The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1912-07-08

grimly TO bring that damn fant freacne. ;n..L pa
The text-writcr enroute had blazed an unmis,as-
able trail But the spring OF his actions seemed 70
have been rusty at the outset OF ms traveis anu AZ
pursuer lost much time IN picking up .ne ssad s'd h
last a fellow sojourner in shabby tavern to'u mn
that Pacific Grove beyond Monterey, was plasteisu
with calls to repentance and hgnring Una. w,." h tav
curvature he struck straight south out q Salinas
and came upon the trace - .s.,
lie travelled light but the ploddng caravan haa
long lead For three hundred crooked miles he ioi-
lowed flame OF wrath hell-hre warming, and ms
soul was consumed that the tender Abigail shoulo
depend for happiness upon lean ranter whose e one
idea was condemnation. Then. in the hot heart OF Il
rolling cattle country, known for its hides and tshow
before the Union was, he came upon hou arr my my
rock and my fortress therefore Tor lhy name sake
lead me" pleading across the outcrop OF granite
ridge Polhemus hated the man with passion pro-I
pofionate to his own loss. IF ever get my hands
on him III lead him." he muttered truculently. lhe
little girl thinks she needs him! That's enough n
The Lord is my Shepherd | shall not want
CLEANED from the low Intel of sheep she'd cower-
ing under barren hill; and its complement gar
nhcd the bridge where the rider stopped ms horsel
TO drink "a
"'Grcen pastors and still waters; an her back,
the-e al eaten up with woe, he growled aloud.l
"Tis castron innards won't be still when he trots
along with me- And all down the dry leagues or
San Luis and Santa Barbara he fed his imagination
on the clash OF wills to His faith IN right
eous moral suason loomed large; but he wore
revolver on his hip
Lead US not into temptation, scored black on the
boarding beyond isolated road-house, revived SICK
memories cf Sam Watson's bargain and the girls
first Mlltown hymn. And he cursed the Reverend
eremiah's canting cruelty again. His sturdy out
door training held no concept Of conscience perver-
sCn and its fantastic power. That the ranter whossf
rerlcnstrance had antagonized him from the begin
ming might carry burden of emptiness much IKE
his own did not enter his head And his fine IN
pulse had grown sour and self-revengefu by the
time that, sadde-weary and still outdistanced, n ne
rode down among the orange groves about the CITY
OF Angels" and lost the scent IN a multitude OF
ways. =,
lie cut a haf.circle through the suburbs to pick
.t. i,.eta tpart 1aNc
ment Of some road members in the pursuit OF tray
cling knife grinders cart, and finally got wind OF ms
prey in an unexpected direction. What had turned
the desert bent Micah toward FL TETON, Pohenius
could only guess. Perhaps he would be crazy enough
to strike east through Death Valley and the dry
point Of Nevada with his heavy one horse equipage,
thinking decorate the buttcs for the benefit Of the
resident heatlen. Once on the right road the pur,
suer could always follow; and he wheeled toward
the north, again week behind.
At Bakersfield he made certain that the outht was
close at hand. still headed up the great valley; and,
having spent his last two bits t. bait his horse set
forth to repeuish his pocket Mention Of the Y. l.
/. c. brought him work in the lumber yards for as
long he would stay. The setback put his morns
in fine fettle And up through Tuare to the rasn
belt they gaining at every Jump.
The signs had grown farther apart since they left
the southern capital scriptural debauch among
the oil derricks in Kern County showing spas-
modc return to the voice of wrath. had been capped
by period of silence that tried the trackers skill;
and up through the reclamation lands there were
alluvial miles where there little but telegraph
poles to paint, and it was only upon the bridges that
he caught an embittered cry. Then near Fresno the
horse cast shoe and bungne blacksmith lamed
him. that they had to lay UP again But they
faced indirectly toward home. and by this time
he promised himself to turn it west through the
Pacheco Pass To old (filroy
Satisfied that its pilot was making for safer
route overland by way of Truckee or even Oregon
Pollemus grew ever grimly more enamoarcd Of pun
ishing bodily the paint singing jeremiah Wives
submit yourselves to your own husbands adorning
solitary loading platform in the upper San Joaquin
cd ME died tf,a n whit he
No having put his hand to the pow and
looking back is fit for the kingdom Of God" trailed
its length along the top board Of a wire fenced,
falow field. And Woe unto him that buildeth his
house by unrghtcousness' warned all and sundfy
from the crooked clapboards of abandoned shack
God be mercitula to me slnnerW scored the
parting of the two main highways The rider
stopped his horse and stared at IT. Habit read the
unconscious fugtves soul into his works of hand;
but the twisted cord drawing the of their travels
still eluded him.
A couple Of cowboys tooling unruly herd Of
beef cattle told him that the man who was making
Bible of the fences had crossed their astonished
vision two hours past.
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness In
the left. M %att
The stout white cob cropped at the dry roadside
grass The painter. in his old sombrero and clerical
collar and tie, knelt back-bowed over his work:
Thy rod and Thy staff shall comfort me-" In the
whitest Of white lead, picked out with cobaltsbue
The lurd Vengeance IS Mine Of their first brush
vividly, banked in green, before the watchers
eyes, at the stains upon the laborer's jeans His
lips writhed in stern recognition of its prophetic
promise That old score should be settled with the
new.
Polhemus studied the crouehing figure somberly
The chase had been long. but il was over. There
no call to rush matters. The black whichever
should know what all his trouble was about
The long line of the preachers Jaw followed hum
grily. The shabby, urbancut coat hung loose over
flesh parched If by the desert suns His whole
forceful being ssgged. The intent gaze of his self
appointed Nense's drew ,pent' miserable orbs, in
which reawakening anguish wavered into startled,
incredulous hope as they realized the strangers
identity. And, face to face with opportunity after
two months, and more than a thousand miles a-horse-
back, Jake Polhemus said only, very gruf1y "Th'
little up TO Milltown needs wi mighty bad''
''Yu can't hit fellow when he's down; an be-
sides, it struck she wanted him she'd
ruther have him whole he said whinsically stand
ing lean and brown in the superintendents Office of
the Valley Land and Lumber Company Incorpo-
rated He talked to me some instead of to tn fence
rails after overhaued him. An TIL things religion
II stand for beats tn world. Il was Just like she
said-he didn't understand And when he got done
being mad, he'd Jest greved himself to bone-sack
for her because she'd turned her back on tn work
o TIL Lord. He reck'ned he'd be damned fur not
salvatng the alkai but he cu'dnt seem to start oH
for Chicago without her TIL Lords give her an