to tire of hearing him talk, and healways found much pleasure in talking to her.

  She admired him with that admiration that often leads to love, whilehe liked her with that feeling that is more than friendship and stillcannot be called love. At times, Edward thought that he would like totake her little baby face in his hands and kiss her on the lips; buthe knew what the result would be, and he contented himself inimagining how good it would be. Once, while Edward was singing a newsong with Grace at the piano, he bent to see the notes, until hisface rubbed against hers, and then he felt a strange dizziness cometo his brain, and was raising his arms to put them around her neck,when she suddenly stood up and looked him straight in the eyes, andsaid, "Ed--"

  Had she slapped him with her little hand he would not have feltnearly so bad as he did facing those large blue eyes, so reproachfuland sad.

  "Play 'El Diavolo,'" he asked her trying to hide his embarrassment,and she did.

  Early the next morning Edward was on his way to his work. He had adistance of about twelve miles to ride, and the morning was soperfect that life seemed a blessing on such a day. It was one ofthose mornings that fill the soul with exhilaration, and makes youthink of the greatness of the Creator of this wonderful world. Thelittle wild flowers along the road were covered with dewdrops, whichglistened under the first sun rays like millions of diamonds. The airwas full of that sweet fragrance found nowhere but on the vastWestern prairies, and Edward was thinking how good life was. He wasnearing the place where thousands of steers were grazing, and washumming the air of a French song, when all at once he heard arumbling noise. It was distant and much like the noise one hears whenapproaching the sea. Edward placed his hand to his ear and stoppedthe mare, in order to make out what was the meaning of that noise.Raising himself on his stirrups, he looked in the direction where therumbling sound came from and saw a dark spot which kept growing asthe noise increased, until a moment later the ground was actuallytrembling, while a big cloud of dust indicated the coming herd ofcrazed steers. It was a stampede--and while Edward had never seen onebefore, he knew its dangers. His little mare was now rearing andsnorting with great evidence of fright, and Edward hardly knew whatto do. He knew that to try and stop the maddened steers was an utterimpossibility, but felt that it was his duty to try and do somethingto prevent the terrible disaster which is always sure to follow astampede, when thousands of valuable animals fall of exhaustion andare trampled to death by the others, or, as sometimes happens, theydash themselves to death from some high precipice, where the firstones to reach are pushed over by the oncoming, until thousands havebeen sent to destruction. Edward knew this and he also knew that thestampede was now heading toward a dangerous marsh where thousandswould perish, unless something was done to prevent them from going inthe direction they were then taking. It is a fact that the best wayto stop a stampede is to get the animals circling round, and this isoften done by the cowboys, who ride with the leaders of the stampede,and lash them on the head until they gradually keep turning; but itis one of the most dangerous actions that a cowboy can be called todo. A stumble of the horse and both rider and horse are sure to betrampled upon by the frenzied herd, and of course, that meansdestruction.

  Edward could soon distinguish some of the other cowboys, ridingfuriously by the side of the running herd, but apparently unable toreach the leaders, and in a moment he made up his mind to do ithimself, and immediately starting his mare at a rather slow canter,he let the stampede come nearer and nearer until he could hear theirhard breathing; then, taking his long lasso in his right band, hehalf turned himself on his saddle, and while at a very rapid gait, hekept striking the furious beasts in the face, until they began toalter their course, and turn to the right, which was exactly what hewanted. By this time the other cowboys had joined him, and the greatmoving mass was now beginning to circle around; but just thenEdward's mare missed her footing and fell forward, turning a completesomersault and breaking Edward's right arm above the elbow. It wasalmost miraculous that he never let go of the reins, which he heldwith his left hand, but was again on the saddle as soon as his marewas on her feet, his right arm banging limp by his side, and causingthe most excruciating pain as it moved with every motion of the mare.His face was also badly bruised, blood flowed freely from his mouthand nose, and when some of the cowboys came to his rescue he wasriding on his saddle like a drunken man. They made a sling with apiece of lasso, and after bathing his face in the water of a near-byspring, they decided that two of them would go back to the villagewith Edward, while the rest would remain and watch the still excitedherd. They started very slowly, knowing that the motion caused bycantering or galloping would make Edward's arm pain him much more;but Edward, after inquiring if his mare was badly hurt, and beingtold that except for some blood running from her nose, she seemed tobe all right, they were surprised to hear him say: "Boys, let's go alittle faster or we will never reach home."

  The ends of the fractured bone could be heard grinding against eachother at the galloping motion; but had it not been for the cold sweatthat covered his pale face, no one would have known that Edward wassuffering intense pain, except for the gritting of his teeth now andthen.

  At last they reached Mr. Goodnow's, and when Edward was helped intothe house, he was so exhausted that he could not speak. The two othercowboys told Mr. Goodnow of the occurrence and of the heroic actionby which Edward had saved many thousands of dollars.

  "To hell with the steers!" said the rancher. "I would rather havelost the whole damned lot of critters than see this boy crippled a
ndsuffering like this."

  When the doctor came, he said that Edward had sustained a compoundfracture of the humerus and that it would take many weeks, in fact,two or three months before he would be able to use the arm. He alsosuggested giving chloroform, to reduce the fracture and set the arm,but Edward smiled faintly and said, "I guess I can stand a littlemore, doctor; go on with the job." After the arm was set, the doctormentioned that it might be better if his patient was taken to thehospital, where he could see him every day.

  "No, sir--we'll take care of him here, Doc; and don't spare theexpense. Come every day, and I'll stand the bill myself," saidGoodnow, and Edward noticed an expression of satisfaction uponGrace's face.

  She washed his face carefully, and tenderly, and from this time shewas his nurse, and a more faithful nurse never lived.

  When the doctor came the next day, he found that Ed ward had notslept all night, and that while his arm was not very painful, hishead was a source of great suffering. After taking his temperature,the doctor anxiously examined his head and ordered ice-packs to becontinually kept on it, and taking Mr. Goodnow aside, the doctorinformed him that Edward was suffering from cerebral fever, and thathe would likely become delirious very soon.

  Late in the afternoon, while Grace was placing fresh ice upon hishead, he suddenly raised himself in bed, and grasping her hand hebegan to talk excitedly; but as he spoke in French, she could notunderstand him. Still, from the strange look in his eyes, she knewthat Ed ward was delirious, and she called her father in.

  "Lie down, Ed, lie down, like a good fellow," said Mr. Goodnow.

  Edward stared at him an instant, and then fell heavily back in bed,still speaking French. After a while, he sat up again, and this timeexcitedly began to talk in English, asking, "Where is Nellie?"

  "She is in the stable; lie down, Ed, lie down, my boy; Nellie is allright," said Mr. Goodnow, carefully pushing him back.

  "I want to talk to her--bring her in here-I want her to sing forme--please bring her in here!"

  "Poor fellow, he is completely out of his head--he wants to hear hismare sing," said Goodnow, who could not help but smile at the idea ofEdward's mare singing.

  Then Grace came in, and when Edward saw her, he seemed pleased, andtrying to raise himself, he said: "Please, Nellie, sing me that oldsong--I mean that French song, you know?"

  Grace looked at him, and tears came to her eyes when she noticed thattender and pleading expression on his face, and she hurried out ofthe room.

  "She is mad at me, or she would not refuse to sing for me--oh, justonce--let me hear 'Rendez moi ma patrie'."

  From this time Edward was delirious and failed to know any one aroundhim, and the doctor's prognosis was not very encouraging as to hisultimate mental recovery.

  A great part of the time the poor fellow spoke French. It was much asif the cruel winds of adversity had blown back the pages of his lifealready lived, and he was apparently living them over again.

  He spoke of his mother, Marie Louise, Benjamin, Nellie, but seldommentioned the name of Grace. During many weeks he remained delirious.His arm had got well enough to permit him to move it without pain,but the light of intelligence seemed to have left him forever. Hisface was emaciated, and his eyes had lost their old-time brightness.A strange phenomenon was gradually changing the color of his hairfrom brown to white, especially on one side, where he had struck theground when his mare stumbled, and his appearance was that of a manat least ten years older than he was. During all this time manyletters bad been received at his address, but when handed to him, henever displayed the least interest, or tried to read them.

  One day, Mr. Goodnow came back to the house with his friend, the oldactor, who had taken so much interest in Edward, and it was reallypitiful to witness the sorrowful expression on the actor's face as heheld the hand of Edward, who failed to show any sign of recognition.When later, his old friend Ben came, it was the same thing, and theRussian cried like a child; but Edward showed no sign of any emotion,and his case was considered entirely hopeless.

  He got well enough to roam around, but he never was allowed to goalone, and Grace was his most constant companion. She led him to themost beautiful places on the ranch, and once, while sitting in theshade near a flowing brook, where she read to him, she felt sure thathe had given sign of returning intelligence when he had said, with apleased smile, "Beautiful," but alas, it was only a flash, and hiscondition remained the same.

  A few days later, during the quiet of the night, the horrible word"fire" was heard in the Goodnow's house, and the next instant theflames were coming through some of the windows. It seemed evidentthat everybody in the house was doomed to destruction, and when agreat crash was heard, Goodnow leaped from a second-story window,where he expected his wife to follow; but the poor woman, thinking ofthe danger of her daughter, walked to the other part of the house,reaching the girl's room in time to see her escaping through thewindow. Then, already suffocating, she only had strength to reach thesame window, but not enough to raise herself and leap over it, andthe next instant the flames had enveloped her and she died a victimof her motherly love.

  Grace, crazed by her anxiety for her parents, was running around andcalling her mother and father, and when she found her father aloneshe knew that her mother was dead, because the part of the housewhere she slept was already nothing but a burning mass.

  Until then, no one had thought of Edward, as it seemed useless tothink of saving anybody who might still be in the burning house, andwhen Grace cried out: "Edward! Edward! where is he?" As his room wason the ground floor she went near his window, and smashing it, calledhim by name, and God knows it was not too soon, as the fire, whichhad apparently neglected that part of the house, seemed to come to itwith renewed energy, and a moment later the whole house was wrappedby the cruel flames. When some of the neighbors, attracted by theglare, came to offer assistance they saw the most pitiful spectaclepossible.

  Grace was crying and running around calling for her mother, whileGoodnow stood by, sobbing like a child. At a little distance from thehouse, sitting near a large tree, was Edward, looking strangely atthe burning house, as if fascinated by the sight; and now and thenclapping his hands, he would say, "Good play, is it not, Ben? But whydon't she come back and sing again?"

  A most horrible crash was heard, and Goodnow's home was no more. Itwas now nothing but a burning pile of cinders and it was with greatdifficulty that friends could induce Goodnow and his daughter to comeaway from the terrible scene, while Edward himself seemed to want tolinger. At last they all went to the nearest neighbor, two miles fromGoodnow's place. Later, they tried to find something of the remainsof Mrs. Goodnow, but so well bad the fire done its work, that not atrace of the unfortunate woman could be found, nor anything of theold actor, who had failed to save himself from the fire.

  Goodnow, with the energy which is characteristic of the westernranchman, decided to rebuild at once, and while doing it, he sent hisdaughter to Flatville, the nearest city, where one of his brotherswas living, and Edward to St. Mary's Hospital in the same city.

  Edward did not appear to realize that he was in a new place, andremained the same careless and helpless being, with the differencethat he stayed in bed a great part of his time, while at Goodnow'shome Grace used to make him take long strolls on the ranch. She wasstill his faithful friend, and every day she brought him flowers, andnow and then she read to him as she used to.

  After he had been in the hospital two or three weeks, a new sistercame, and took charge of Edward, among her other patients. Her namewas Sister Mary, and a sweeter face had never worn a hood. From thefirst time she came in Edward's room her voice seemed to have apeculiar effect upon him, and while she was near him his eyes alwaysfollowed her, which fact was rather strange considering that he had,ever since his illness, paid no attention to any one. The doctornoticed this fact and jokingly told Sister Mary that she had come intime to save his patient.

  One day, Sister Mary was surprised to hear her patie
nt ask her tosing, and as she looked at him, he said: "Please, Nellie, sing thatold song, won't you?"

  Sister Mary turned pale and would have fallen to the floor, had thedoctor not happened to be coming in.

  "Please, Nellie--sing, only once, won't you?" Edward was imploringlyrepeating.

  "Still wanting his old mare Nellie to sing for him," said the doctor,before he noticed Sister Mary; then seeing her reeling and ready tofall, he said:

  "What's the matter, sister? Are you sick?" and held her up.

  "Please help me out of this room, doctor," was all she said, and tothe doctor's questions later, she answered that her name used to beNellie, and that she used to sing, and she added. "I used to knowhim."

  The doctor saw at once that there was a romance somewhere, and in hisanxiety to experiment, he begged sister Mary to come back to the roomof his patient and sing for him.

  "It may be the key that will open his brain to let in the rays ofintelligence," he pleaded, and at last Sister Mary consented to goback and sing.

  "Edward, Nellie will sing for you," said the doctor to his patient,watching carefully the expression of his face.

  "Good!" said Edward, clapping his poor bony hands together, andshowing evidence of great satisfaction upon his face.

  At the foot of the bed, facing the invalid, stood Sister Mary. Herface was pale and her lips were trembling, but by a supreme effortshe sang:

  "Rendez-moi ma patrie, Ou laissez-moi mourrir, Rendez moi mon pays Ou laissez-moi mourrir."

  At the first sound of the sweet voice, Edward sat up in bed, andwatching eagerly the face of the singer, his eyes filled with