The Washington times., 1901-07-07

as 1 said, and Stainforth slightly. It is
perfectly true that they did come down
here on some such expedition as ours, and
were never heard of again"
We'll. but, replied Mainwariug. surely
there is an easy way of accounting for
that. All along the border here there are
plenty of desperadoes--"
Twarnt no desperadoes, interposed
Hiram That kind Of thing always gifts
TO our ears after a time somehow, al
though i never goes further. No 'twarn' I
desperadOes."
"WeI, whatever It is. wen chance it. -
said Mainwaring. What say you, Bern
stein?''
Personally I am goirg through with it.
and Hiram and his man are paid for the
job, replied the leader Of the party. The
question is about yourself. l could send
you around with my two men"
"Oh, I'm going" said Mainwaring; and
so the matter was settled.
On the following morning they set out
for the spring Hiram had spoken OF. AT
noon the heat compelled them to take
shelter under some rocks, where they
stopped till toward evening. as their des-
tinatiOn was not more than two hours
ride distant. So far the only evil spirits
that had molested them were dust and
thlrst and insects, and Mainwaring was
becoming facetious. Hiram, however was
dissatisfied. 1T would be time enough to
grim ne said. when they'd got to the
other side. The Injuns, in his opinion
We're no fools; some of EN- had 3. burned
sight more sense than some whites" The
generally courteous cowboy was obviously
uneasy.
Soon after they had recommended their
journey they came to a remarkable sand
formation, a low crescent shaped hill
some quarter of "A mile in length by about
forty yards broad, and nearly twenty feet
high at the greatest elevation
THAT thur drift sand. said Hiram, as
they approached II, rs mighty rum stuff.
In the first place It always curves the
same way. Can you explain that profess
orr"
''Yes!" replied Bernstein. 'Tt shows
that the general direction of the wind is
the same"
Likely you're right" assented Hiram,
pointed at so pat answer. but thur
another thing about 1t. It's the most dan
gerous stuff In these plains, worse nor
quicksand. If feller once gifts into that
stuff, it's all up with him. He's sucked in
and chol5ed in no time"
Il can quite believe Il. Mainvaring."
said the professor. as they dismounted TO
examine the hill more closely. Feel how
light and friable this is. See, If you nut
your hand in, the hole fills up just as
quickly as If il were water. The more
one struggles the faster one would sink"
Yes. that's So" assented Mainwaring.
Il wonder" he continued after a pause,
whether it has anything to do with the
evil reputation of the plain. What do you
think, Hiram"
The cowboy shook his head in reply,
and remarked that the Indians were per-
fectly aware OF the dangerous nature of
these drifts Perhaps they'd find out
what the peril really was. but for his
part he hoped they wouldn't have the op-
portunity.
A short ride further brought them to
the canyon, vast renLtl the earth's sur
face, near 600 feet deep with sheer sides
running along for miles almost without
break. The only crossing was a cutting
of somewhat similar character, which BIZ
sected the main canyon at right angles.
They deferred any further examination,
however till the next day, and turned
along the edge of the cliff in quest of the
spring, where they proposed to camp for
the night.
Suddenly n shout from Mainwaring,
who had wandered some distance out on
the plain. arrested them.
II say Bernsteini Hiram!" ne called.
Come here What do you make Of this?
What this was was only too evident. In
an irregular circle lay nearly a dozen hu-
man bodies, and beyond these a group
OF dead horses. How long they had been
there it was impossible 10 say; the
oorpses were not decayed. but completely
desiccated, the skin being drawn over the
bones like that of a mummy. single
glance sufIiced 10 show that they were
Indians.