Daily camera., 1901-08-12
they are following Il fast as they car
20 at this f,,oruat,t."

hytnlnT en- four legs that could carry
| them, he siiang forth into The st!l and
radiant night and was astridc his mon
grcl mount in twinklinF. In vain Mrs.
iIaync came out and pleaded with him;
Merriam would listen to nothing
nothing but tidngs of Florence It was
| barely eight o'clock when. fully armed,
the little party rode swiftly away un-
der the northward stars, following an
old trail that led to the upper foothills
| of the Mesca!cro. They were not half
an hour gone when sergeant and two
men rode in from the west, inquiring
| for DR.. Could and Mrs. Haync. They
were three Of Grafton's men sent back
| from the chase to say they were hot on
| the trail. There were five Apachcs
afoot and one shod horsc-so the traces
told infallibly. Florence. then, was
probably bound prisoner on that
horse, and Grafton would recapturc her
or lose every horse and man in the at
tempt.
And If that night was one OF dread
and detection ut the ranch, what must
| ~ navy DtNH W .ttllHR anu
well-nigh exhausted, yet riding grim
| !y, desperately forward through the
long hours, searching yainly, vainIy un-
der the wan moonlight, even along
into the pallid dawn, for that little cleft
in the foothills Floy had named Mon
Abri." Faint and shimmcring the day
beams came at last, and then, and rot
until then, Murdock, faithful trooper,
now riding by his licutenant's side and
supporting him with his arm, turned to
his comrade, who, dismountcd, was
striving with the aid of match or two
found in the soft surface. Jimmy" he
whispered, there's something moving
along that ridge yonder-coning this
way. What is it?"
And though soft the whisper it
caught poor Randy's drowsy ear, and
he strove to straightcn up in saddle.
What? Where?" he family asked.
Wonder, sir, not half mile away.
It's some of our fellows, or I'm a dufrer.
icll TO 'cm, Jimmy"
| And obedicnt to the word Jimmy
| yelled. Over the rolling surface the SOL
dicr's voice went ringing through the
dawn, and echo sent it gathering back
from the buttes and powders TO the
west This way, you fcllcrs!-this
way" he cried and then, mounting,
clapped spurs to his pony and sputtcred
away down the intervening swalc.
| Ten minutes later Randy Merriam
was lying on the ground in a swoon,
and George Grafton, with grave, sad
face, wcll-nigh MS haggaTd as the lieu
tenants, was bending over him and
striving to force some brandy down his
throat. Following for all they were
worth" the Apache trail. they had over
haulcd the supposed marauders not 20
miles back in the foothills-a pacific
hunting provided with the agcn-
cy pass and safeguard, and culpable
only in that they had come too far and
had picked up on the plains an Amer
lean horse, abandoned at sight of them
| by some Mcxicans who gullopcd
| IA: away; and that American horse,
minus saddle and bride, was Floy's
pretty bay mare, Mignon.
Then where Ia heavens name was
she?
! 1t was some minutes before Merriam
revived. Then he strove to stagger TO
his feet, but fell helplessly back. 1t
was nearly broad daylight, but the sun
was still below the distant Guadaloupe.
Gathering his feeble energies. Randy
oiroye TO describe the little cove and to
/ implorc Grafton TO bear him thithcr,
and was interrupted by an eager
sergeant, who said: I'VE passed just
such brook, sir, not n mile back. Shall
! / take half-a-dozen men and follow it
rp?"
Yes, at once" said Grafton, "and I'll
go, too. Stay here, Randy" Indeed, the
caution was not needed. for Merriam
Was past moving now, poor fellow, and
his head sank helplessly back upon the
soldiers supporting arm. And then
they rode away, Grafton and half-a,
/ dozen of his men, with Mignon, leg
weary and reluctant, trailing behind,
| And meantime the troop dismounted
and set about making coffee. while one
orderly rode back on the trail 10 sum
mon Dr. Gould. jogging wcarily a mile
behind. And presently the doctor
came and knclt by Randy's side and
scoldcd through his set teeth, even
while he skillfully stripped away the
huntngshirt and SO reached the shat
tered arm,
Then came the glorious sunshine
streaming over the Guadaloupe and
/ gliding the westward Mescalcro. and
then far out among the buttcs, one
'wo-three, ut regular intervals, the
ringing, echoing signals of the cavalry
carbine; and rough-garbed troopers
sprang to their feet and shouted loud,
and clapped ball cartridge into the
brown bellies of their guns, and fired
unlicensed salyos into the air, and
danced and swung their hats, and drew
coarse flannel shirt-sieeves across their
blinking eyes-all at Sergt. Hogans
jubilant cry: "My God, boys, they've
found her!"
Found her they had indeed, curled
UP like child, wrapped in her own pet
Navajo blanket, sleeping the sleep of
utter exhaustion, and waking only to
burst into tears of relief and Joy at
sight OF Grafton's radiant yet haggard
face; then reused to instant action by
the tidings he bore and gently, but re-
proachfully, told her = that, though
sorely wounded and well-nigh eX-
hausted, it was Randy who guided the
rescuers to her, and who now lay pros
trate and unconscious barely milo
away. Then she could hardly wait for
them to saddle Mignon-could hardly
urge her laboring favorite fast enough
to match her mad impa,ience. 1t was
a sight to move heart of flint TO see
her, as with streaming eyes and convul-
sive sobs she threw herself from her
saddle, and, reckless Of them all, kneit
and gathered Randy's unconscious head
to her bosom, cooling over him, crying
over him, praying over him, begging
for one word of love and pardon. then
| - \ ~