The Florence daily tribune., 1898-03-30


and this troop nayne obtamed permis-
sion to accompany. 1t marched AT
dawn, so he had barely three hours in
which to prepare. Mr. Parry. wearied
with his journeying and many cares.
had been escorted to Merriam's vacated
quarters by Whitaker some little tim,
before midnight, and there he was
made welcome by Hop Ling and givcr
the room abandoned by the master OF
the house so short II time before. Many
people, between anxiety as to the fat,
of their beloved Florence and thci
eagerness to receive the rihers on theii
return, sat up until two O'Clock; bu,
Parry. though filled with anxiety as
keen, was well aware that nothing was
to be gained by his spending n wulSeful
night and listening TO all manner of the.
cry as to the cause of the fair fugitive's
sudden detection from the road to the
ranch. Hayne, therefore, did not meet
nor see him, but, as soon as it was light
rode forth ahead of the troop, meaning
to 60 first to Jose's, see his wife and DR.
Gould. and then strike out northward.
confident of meeting the second troop
somewhere in the open country that
there spread for miles before him.
Buxton had sent party on the trail
of Merriam within an hour of his dash
and with orders to bring him back to
the post, but they had not been heard
from since their start, and, said Whit
taker, they're not likely to be. Thos,
fellows barely ride one mile to Randys
two. It's my belief he will just pull up
nj Jose's and then go straight on TO the
foothills, as probably she did"
But Randy was having a ride the like
OF which was not recorded In the annals
of Fort Scdgwick since the days when
long before the war, the First Dragons
and the Navajos battled for the master
ship of the Santa Clara. Ignorant as
yet of the report of Apaches in the
foothills of the Mescalerc, his one the
ory was that she had gone to Jose's
intending from there to push on to the
cantonment. The thought OF her dar
ing so long and so hard ride at time
when she should be guarded with the
utmost care was in itself u source
dire distress to him, and he could hard
ly have speeded faster and with grim
mer determination to defy all pain o
weariness had he dreamed of the dead
~ perils that lurked about her path
OF the fact that Valdez and his few fol.
levers had eventually fled northwurd
and across the road to the Catamouni
he had heard nothing. Through HoI
Ling's chatter he had gathered thai
Grafton and his men were gone il
search of Florence and that Mrs. Haync
and DIR. Gould were at Jose's. He dare
not stop to make inquiries at the gar
rison. He was under medical care
therefore under doctors orders, anc
on complaint of the acting sur.
geon it would be perfectly com
petent for Buxton to place hin
in close arrest. His one idea, there
fore, was to put as much gronn,
as possible between the post and him
self. He know he could get anothe.
horse at Jose's, so Brown Dick was
never spared an instant. at three
o'clock, galloping free, the gallan,
horse was stretching away northwest
ward over the low, rolling earth-wavel
that seemed to spread to the very la;
OF the Mescalero, spanning the horizon
toward the setting sun. Far behind
him, the scattered ranches and the
sparse green foliage of the Santa Clara.
Far. away on either hand, the lumpy,
sandy barren, dotted everywhere with
little dull-hued tufts of coarse heritage
or stunted sage. Ahead of him the tor
tuous, twisting, dusty trail, dented
with scores of footprints, the tracks Of
Gratton's troop on its way to the res
cue. By this time Randy was burning
with thirst, but the water in his can
teen was warm and nauseating. He
raised the felt-covered flask 10 his lips
from time to time and rinsed his mouth
and moistened his parching throat, but
that did not allay the craving. He had
still 80 miles to go before he could reach
Jcse's and exchange Brown Dick for a
broncho, and have DIR. Gould renew the
dressing of his wounded arm. lie
knew that Florence had failed to appear
there, but he knew her pluck and spir-
it, and believed he knew the reason
that there might be sojourners there
either from the Cntamount or from the
post who would seek to turn her back
OF hold her there; and he knew that III
her overwrought, half-maddened state
she was starving for her mothers pet
ting and her fathers arms. He knew
her so well that any attempt to dissuade
her now would result, he felt assured,
only in frantic outburst and more de-
termined effort to push ahead.
Then he had another and even better
reason for thinking he could quickly
find Mignon's trail, although it might
be miles to the north of Jose's. Or
their return from their latest visit to
the Catamount they were having a
glorious run with the hounds one love-
~ November morning, and the jack
rabbits led them far out to the north
Of the road among the buttes and
bowlders that clustered about the
course of little stream, barely yard
i.