Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1911-11-02

| unut every nerve Wltn1n MIN tnrcbbcC
In unison with his present purpose.
He was right: he knew he was right.
1t was not hate, not even revenge,
which had set him forth, leaving love
| behind, but honor-the honor of the
South. and of the frontier, Of his an
cestry and his training-honor that
drove him now to meet Hawley face
to face, man to man. to settle the feud
| between them for all time. And ne
rode smiling, gladly. as to tryst,
now that he was at last alone, free
| In the desert.
The hours passed, the sun rising
higher In the blazing blue of the Sky;
the horse, wearied by tho constant
! pull of the sand, had long since slowed
down TO walk; the last dim blur Of
The cottonwoods along the Fork had
disappeared; and the rider swayed In
the saddle the dead lifeleasnesS OF
sky and desert Cullins his brain. Yet
he had not forgotten his errand--rous-
ing constantly from lethargy to sweep
his shaded eyes about the rounded
horizon, keenly marking the slightest
shadow across tho sands, taking ad-
vantage of every drift to give him
wider viewpoint, rising in his stirrups
| 20 scan the leagues OF desolation
ahead. Twice lie drew his revolver
from out its sheath, tested it, and
slipped in a fresh cartridge, return
ing the weapon more lightly to It's
place, the flap OF the holster turned
back and held open by his leg. The
sun beat upon him like ball of fire,
the hot sand flirging the blaze back
into his face He pushed back the
upper part Of his shirt and drank a
swallow OF tcpid water from a can.
teen strapped behind the saddle. His
eyes ached with the glare, until be
saw fantastic red and yellow shapes
dancing dlzzily before him. The
WEAKNESS of the long night pressed
! upon his eye-bals; he felt the strain
of the past hours, the lack CT food
the need Of rest. Ills head nodded
and he brought himself TO life again
with n jerk and q muttered word, star
ing out into the dim. formless dis
lance Lord. If there was only some
thing moving; something he could
concentrate his attention upon; some
thing to rest the s3rainng eyes!
But there was nothing. absolutely
nothing-just that seemingly endless
stretch Of sand. circled by the blazing
sky the wind sweeping Its surface
soundless and hot, as though from the
pits OF hell; no stir, no motion, no
movement of anything animate or in
animate to break the awful monotony.
Death! it was death everywhere, his
aching eyes rested on nothing but
what was typical OF death Even the
heat waves seemed fantastic. gro
;esque. assuming spectral forms, as
though ghosts beckoned and danced
in the haze, Turing MIN on to become
one of themselves. Keith was not I
drea mer nor one ID yield easily to
such brain fancies. but the mad delri-
um of loneliness gripped him, and he
had TO struggle back to sanity. beat
ing his hands upon his breast to stir
anew the sluggish circulation Of HIS
blood and talking to the horse IN
strange feverishuess
With every step Of advance the
brooding silence seeraed more pro
found. mora deathlke. He got TO
marking the sand ridges. the slight va
riations giving play to the brain. Way
OF to the left was the mirage of a
lake. apparently so real that he had
TO battle with himself to keep from
turning aside He dropped forward
IN the saddle, his head hanging low,
so blinded by the incessnnt sun glare
he could no lc"Cec bear the glitter OF
that horrible ocean of sand. It was
noon nOw-IoOn. and he had been rid
ing steadily seven hours The thought
brought his blurred eyes again to the
horizon. Where could he be, the man
he sought in the heart Of this soil
tude? Surely he should be here by
now, if he had left the water-hole at
dawn. Could he have gone the longer
route, south to the Fork? The posi-
bility OF such thing scared through
him like hot iron. driving the dull
ness from his brain. the lethargy from
his limbs. God. no! Fate could never
play such scurvy trick as that, The
man must have been delayed; had
failed to leave camp eeriy-some'
where ahead, yonder where the blue
haze marked the union OF sand and
sky. he was surely coming, riding halt
dead, and dropping in the saddle,
Again Keith rose in his stirrups
rubbing the mist out OF his eyes that
he might see clearer, and stared
ahead. What was that away out yon
der? a shadow? u spot dancing before
his tortured vision? or 4 moving, liy
ing something which he actually saw?
He could not tell, hs could not be
sure, yet he strengthened up expect
antly, shading his eyes. and never
losing sight OF the object. Ii moved
grew larger, darker, more reel-yet
how 1t crawled, crawled. craW Cd to
ward him. 1t seemed as If thu ague
shapeless thing would nevc lake
form. never stand out revealed Inst
the sky Sc he could determH, tbs
truth he had forgotten ali else-the
" silent desert the blazing sun, tho
burning wind-all his soul concen
trated on that speck yonder. Sudden
ly 1t disappeared-a swale in the sane
Drobably-and, when it rose into view
again, he uttered cry Of joy-it Wa
horse and rider!
. Little by little they drew nearer
one another two black specks In tha