OH, SHOOT! 



My steed creaked in every joint; he sighed 

 mournfully; then he lay down, leaving me 

 standing astride of him like the Colossus of 

 Rhodes. I coaxed him to rise, mounted again ; 

 and again he abased himself in an attitude of 

 prayer. We repeated this performance several 

 times, but the oftener he rehearsed the more 

 perfect he became; so I shifted to a lop-eared 

 old goat as dusty as a Pullman seat. The 

 joints of this burro were too stiff to bend, and 

 so, eventually, we went away from there, 

 riding with our knees under our chins so that 

 our feet would not drag. 



Evening brought a sunset such as I have 

 never seen. Masses of storm clouds had piled 

 over the ragged Cordillera, and the dying sun 

 beyond ignited them. The fire spread until the 

 heavens were gloriously ablaze. The heat of 

 the day had diminished, and twilight softened, 

 beautified the harsh, hateful outlines of the 

 desert ; the place became peopled with shapes 

 and shadows; it throbbed with mystery and 

 suggestion. The storm came eventually a 

 cataclysmic war on high, resulting in a Mex- 

 ican cloudburst. Six drops of rain fell; then 

 the moon broke through. 



Steadily, silently we rode; we were tired, 

 254 



