The Mena weekly star., 1911-11-30

@neai every norve within him throbhad
"a unison with his present purpose
lie was right; he knew he was right
y was not hate, not even revenge
winch had set him forth. leaving love
oehlnd, but honor-the honor of the
south, and Of the frontier, OF his an.
eestry and his training-honor that
urove him now to meet Hawley face
70 face, man to man. to settle the feud
between them for all time. And ne
rode smiling, gladly, as to a 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:
me horse, wearied by the 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 lifelessness of
sky and desert dulling 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 the sands, taking ad-
vantage Of every drift to give him
wider viewpoint, rising in his stirrups
to scan the leagues Of desolation
ahead Twice he drew his revolver
from cut it's sheath, tested II, and
slipped in fresh cartridge, return
Ing the weapon more lightly to its
place. the Zap Of the holster turned
back and held open by his leg. The
sun beat upon him like ball OF fire,
the hot sand f1inging the blaze back
into his face. He pushed back the
upper part OF his shirt and drank
swallow of tepid water from can.
teen strapped behind the saddle. His
eyes ached with the glare, until he
saw fantastic red and yellow shapes
dancing dizzily before him. The
WEAKNESS of the long night pressed
upon his eye-balls; he felt the strain
of the past hours, the lack OF food,
the need of rest. His head nodded,
and he brought himself to life again
with jerk and a muttered word, star
ing out into the dim, formless dis
lance. Lord, II there was only some
thing moving; something he could
his attention upon; some.
thing to rest the straining eyes!
But there was nothing, absolutely
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
of anything animate or in
to break the awful monotony.
jeath! 1t was death everywherel his
ching eyes rested on nothing but
what was typical Of death, Even the
heat waves seemed fantastic, gro
tesque, assuming spectral forms, as
Ehough ghosts beckoned and danced
in the haze, Turing him on to become
one of themselves. Keith was not a
dreamer, nor one to yield easily to
uch brain fancies, but the mad deliri-
nm of loneliness gripped him, and he
lsd 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 feverishness.
With every step of advance the
brooding silence seemed more pro
found more deathlike He got to
the sand ridges, the slight va
~iations giving play to the brain. Way
off to the left was the mirage of q
AXE, apparently so real that he had
70 battle with himself to keep from
aside. He dropped forward
IN the saddle, his head hanging low,
70 blinded by the incessant sun glare
ne could 70 longer bear the glitter of
hat horrible ocean of Fand. II was
loon now-noon, and he had been rid
ng steadily seven hours. The thought
,rought his blurred eyes again to the
lorizon. Where could he be, the man
lie sought in the heart of this soil
ude? Surely he should be here by
low, If he had left the water-hole at
lawn. Could he have gone the longer
cute, south to the Fork? The posi-
lility of such a thing scared through
lin like a hot iron, driving the dull
less from his brain, the lethargy from
lis limbs. God. no. Fate could never
lay such a scurvy trick as that The
aan must have been delayed; had
allied to leave camp early-some-
here ahead, yonder where the blue
Iaze marked the union of sand and
ky, he was surely coming, riding half
lead, and dropping in the saddle.
Again Keith rose in his stirrups,
'ubbing the mist out OF his eyes that
le might see clearer. and stared
head What was that away out yon-
Ter? Il shadow? a spot dancing before
lie tortured yision? or moving. liv.
ng something which he actually saw?
he could not tell, he could not be
iure, yet he Strengthened up expect
lntly, shading his eyes, and never
osng sight Of the object 1t moved,
grew larger. darker, more real--yet
low 1t crawled, crawled, crawled to-
ward him. 1t seemed as If the vague,
ihapeless thing would never take
orm, never stand out revealed against
he sky so he could determine the
ruth. He had forgotten all else-the
silent desert, the blazing sun, the
burning wind-all his soul concen-
rated on that speck yonder. Sudden
y it disappeared-a swale in the sand
when it rose into view
again, he uttered a cry Of ioy--it was