River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1901-07-25

wock's squaw in his possession; they
had been playing an hour.
81 wager all against the heart" saj'
Blue Heron, dealing the cards.
Blue Heron won; he laughed loud.
" as he rose from the blanket and
stretched himself. His laugh was
echoed by his friends in the crowd,
which broke up into little knots with
much noisy jest and babbling. Old
Teenat strobe through the dissolving
groups without answering any Of the
would-,e vitticisms flung at him.
Blue Heron linked his arm through
that of homework, and said: "Come
on! Let us get the woman; I want
| to be off"
They found her standing by her
fathers wickiup; her mother, sit
/ ting on the ground before a smolder-
ing fire Of sage brush, appeared to be
absorbed in watching the contents Of
a tin can which was simmering on the
Goals. Teenat was occupied in cinch-
ing up a blind old pack horse, and
paid no attention to the young men.
"Looesa. this is Blue Heron" said
homework, at once, sulky and shame
faced. "You belong to him now"
The girl regarded them with blaz-
ing eyes. Il belong neither to you
nor to him" she said, with concen-
trated fury in her tones. Il will stay
here"
"You will not" asserted Kone-
wock, taking hold Of her, none too
gently.
The girl screamed, and old Teenat
turned, but did not stir from his
place. He was a man of substance
and character, much respected among
his people, the Yakimas. Let be-"
he said, briefly; my daughter is not
slave to be gambled for over a
blanket. She goes with me-"
Homework dropped the girls arm
and turned to Blue Heron, question
ingly. The latter only laughed, as
usual, observing Freely translated
into English vernacular): "Well, it
seems you can't deliver the goods!
I'm not looking for a fight. / am
satisfied with the plumber have.
only accepted the wager to please
you. Ta-ta!" Turning lightly on his
heel he went away
Homework shortly followed. sulIy
and sore, and half an hour later the
two might have been observed, if
every one had not been too busy
with his own affairs to give them
any further thought, plotting to-
gether under the high banks of the
coulee. AS a matter of fact, Blue
Heron was not so Indifferent to the
girls rejection as it had pleased him
to appear He rather piqued himself
upon his personal appearance, and
was not wont to sue in vain. He CON
sidered that he had fairly won the
young squaw, and lent himself read
lily to Konewock's suggestions, with
the result that when Teenat's family,
already several miles on their home
ward trail, camped for the night, two
horsemen hobbled their ponies he.
hind a hillock not far away The
first time Looesa ventured abroad
among the uncertain shadows search
ing for fagots to feed the dying fire,
two pairs of sinewy arms seized and
gagged her and bore her away with
out sound of struggle or cry to alarm
her relatives, and five minutes later
little Indian pony was making record
time, despite its double load, in the
direction of the Blue mountains, amid
II 1
to lose himself until the pursuit was
given over. For he did not doubt
that the young men of the Yalimas
would make Teenat's cause their own.
When Blue Heron considered that
it was safe to do so, he removed the
gag from between Looesa's teeth and
set her down on the ground beside
his pony's head; he still retained his
hold of the RATA with which his cap
tive's wrists were bound, and thus
forced her to walk beside him until
his windcd steed had recovered itself,
when he lifted her in front of him
and again Hoped away at full speed,
the unshod hoofs of his pony beating
softly on the sandy plain. 1t was
Blue Heron's intention to reach the
Walla Walla, ford it by break of day,
and, following it up into the foothills
cross over the divide at his leisure
and come down into the canyon of
| the Grande Ronde. This he could de-
scend to its junction with the Snake,
and thence get him home TO Fort
Lapwai with his prize without much
danger of interruption.
For week the days had been like
the opaline chamber of hollow shell,
the nights like crystal goblet iniaid
with gems, saturating the earth with
balm from its inverted bowl. But
/ this night was black and breathless,
the moon, in its third quarter, was
not yet risen, and though the sky
seemed cloudless, few stars were Wis
4 ible. The heat which rose from the
/ desert, instead of losing itself as usual
among wide-cool spaces of fluent air,
settled back on the earth, as if shut
in by a great lid; not even a cricket
/ chirped; the death-hke, brooding ST
/ lence was pregnant with menace.
! The fleeing trio, horse and woman
1 and man, were oppressed for breath