Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1909-02-27
A Romance
of Arizona

htooo aNaiAlE MIN the Slender t-ure
OF woman. with outstretched arms
and dark eyes. tender with ycaruinr
Ivve
Echo Echo Allen" he muriaured.
fondly repeating the name. $50. Dot
Echo Allen. but Echo I.arc. for Di p
Lane has redeemed his promise AMI
returns TO claim you as his own
As he gazed upon tho shImnering
heat waves which distorted auI dis
placed the objects within and beneath
them group Of horsemen suddcHly
appeared 20 him in the distance and as
suddenly vanished IN thin air
"Ruralest' CALCULATED Lane. Il won
der n they are chasing Apaches. That
Internal mirage gives you no idea OF
distance OF direction. n the red devils
have got away from Crook aud slip
ped 10y these Ereascr rangers over the
border they'll sure be making straight
for the Ghost range and by this very
TRAN. If SO. I'm az the best place on 10
20 meet them. and here I stay till the
coast IS clear" Turning TO the red
cross on the rock. be reflected. Per
haps. after all. it's n case OF 'Nebo's
lonely mountain"
Lane had hardly reached this couciu
sion before ne found f. justified by The
sight Of n mounted Apache in the ne
gala Of war emerging from hidden
dip Ia the trail below the fertilization
Lane dropped behind the parapet. evi
IDENTITY before he was observed rs the
steadily increasing number and loud
ness OF the hoof beats on the rocky
trail indicated TO the listener
Crawling back 10 his horse and bur
TO. be made them lie down against the
upper wall and pickctcd them with
short lengths OF rope 20 the ground. for
he foresaw that danger could com,
only from the mountain side. Takiu-
his Winchester. he returned 20 the par
apet and, half seated half reclining
behind q. opened ere on the unsuspcct.
Ing Apachcs. The leader. shot through
the head. fell from his horse. which
reared and backed wildly down the
trail. other bullets must have found
their Bullets also, but because OF The
confusion which ensued among the In.
dams the prospector was unable 90
4
OF action. In fash every rider
had lcaped or his horse and. protect
ing himself by It's body. was scram.
bling with his mount 10 the protecting
declivity IN the rear. The prospector
was sorely tempted 10 pump his car
tridges into the group as Il poured
back over the rim OF the hollow. but
he deSisted from the useless slaughter
OF horses alone, knowing that he could
, be attacked only on foot and that every
one OF his slender store Of cartridges
must find a human mark II he would
return 10 the States alive They've
got TO put me out OF business before
they can go on" he ruminated. IAN
Apache is n good deal Of n coward
when he's lighting Cor pleasure. bat
just corner him. and. great snakes and
eplttin' wildcats. what u game he does
put up. | must save my cartridges. for
one things sure-they won't waste any
OF theirs. They're not as good shots as
white men for ammunition Is too
scarce with them for use IA gun prac
tice. so they won't fire till they've got
me dead TO rights. Let me see. There's
about a dozen left In the party. and /
have fifteen cartridges. That's three IL
reserve for my own outfit II some OF
the others fail to get their men. Those
red devils enjoy SHINING an animal
alive as much as torturing man. and
you can bet they won't save me any
bullets by shooting Nance and Jimmy"
Reasoning that the Indians would
not dare 70 attack by way OF the open
trail IN front and that il would take
some time for them to make the de
tour necessary to approach him from
above, since they would have TO leave
their ponies below and climb on hands
and knees over tutting lodges and
around broken granite blocks, Lane
coolly proceeded to drink his coffee
and eat bis lunch Of hard bread and
cold bacon rind. After he had finished
he gave lump Of sugar to each Of bis
animals and pressed his cheek with an
anectiOEate hug against the side OF his
horses head.
sold girl" he said. I'm sorry We
can't take a parting drink, for I'm
afraid neither OF US viii reach our
next water hole But you can count
on me that the red devils won't get
you"
Then. going to his pack. be undid II
and took cut a double handful OF yell
low nuggets and a number of canvas
bags These he deposited In the Dot.
hole and. prying up the fat stone of
the fireplace. laid IL over them and
covered the stone with embers.
-.
, ish me-" he reflected, but the wages
I've paid for by year Of hard work
and absence from her side stay Just
as near Echo Allen as | can bring
them alive and, II there's any truth In
what they say about spirits disclosing
In dreams the place OF buried treas
ure. with the chance OF my getting
them 10 her after I am dead
Taking the useless powders from
the edge OF the Cliff. but carefully. SO