Page:Cy Warman--The express messenger and other tales of the rail.djvu/44

32 you call him, was the best thing I ever saw, and the last wild plunge of the maddened horse! What a climax! I wonder where the soul plunges to at that last leap. Stuff! there is no soul and no place to plunge to—I've always said so. And yet," he went on, looking steadily at his companion, "when I was near fainting a moment ago I thought the end had come, and instead of darkness there was dawn—an awful dawn—the dawn of a new life, and the glare and uncertainty of it frightened me. I can't remember ever having been frightened before. Did you ever see the sky so blue?" he asked, as he leaned against a rock and turned his face toward the heavens. "And the hills so green, and the air so fresh and cool and sweet?" And again there was silence, and the wounded man appeared to be trying to listen to the life blood that was trickling into his lung, and wondering how long it would take it to filter away. The messenger dozed. The black horse bit off a mouthful of bunch grass, and, holding it still, raised his head and listened. The men sat up and reached for their arms. The sound of the approaching army came from the cañon.