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passing, never past The sky was unspeakably fresh and blue, with its

light clouds, darker edged toward the far horizon of the unbounded,

unbroken expanse of alternating levels and low hills Across the broken

ridges passed the tee bird life of the land The Eski places Caiant sickle-billed curleheeled in vast

aerial phalanx, with their eager cries, "Curlee! Curlee! Curlee!"--the

wildest cry of the old prairies Again, from so,upland plover, sweet and clean as pure white honey

Now and again a band of antelope swept ghostlike across a ridge A great

gray wolf stood conte speculatively

at the strange new creature, the white woman, new come in his lands It

was the wilderness, rude, bold, yet sweet

Who shall say what thoughts the flowered wilderness of spring carried

to the soul of a young woman beautiful and ripe for love, her heart as

sweet andher e spell, born of youth and all this free world

of things beginning, fell on the soul of Molly Wingate She sat and

drea pulses full, her

heart full of a s