Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1908-10-31
CHAPTER XIV.
The Old Man Of the Adobe.

ne Oic Man q the Adobe.
II would hc too difficult 20 EXPRESS
the surprise and CONSERVATION OF Ter
" Chambers and Mike O'Connor when
the train of two old fashioned. wen.
worn coaches. in which the total mum
Der % passengers was less than Is.
stopped at The mountain VILLAGE Of
Rosario and Riaz Gid not get OF. They
were simply dum5.ouaded True. they
Gid not ride il the same coach with
h.m desiring to Dee together and not
wishing to De seen together by him
but they We're ON the sharp lookout
at every stop.
te muet a foated cut o. The win
d'". said the uts.ifoi O'Crnno~ as
'le two stood on the platform and
watched the train move southward
iho old terriers a wizard. AID simply
made himself Invisible"
I'D take an oath he was ON the
train after we pulled ont of PaIora. "
said Jerry "for & saw him doing in
Ais seat the basket at his side"
HHt the train didn't stop between
iaIoma and Rcsorio." said Mike. and
Che clip was too fast for him To- ret
or That fellows a diyI In white
wh-skers. Tommy. and -" Here he
STOPPED and Dds hand came down hard
ON fis knee. - know it nowt~ he ex-
claimed "He looks as Old as Methus
elum. and man o. Dds age has hard
enough time gett'n' of q train that's
standin' still. Biaz a'n't an old man
at all! He's q young divil in disguise
and he clipped from the rear end while
the train was skimmin' along"
AZ the end OF a few hours they had
bought small skim ana had 10 laden
with their boxes and packages. and
80 was not long thereafter that Jerry
was leisureiy pulling down the mar
row stream. While he rowed Mike did
most OF the talking. the subject OF
greatest interest. OF course. being the
mysterious disappearance OF Riaz
III you're sure you saw him az Pa
Iona, said Mike. che can't be a mil
lion miles from Rosario and where
he is they arc. I'd like 20 run into the
whole bunch. but I'd hate for only us
two 20 meet 'em face TO face"
The sun had just sunk behind a dis
tant mountain when the intersection
OF the two branches OF the river was
reached. To the right OF Mike great
ragged clins rose thousands OF feet.
and 70 his left mountains. blackish-
green in spots. rolled far TO the north.
The skin was grounded on the bank a
few hundred feet below the fork. at a
spot which promised suitable place
FOR the camp. The small tent was nut
up about 40 feet from the bank. be
hind a clump Of bushes. which
screened the view from the other
side OF the stream, and the boat was
carried into the brush.
Both men were thoroughly tired
when they lay down and smoked their
pipes.
Mike. this is the most se-
cluded place on earth" said Jerry, aft
er a long silence.
Damned II can't hear myself
think" said Mike. Wouldn't II be
fine 70 turn few owls loose and let
a lost dog howl round here in the
dead o. night?"
After partaking Of some coffee. ba-
con and bread they stretched them
selves out and fell asleep. The earliest
sign OF day found them awake and
much refreshed. The first thing Mike
said was:
I had a divil OF A dream, Tommy.
dreamed I saw a man goin' down the
other side o the stream with a lantern
in his hand, and he had a dog with
him. The dog barked and the man
l think he was old. from the sound o.
his voice-talked TO him just like he
was a man, ito. Then the old codger
turned into the bushes and disap-
peared. The dog kept barkin' and
barkin' till il sounded like II was
miles away. / think woke up. but
I'm not sure about It,"
What's the old saying about dream
ing the first night in a new bed2"
laughed Jerry.
It's a sign the dream comes true"
answered Mike; but ] don't want
this one to come true That dog wsa
a big divil. and the man looked all IA
a hump don't remember what kind
of face he had. but IL must "a been
a dandy to wake me up"
After breakfast they started out on
a tour OF investigation. Jerry going
down the stream in the boat and Mike
picking his way up along the bank. On
his return to the camp Jerry kept on
the other side Of the river. He was
nearing the camp when he noticed an
opening ia the underbrush.. He
grounded the skin and went up to II.
He was surprised to find fresh foot
prints in the soggy soil. Going into
the bushes be found a wellworn path.
He did not venture far, but hastenea
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