New-York tribune., 1891-08-30

could hardly bear to think of It, somehow ',p nc,
nresence tbis mornng-her blue eyes ana prown
hair which he had so often ,S kssb 10 "S had tbosht
| bealod and. try as he would, he was unaDle 70
ont from him the thought OF the love n tnae
had been theirs e S,roVt TO be SEEM How
glad his mother would be TO see him IhanK you
after all the years OF absence ne was gong Jun
With enongh 10 make her last days ones OF e''se
and plenty' lie would never leave her. She was
| the ono Of all the world who would understand
what had befallen him, and who would know how
| 70 sympathize with him in his sorrow. HOW goou
and trre had this old mother been TO him-so
! different from the woman who had gwen MN up
| for the money of the man whose name she pore:
Through all his thoughts, though, ran the memory
| of their courtship. He could smell above inc
sweet scent of the pine, so heavy on the mountaIn
air the same faint perfume that nad always Depd pd
her favorite and which he had grown 70 love ana
| regard as almost q part Of her existence He
wondered how, after all that had passed, II couiu
still find favor with her. To him u Droqght, Only
pain. In vain he strove TO forget 1t all by hsten-
! ing to the objurgations hurled by Jose at ms
| horses whenever that individual thought he de.
tected any disposition TO shirk on the part OF any
| of them,
"Mulas vacas.' mules and cowsl, would Jose
cyclajm, in his most whitening sarcasm at what nc
conceived to be derelicons of his team; VIII you
not return anything for the care ana love nave
Whatever the delnquencies Jose proclaims
against may be, they are more imaginary than real;
The mountains have been lett nehind, dnu te IUst
| the fiat green leaves OF the prickly pear ana tIe
sage-brush have taken the place Of the pines anu
the oaks of hither attitudes. The travellers nave
only stopped twice-to change horses and to eat
The MONDAY lunch. The sun has passed the
meridian and is beginning to sink toward the wesu.
The occasional cracking of Jose's whip ana dnst ,ne
as they trot along are the only sounds when
break the stillress of the desert. Far up IN the
deep blue of the heavens above vulture noaus
| Iazly without apparent effort 1t seems so
graceful, as it circles, that one cannot refrain
from watching it. although the upturned eyes acne acne
and burn with the glare Of the summer sun; heaI
and thirst and silence. Everything is parched and
| brown and the yellow earth, where it is not
covered by sand or dust. is baked and cracked IN
rains that are yet months away Even the rocks;
rough and jagged pieces Of lava, are black as II
burned with the allpervading heat.
The three passengers sit in silence longing to foT
miles away. 1t will, at least, be relief TO reach
it, if only to refill the canteens that have become
so warm that the water they contain has ceased
to be refreshing
Suddenly Jose rises in his seat and looks long
and earnestly off to the left where half dozen
clouds of dust are rising In the air They are 50
light that he can hardly tell whether they are only
the whrlwinds peculiar to the desert or men on
horseback. AS he looks, though, in each OF the
little clouds of dust occasional gmpses d dscGTe e
! looks again-all are looking in the same dlrec-
tion-and as he drops to his seat and says, simply,
Indios" all know that he Is confirming their
worst fears.
He stops the horses, and, handing the lines TO
Hawley, Jumps from the wagon. Drawing his
knife he steps TO the rear of the wagon where the
heavy trunk. placed there in the morning ny
Dunsmer, is lashed. AS he starts TO cut the ropes
that tie it to the buckboard Dunsmier divines his
intention and turns on him fiercely.
NO, no, you mustn't throw that of There's
bullion in it." he says, and, leaning over, he
catches Jose's hand to prevent cutting the ropes
that hold it.
LOS Idios son Apachesl" 1.-THE Indians are
Apaches), says Jose, his face growing paler as he
notes how rapidly they are approaching while the
blackboard DELAYS
Il can't help it; but you mustn't lose my
understand ?-I can't speak Spanish" he asks, in
a pleading voice turning 10 Hawley: 1t is the
first time they have spoken since before the mar
rage, and, eying him c0ntemptuously, llawley
interprets into Spanish what he has sad and Jose,
thinking that he, too, is asking for the preserya
ton of the trunk. leaves it. and, jumping into the
wagon, takes the reins once more into his hands
and begins 10 ply the whip.
Hawley looks to see that his rife is in order,
and, as he does so, he giances at he pale faces
him6elf he is indifferent. Dunsmier has be1un
10 throw into the road the mailbags. His wife
looks at him as if to urge him to cur loose the trunk,
but remains silent, if afraid to ask il.
"He would sacrifice even her to save his gold, J"
| Hawley thinks, bitterly.
How the horses Jump under the LASH They
too, have scented the danger and seem to know
that tho race is one of life and death. The smooth
straight road stretches far ahead toward where it
begins to climb the narrow pass through which
IL crosses the mountains 1t is at that point that
the Indians are trying TO intercept them. How
| they ride! The cruel rawhide quirts, with which
They cutting their horses seem TO be always in
the air. while the long, black hair of each streams
out far behind. They are slowly gaining Haw-
! ley raises his rife and fires at an Indian in the
leading group. A little puff Of dust marks where
the bullet strikes the ground to the left No
use to waste cartridges firing from the blackboard
One can only wait until all hope of escape by
flight is gone, and then fight until death comes
| n
Jose has dropped from the seat to his knees and
leans far over the dashboard that he may reach
the air as it falls on the fanhs Of the leaders
and wheelers, leaving, wherever it falls, great
wets that show plainly through the dust and
sweat that cover the horses He strives 10 make
the lash fall where the skin is the tenderest. 1t
cuts the thin. delicate nostris OF the wheecrs, and
raises the bellies of the leaders ridges that are
them with fierce Spanish curses. No wonder the
horses grow wild with pain and fear and dash
Inadly on. Fast as they co. though, they can
hardly hold their own with the pursuefs. It
is only a question Of time before they are over
taken. unless something intervenes to save them.
4 broken trace, cracked sprlng-and ther a few
ehots. a rush by the Indians, ord all would be
over: the next passer-by world find their mutt
lated bodies lying in the road, amid tho ri1ed
trunks and mail-ba No one speaks They are
gins to climb the mountainpaSs. Behind Them.
less than mile away, come the Apachcs their
! horses necked with foam. Once the buckhoarG
begins 10 ascend the mountains it will be maGhess
to drive as they have driven on the plains To
DO so might throw them into the canon hundreds
of feet below or break their vehicle AGAINST one
Of the many powders that line the roadside Al
ready jose is getting mis- horses in hand. as il 10
check their speed. Here the Indians have the
! advantage, and their sarc-footed mustangs, un-
hampered by harness OF wagon will soon over
take the blackboard. There is a chance though
and. facing Dunspier and lis wife, Hawley whose
face is white and stern, says:
"Dunsmier, from the top Of the mountain it
Is hardly three miles into the next station, Camp
Date Creek. and you and l. by Getting out fcrc,
can stand off the Apaches until the wagon gets
away. If we only hold them back for ten
minutes it will be enough, for by that time the
wagon can reach the top of the mountain and
there will be no chance for the Indians TO over
take it,"
AS he faced Dunsmer for the first time in
months he again looks into the eyes Of the woman
he had loved. How blue they appear in the
,rl.; 1I.n.- L.. n1nnl