The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-09-06


 thing casting daggers into them Sull they kept bravely on, although ever slower and more wearily, for the mouth of the canon was coming nearer Its outlines were more distinct, and Bar low tried to cheer his companion with occasional suggestions of the water and l safety ahead of them
 | These remarks had a curious effect upon Robinson. Less inured to hard ship than his companion, although much the stronger of the two, he was the less stoical. Their march early in the day had seemed like the ending of toilsome pilgrimage with certainty of success awaiting them. He had not questioned, at first. the existence of the water or of the mine which they were seeking But as the day wore on he seemed to lose control of his will, and his mind wandered upon speculatlons which he fought against in vain. Sup pose that they should fail to find wa ter? Their condition would indeed be pitiful Suppose that Barlow were mis- taken? And, then, suppose that Bar low were Intentionally misleading him? I Robinson fought against the sugges- ton of treachery, but it would not go away. He tried to tell himself that Barlow could gain nothing by his death, but he could not help thinking of the other mines which they already owned. If he should die Barlow would own them alone. True, their peril was apparently equal, but, on the other hand, Barlow knew the country; Rob- inson did not know it. If he so desired Barlow could lead him within half mile of water, leave him to perish and save himself. Was the story of the lost
 mine only a myth, lure, delusion and a snare? Robinson's better self re- volted at all of these suggestions, yet
 they besieged him. He told himself that his mind must be Wavering, that his friend could not be false; yet every
 time that Barlow spoke of water and
 the cool shade of the canon awaiting
 them Robinson started as though the
 other had struck him in the face.
 It was night when at last they reach
 ed the canon and looked up at its gray,
 forbidding sides and flung themselves
 upon the ground. They were glad to be
 there, and they looked eagerly about
 for signs of water.
 There are sand storms on this desert
 which sometimes hide everything. They
 pile the sand over railroad tracks, in
 such portions as are traversed by rail- roads, and often delay trains for hours
 or days. They drift over the weary : prospector and his pack animals and
 occasionally bury them alive. They frequently hide the little springs so
 deeply that the slender flow of water cannot reach the surface. Here and there before the agonized gaze of Rob-
 inson and Barlow was a cactus or a bunch of sage brush, but no sign of the greener verdure which would betoken , water.
 We must go on," said Barlow. q : guess the water is farther up the ca non."
 Robinson made no reply, but stag , gered to his feet and led the way. Bar low followed, even more feebly. Pres ently they came upon the bones of a : horse or mule, half buried. And few yards further Robinson stumbled against something just concealed in the } sand With an oath he gave it kick, and unearthed a human skull. Throw ing down his pack, he dug in the sand } with hands and feet, stripped of their
 flesh and scared by the teeth of the l coyotes. Then they found some frag- , ments of clothing, attached to one of which was a pin, an emblem of some
 secret fraternal order. Robinson hand ed this to his companion with ans l pleasant leer upon his handsome face 5 q guess this fellow failed to find the spring." he remarked
 t "Evidently he did," said Barlow, try = ing hard to retain his composure, but y hundreds of men have perished within . mile of water. We shall find it fur . ther on.''
 n So they kept along between the walls . of the canon which grew higher and ] the canon itself narrower and more I difficult to traverse as they proceeded - The stars were out now and the moon
 was again overhead. Still no sign oi t water. Robinson's growing suspicious = became almost a certainty.
 r The idea of treachery kept dancing = through his brain with horrible itera q ton. He found himself watching Bar 7. lows every movement and computing = by his occasional stumbling and other y signs of weariness, their comparative = strength. He wondered constantly 7. which would hold out the longer, ant l. he finally fell to questioning Barlow d about the water the mine and the map 7; and their chances of escape. Barlow's t replies became more and more confus n ed. At last he threw himself upon tho s ground.
 e "We are lost" he moaned. "I can gC t no further. There is no water here
 We must have come to the wrong ca n non. I do not remember these juttins o cliffs. I was never here at night. Bu n we must stop Let us rest here for { F. while"
 r Then the repressed tumult in Robin n sons mind broke forth. He stood ove il the prostrate form of his companion '- and guide, and swore the most terrible 1T oaths that his madness could suggest e With maudlin inconsistency he liftet e his hands toward the stars and utter = ed prayer, not an appeal for succor e but a bitter cry for revenge. Then ,- with a sudden fronZied impulse, h. - turned upon Barlow and threatened t,
 kill him.
 You have brought me here to die.
 he said; you, whom I trusted as
 guide and a friend. What right hal