Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1912-07-04

mounted, and staggered forward on |
foot. leading them stumbling blindly |
after. Once the negros horse |
dropped. and had TO be dashed to It's
feet again. once Keith's pony STUN
down into the sand, and he would
have died there, lacking sufficient
strength to lift the dead weight, but
for Neb's assistance. AS 1t was he
went staggering blindly forward,
bruised. and faint from hunger and
fatigue.
About them night finally closed in,
black and starless. yet fortunately
with gradual dying away of the
storm. For an hour past they had
been struggling on, doubling their di-
rection. wondering DULY If they were
not lost and merely drifting about in
circle. They had debated this
fercely once. the ponies standing de-
jectedly, tails to the storm. Neb argu-
ing that the wind still blew from the
| south, and Keith contending i; had
shifted into the westward. The white
man won his way. and they staggered
on uncertain, the negro grasping the
| first pony's tail to keep from being
| separated from his companion. Some
! instinct of the plains must have guild
| ed 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 Gag
erly. The slope led gradually down
ward, the animals seeming water. and
struggling to break away. Swaying
in their saddles, the riders let them
20, 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 nibbled at the short tufts
Of heritage. but in a manner express
siye of WEAKNESS. Keith flung him
self on the ground, every muscle of
his body aching. his exposed flesh still
smariing from the hail of sand.
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 10
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 bad been originally intended. II
so. then they might be almost directly
south of Carson City. and in section
with which he was totally unacquaint-
ed One thing was. however, certain
they would be compelled to wait for
daylight to ascertain the truth, and
decide upon their future movements.
Keith arose reluctantly. and remov
ed the saddles from the animals, hob
bling them so they could Craze at
will Neb was prOpped up beneath an
out-cropping of the bank. which partly
protected him from the wind, a mere
hulk of a shadow. Keith could not
tell whether he slept or not. but made
no effort to disturb him. moment
he stared vacantly about into the
black silence and then lay down. pill
lowing his head upon saddle. He
found it impossible to sleep. the chill
of the wind causing him to turn anC
twist. in vain search after comfort
while unappeased hunger gnawed in
cessantly. His eyes ranged about Over
the duh gloom of the skies until they
fell again to the earth level and ther
he suddenly sat up. half believing him
self in a dream-down the stream, how
far away he could not judge. there
r. cleaned steady. yellowish light I
4 was no flicker of camp fire. yet re
, NAMED stationary. Surely no stal
t could be so low and large; nor did h'
= recall any with that popularity o
S color II such a miracle was possible
5 in the heart of that sandy desert h'
, would have sworn it was a lamp shin
p ing through a window. But he ha'
. never heard of any settler on the Sal
\ Fork, and almost laughed at thu
> thought. believing for the instant hi
| brain PLAYED him some elfish trick
e Yet that light was no illusion: he rub
). bed his eyes. only to see II more clear
q ~, convinced now of its reality. IL
, strobe hastily across. and shook Mel
, into semi-consciousness. dragging hin
4 bodily up the bank and pointing dow
! the stream.
4 DO you see that" he inquired anx
iously. There. straight ahead o
4 you?"
. The negro stared, shaking with cold
il and scarcely able 10 stand alone.
2 Maybe it am de moon. Massa Jack.
v he muttered, thickly. ''or goblin
o lantern Lawd. | don't Jest like d.
1 looks oh dat ting"
+ We'll, do" and Keith laughed un
n easily at the negro's fears. "All
+ wanted to know was If you saw wha
[ | saw. That's lamp shining through
- window. Neb. What in heaveni
= name it can be doing here am un
! able to guess, but I'm going to find out
Y 1t means shelter and food. boy. even l