The copper era and Morenci leader., 1912-06-07
CHAPTER xxxIv.
Aaain at the Cabin.

not even a mail coach passing them.
 Evidently the Indians were so trou-
 blesome as to interrupt all traffic with
 Santa Fe and the more western forts.
 The slowness of their progress was
 on account of the General, whose con
 dition became worse in spite of Fair
 bain's assiduous attentions. With no
 medicine the doctor could do but little
 to relieve the sufferings of the older man, although he declared that his
 illness was not a serious one, and
 would yield quickly to proper medical
 treatment They constructed a rude
 travois from limbs of the cottonwood,
 and securely strapped him thereon,
 one man leading the horse, while the doctor tramped behind.
 Keith. fretting more and more over
 this necessary delay, and now ob- sessed with the thought that Hawley must have rejoined his party on the Arkansas and gone south with them,.
 finally broke away from the others and rode aheas, to gather together the necessary horses and supplies tn ad-
 vance of their arrival He could not drive from his mind the remembrance of the gamblers attempted familiarity
 
 then supposed, safe in his power once before in that lonely cabin on the Salt Fork. Now, angry with baff1ed ambi- tion, and a victim of her trickery, there was no guessing to- what ex-. tremes the desperado might resort. The possibilities of such situation made the slightest delay in rescue an agony almost unbearable. Reaching Carson City, and perfectly reckless as to his own safety there from arrest, the plainsman lost no time in perfect ing arrangements for pushing for ward. Horses and provisions were pro- cured, and he very fortunately discov- cred in town two cowboys belonging to the Bar X" outfit, their work there accomplished and about ready to re- turn to the ranch on the Canadian, who gladly allied themselves with his party, looking forward to the possi- bilities of fight with keen anticipa- tion. Keith was more than ever de- lighted with adding these to his outfit, when, on the final arrival of the oth- CTS, the extra man brought from Sher- idan announced that he had had enough, and was going to remain there No efforts made revealed any knowledge of Hawley's presence in Carson City: either he had not been there, or else his friends were very carefully concealing the fact. The ut ter absence of any trace, however, led Keith to believe that the gambler had gone elsewhere-probably to Fort Larned-for his new outfit, and this belief left him more fully convinced than ever of the fellows efforts to conceal his trail.
 The party escorting Waite reached the town in the evening, and in the following gray dawn the adventurers forded the river, and mounted on fresh horses and fully equipped. headed forth into the sand hills. The little i company now consisted of Keith, Fair l bain, who, in spite of his rotundity of form had proven himself hard and fit, Neb, having charge of the single pack-horse the scout Bristoe, and the two cowboys of the Bar X," rough, wiry fellow, accustomed to expo sure and peril It was emphatically a fighting outfit, and to be trusted in emergency.
 They followed the cattle trail south toward the Salt Fork, as this course would afford them a camp at the only water-hole in all that wide desert ly- ing between. With this certainty of water, they ventured to press their animals to swifter pace, although tho sand made travelling heavy, and the trail itself was scarcely discerntbIe. It was a hard, wearisome ride, hour I after hour through the same dull, dreary landscape of desolation, the hot, remorseless sun beating down upon them, refecting up into their blistered faces from the hot surface of i sand There was scarcely a breath of air, and the bodies of men and horses were bathed in precipitation. Not cloud hung in the blue sky; no wing i of a bird broke the monotony of dis | tance, no living animal crept across the blazing surface of the desert. Oc- 1 casionalr a d.stcnt mirage attracted | the eye. lsa%ing hc Gead reality even slore tc,ri.:-e ,y .,s @emblance to wa :er, yet never tempting them to stray lside. After the first mile conversa- l ion ceased, the men riding grimly, | silently forward, intent only on GOV | ,ring all the distance possible. Late hat night they camped at the water hole. sleeping as best they could, scourged by the chill wind which i swept over them and lashed grit into exposed faces. With the first gray Of lawn they swung stiffened forms into he saddles and rode on, straight as he crow flies, for the Salt Fork They attained that stream at sundown, gray with sand dust their faces streaked rom perspiration feeling as though he sun rays had burned their brains, with horses fairly reeling under them According to Keith's calculation this