Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1911-09-07

Hean certain death, for no one could
have guided course for a hundred
'cet through the tempest, which seem
ed to suck the very breath away. To
The fugitives came this comfort-if
they could not advance, then no one
ilse could follow, and the storm was
'ompletely blotting out their trail
It was three O'Clock before II died
suf1ciently down for them to venture
out. Even then the air remained full
Of sand, while constantly shifting
ridges made travel difficult. Only
grim necessity--the suffering Of the
ponies for water. and their own need
for soon renching the babitation of
nan and acquiring food-druve them
to the early venture. They must at
tain the valley OF the Salt Fork that
1ght, or else perish in the DESERT
there remained no other choice. Ty.
ing neckerchiefs over their horses
oyes, and lying fat themselves, they
eucceeded in pressing slowly forward,
winding In and out among the shift
Ing dunes, with only the wind to guide
hem. II was an awful trail. the hoofs
sinking deep In drifting sand, the
struggling ponies becoming 30 ex-
hausted that their riders finally dis
mounted, and staggered forward on
foot, leading them stumbling bindly
after. Once the negroes horse
dropped, and had to be dashed 70 its
feet again: once Keith's pony STUN
bled and fell on him. hurting him face
down into the sand, and he would
have died there, lacking sufficient
strength to lift the dead weight, but
,or Neb's assistance. AS IL was he
went staggering blindly forward,
bruised. and faint from hunger and
fatigue. Neither man spoke: they had
no breath nor energy left to waste;
every ounce OF strength needed to be
conserved for the battle against ma
ture. They were nghting for life;
lighting grimly. almost hopelessly. and
alone.
About them night finally closed IN,
black and starless. yet fortunately
with gradual dying away Of tho
storm. For an hour past they had
been struggling on, doubling their d.
rection. wondering duly II they were
not lost and merely drifting about in
a circle. They had debated this
feroely once, tho ponies standing de-
jectedly. tails to the storm. Neb argu-
ing that the wind stil blew from the
south. and Keith contendlng II had
hitted into the westward The white
nan won his way, and they staggered
On uncertain, the negro grasping the
iirst pony's tail 70 keep from bein s
separated from his companion. Some
instinct Of the plains must have guild
| Cd them. for at last they dragged
; themselves out from the desert. the
crunching sand under foot changing
| into rock. and then TO short brittle
grass. at which the ponies nibbled eas-
erly. The slope led gradually down
vald the animals seeming water, and
atrurEling 20 break away. S-~0''' =
in their saddles, the riders let them
so. and they never stopped until belly
| deep In the stream. their noses buried.
The men shivered in their saddles.
until. at last satisfied. the ponies con-
scented to be forced back up the bank.
where they nibhled at the short tufts
OF heritage. but tn q manner express
sive Of WEAKNESS. Keith flung him.
self On the ground, every muscle OF
his body aching. his exposed flesh still
smarting from the hail OF sand
through which they had passed.
He had not the slightest conception
as TO where they were, except he
knew this must be the Salt Fork. Ut
terly confused by the maze of shifting
dunes. through whose intricacies they
had somehow found passage, the black
ness Of the night yielded no clue as TO
their point of emergence, The vol.
ume of water in the stream alone
suggested that in their wanderings
they must have drifted to the east.
ward, and come out much lower down
than had been originally intended. II
so, then they might be almost directly
south of Carson City. and IN a section
with which he was totally unacquaint
ed. One thing was. however, certain
they would be compelled to wait fol
daylight to ascertain tho truth, and
decide upon their future movements
There was another barren, sandy
stretch of desolation lying between
this isolated valley and that Of the
Canadian. and their horses would
never stand to DO pushed forwart
without both rest and feed. AS t.
themselves--they had eaten their las
crumb long since, but this was NO
the first time both had known stsrve
ton.
Keith arose reluctantly. and remov
ed tho saddles from the animals hob
bling them so they could Craze q
will Neb was propped up beneath al
out-croppins of the bank, which partly
protected him from the wind. a mer,
hulk of shadow. Keith could 30
tell whether he slept or not, but mad,
no effort to disturb him. A momeu
he stared vacantly about into thu
black silence, and then lay down, pil
lowing his head upon a saddle. H
found 1t impossible to sleep, tho chill
OF the wind causing him to turn AM
twist, In vain search after comfor,
while unappeased hunger gnawed IN
cessantly, His eyes ranged about owe
the dull gloom Of the skies until the
fell again to tho earth level, and thel
he suddenly sat up, half believing him
self In dream-down the stream, hoy
far away he could not Judge, thor