The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1907-03-14

the hill together. They followed the
canyon road to its meeting with the
main highway at the northern edge
of AMAZON. Where the roads Joined
they passed Bishop Wright, who, with
his hat of, turned to stare at them,
and to pull at his fringe of whisker in
seeming perplexity.
HE must have been on his way
to our house." Prudence called.
with that hair and whiskers," an
swered Follett, with some ~irrelevance,
"he looks like an old buffalo bull just
before shedding time"
They rode fast until the night fell,
scanning the road ahead for a figure
on horseback. When it was quite
dark they halted.
1--WE might pass him." suggested
Follett. He was fairly tuckered out,
and he might fall off any minute"
Down out of Pine valley they went,
and over more miles of gray alkali
toward a line of hills low and black
in the north.
They came to these, followed the
road out of the desert through a mar
row gap, and passed into the Noun
tain meadows, refining in their horses
as they did so.
Before them the meadows stretched
between two ranges of low, rocky
hills, narrow at first but widening
gradually from the gap through which
they had come. But the ground where
he long, rich grass had once grown
was now barren, gray and ugly in the
moonlight, cut into deep gullies and
naked of all but a scant growth of
sage brush which the moon was sill
vering, and a few clumps of shadowy
scrub oak along the base of the hills
o. either side.
1nstinctively they stopped, speaking
in low tones. And then there came
to them out of the nights silence a
strange, weird beating; hollow, muf-
fled, slow, and rhthymic, but pene-
trating and curiously exciting, like an
other pulse cunningly playing upon
their own to make them beat more
rapidly. The girl pulled her horse
close in by his, but he treasured her.
Its 1ndians-they must be holding
the funeral Of some chief. But no
matter-these Indians aren't any more
account than prairie dogs"
They rode on slowly, the funeral
drum sounding nearer as they went.
Then far up the meadow by tie
roadside they could see the hard,
square lines of the cross in the moon
light. Slower still they went, while
the drum beats became louder, until
they seemed to fall upon their own
eardrums.
Gould he have come to this dread
full placer" she asked, almost in a
whisper.
I'VE haven't passed him, that's sure;
and I've got a notion he lied. I've
heard him talk about this cross off
and on-it's been a good deal in his
mind-and maybe he was a little out
of his head. But we'll soon see."
They walked their horses up a lit
tie ascent, and the cross stood out
more clearly against the sky. They
approached it slowly, leaning forward
to peer all about it.; but the shadows
lay heavy at it's base, and from a
little distance they could distinguish
no outline.
But at last they were close by and
could pierce the gloom, and there at
the foot Of the cross, beside the cairn
of stones that helped to support it,
was a little huddled bit Of blackness.
1t moved as they looked, and they
knew the voice that came from it.
"Oh God, I am tired and ready!
Take me and burn mel"
She was off her horse and quickly
at his side. Follett, to let them be
alone, led the horses to the spring
below. 1t was almost gone now, only
the feeblest trickle of a rlvulet re.
manning. The nee green meadows
had behaved, indeed, as If a curse
were put upon them. Hardly had
grass grown or water run through it
since the day. that Israel wrought
there. When he had tied the horses
he heard Prudence calling him.
I'm afraid he's d%elirious,' she said,
when he reached her side. "He keeps
hearing cries and shots, and sees a
woman's hair waving before him, and
he's afraid Of something back of him.
What a we do?"
At the foot of the cross the little
man was again sounding his endless
prayer.
Bow me, bend me, break me, for
have been soul-proud. Burn me
out"
She knelt by his side. trying to
sooth him.
"Father-it's all righ:-its Pru.
dence-"
But at her name he uttered a cry
with such terror in it that she shud-
dered and was still. Then he began
to mutter incoherently, and she heard
her own name repeated many times.
If that awful beating would only
STOP" she said to Follett, who had
now brought water in the curled brim
of his hat. She tried to have the lit
tie man drink. He swallowed some Of
the water from the hat brim, SILVER.
ing as he did 50.
I'VE ought to have a fire." she said.
Follett began to gather twigs and sage