The Holly chieftain., 1901-08-09


Oa3 IL - Shls isttss-epe
= ~ Z - - aNay y IL I'm.
stsslang m u eAs brsasGing the
brsees, fsukfink - stsaD ascsak, pane-
Ing aa6 sainjag = reach that uppsr
fsolat3nas =
-.9raak ii. Frsah,. erisd Susie
wksa ~ eane. ..1finGo, the Indian"
Be bssaAsd hse ~. He looked at
Aee haankly; NJ saH failsd = focas
~ sounda ak hsr voice; he merely
oomprshsn1ed tAak something was ut
tHeA.
No, no." hs answered NO, not now
|-Im Aissy-rrttled
She mood With eyee wide open ana
startled dumbly appealing. .But
Mingo.s ahA said. ssGingo, the Indian,
he came to-day-And he-threatened-
threatsnsd NJ"
"Mins6 Mingo! He's coward-I'm
tirsd-nsver mind him, Susie"
He stretched forth his hand. She
leaped to piacs Il ON her neck, and
kisssd 1t wildly. He stood there truly.
Pacing and pacing. he wore away the
hours In the cabin. All through the
night she watched his face with star
tied eyss, pain, doubt and yearning In
her dumb, trusting look.
In the morning ~ bolted to the hill
again; and she, like doe tina.
not anything but one who Is master
followed him umidly far behind-fol-
lowed till he threw himself down in
the sage brush. She sank where she
was. to wait there In patience.
In the grass-broken sand he lay and
sat and lay again, thinking rapidly. In
coherently tho same things over and
over. Under It all ran a current Of
echoes: Saved my life-shs saved my
life-she saved my life"
At length his wandering attention
was caught BY motley procession
moving slowly along In the dust
wreathed road below. There were half
a dozen Washoe Indians, more per-
haps. approaching the town-men and
women. They had two horses-1aded.
hopeless creatures that three old men
were riding. Near them. walking
barefooted, heavily laden. were three
or four squaws. with time-furrowed
visages. The loads were contained in
sacks and in conical baskets, heaped
on the shoulders and supported by
! heavy bands. which went across the
foreheads Of these cainel-femaies. For
ward the burdened ones bent, looking.
as II In submission and patience. on
the ground, leaning on sticks which
they used with either hand. 1t was
only q party returning from the
mountains with the gathered supply Of
bitter acorns and berries from the red
manzanita. For nifty miles they he'd
travelled thus. Painfully the wretched
caravan crawled around the hill and
disappeared.
Henley watched them, strangely In
tent. Saved my life," he muttered
aloud. "Indian-same a. those. Saved
me. Yes. she'll wrinkle-be old. Why
did have to have the fever! Saved
my life. Wrinkled, fearful old squaws."
Susie saw the squalid show. "Oh,"
she cried In anguish to herself. "Oh,
the women-oh. the Washoe women!
Were they young long ago! Were they
part OF the summer? Did they hear
the larks and crickets! Did they
lover" She threw herself forward
where she sat till her face was buried
in her curying arm. "Oh, love!" she
cried; there Is nothing in the world
for mo but love!"
The thoughts OF Henley finally crys-
TALKED in form and sequence. He knew
he would leave her, knew he would
certainly desert all things Western
and 80 to the far-away East. How to
do 1t gently. what to provide for her
comfort, what he should say, how
apply balm with the caustic-t
were matters to be planned and
planned.
Early the following morning he went
to his mine to gather the gold where it
lay beneath the pocket. There, alone,
he labored hour after hour. The mine
was simply hole in the ground, so
feet in depth, with branekins tunnels
down below; and over the mouth a
wtndlass stood. with rope about 1t,
supporting = bucket that rested ON the
bottom. Built against one Of tas per-
pendicular walls was q wooden ladder,
for ingress to and egress from the