Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1898-08-03

| stlnct which has ever been mans sureSt
and safest guide through the mysteries
and bewilderments of existence. He
| took the beautiful woman in his arms
| and kissed her
This is real and right, II any thing
| is," said he. eff there are ghosts
about, you and ], at any rate, are flesh
and blood, and where we belong. A
to the irrigation scrape, there must be
some way out of it: II not, no matteri
You and love each other, and the
world begins from this momentr'
'My father must know tomorrow"
said Miriam.
mo doubt we shall all know moro
tomorrow than we do to-day" re-
turned her lover, not knowing how
abundantly his prophecy would be full
filled: he was Overlooking with the
fearless and enormous Joy of q young
man who has attained at one bound
the summit Of his desire. There! they
are calling for mo. Good-by, my dar-
ling. be yourself, and think Of moth
ing but me-"
A short ride brought the little csval-
cRde to the borders Of the desert.
Here, by common consent, . halt was
made, to draw breath, az 10 wsre, be-
fore taking the final plunge into ths
fiery furnace.
Before we 60 further" said Gen.
Trednoke, approaching Freeman, as
he was tightening his girths, IT must
tell you what is the object Of this ex-
petition"
at is not necessary, general" re-
| Piled the young man, Strengthening
himself and looking the other in tho
face; "for from this point our paths lie
| apart"
"Why sop demanded the general, In
surprise.
whats that2" exclaimed Meschines,
coming up, and adjusting his specta-
cles.
I'm not at liberty, at present, to
| explain" Freeman answered. "An I
can say is that don't feel justified in
assisting you In your affair, and I am
not able to confide my own to you. I
wish you to put the least uncharitable
construction you can on my conduct
Tomorrow, If we all live, may say
more; now, the most can tell you Ii
that l am not entirely q free agent.
Meantime-Hasta luego.
Against this unexpected resolve the
General cordially protested and the
professor scoffed and contended; but
Freeman stayed firm. He had with
him provisions enough to last him
three days, and a supply of water;
and in a small case he carried q COM
pact assortment of instruments for
scientific observation. Take your de-
parture in whatever direction you
like" said he, and will take mine
at an angle of not less than fifteen de-
grees from 1t. If 1 am not back in
three days. YOU may conclude some
thing has happened"
1t was certainly very hot. Freeman
had been accustomed to torrid suns in
the Isthmus; but this was a sun indef-
nitely multiplied by reflections from
the dusty surface underfoot. nor was
1t the fine, ethereal fire of the Sahara:
the atmosphere was dead and heavy;
for the rider was already below the
level of the Pacific, whose cool blue
waves rolled and rippled many leagues
to the westward, as, aeons ago, they
had rolled and rippled here. There was
not a breath of air. Freeman could
hear his heart beat, and the veins in
his temples and wrists throbbed. The
sweat rose on the surface Of his body,
but without cooling it. The pony
which he bestrode, a bony and sinewy
beast of the toughest description, trod
EDWARDS doggedly, but with little ami
nation. Freeman had no desire to
push him. Were the little animal to
| overdo itself, nothing in the future
could be more certain than that his
master would never see the Trednoke
! ranch again. 1t seemed unusually hot,
| even for that region.
There was little In the way of out
| ward incident to relieve the monotony
of the journey. Now and then a
short, thick rattlesnake, with horns
on its ugly head, wriggled out of his
path. Now and then his horses hoof
almost trod upon a hideous, fiat lizard,
also horned Here and there the un-
couth projections of cactus pushed
upward out of the dust; some of these
| the mustang nibbled at. for the sake
of their juice. Freeman wondered
where the juice came from The floor
| of the desert seemed for the most Part
level. though there was gradual dip
towards the east and northeast, and
occasionally mounds and ridges of wind
swept dust, sometimes upwards of fifty
feet in height, broke the uniformity
The soil was largely composed Of
powdered feldspar; but there were also
tracts of gravel shingle. Of yellow loan.
and of alkaline dust q some places
there appeared salt ofiorescence,
sprouting up in a sort of CHASTITY vege-
tation, as if death itself had acquired q
sinister life. Elsewhere, the ground
uuaked and yielded under foot and it