Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1915-06-17

That's my pencil" he thought DULY.
There is not another pencil in this
desert How can | write to Dolores if
Old Man Gallon walks off,"
He took out of his pocket a worn
ture Of a woman, whose calm, cold fea-
lures, unadorned by the photographers
art, were appealing to the man Of his
appetites.
He looked at this q moment, and
then all the morbid fire in his blood
famed toward his heart Love, life
and happiness depended upon the pos
session of gold. Therefore, with this
fire in his heart, Wilkerson suddenly
got that absolute thirst for gold which
%traverses deserts, which has killed
more people than the armies Of Eu.
rope,
And in his sudden access Of physical
desire for gold in order to attain this
woman he rose to his feet, and there
came upon his face a swift expression,
stealthy but determined.
He put the photograph away and.
pantherlike, stole into the shadow I'm.
der the hill and toward the man who
had been his partner, but whom he
was resolved to kill. He crept along.
taking all precautions against disturb
ing a single pebble, until he stood over
Gallon, and in the full moonlight he
saw that Gallon was drawing the plans
and marking the locations Of a mine.
"How far he thought forcefully to
himself. "has the old man. gone What
gulch is this? What place is this? He
has found the gold. and I'm going to
have it!' He still watched the pencil
and saw hin trace in rude letters:
This will make you happy"
That momen Gallon saw Wilkerson
smiling at him.
Smiles and tears. sorrow and laugh
ter have made this world what it is,
and the smile on the saturnine visage
of Wilkerson stirred Gallon to his
depths. Did Wilkerson know? Had
Wilkerson seen? Was Ruth to lose the
gold that he had found after all these
years? Wilkerson had peered owe his
shoulder. Wilkerson! Wilkerson! VIII.
kerson! There must be no Wilkerson!
He pulled out his revolver and fired
at the nan smiling at him from the
shadow.
Wilkerson emptied his revolver at
the old man. But Gallons trained eye.
backed up by his overmastering pas
sion, had directed his weapon too sure
ly. Wilkerson realized that his ene-
my's bullet had gone home.
Still with the blood lust in his heart,
Gallon pulled out the picture Of a little
girl and ~passionately kissed it.
"You look like your mother. Ruth"
he whispered.
But while he was yielding to this
queer tenderness his former partner
was struggling to his feet-dizzy with
pain. absolutely cowed by the shock of
finding himself physically helpless, yet
driven by instinct to find other human
beings. Where were they? There was
no sound on the desert except the
rustling Of the dry leaves Of the
l yuCCdS anu LlS A1ulllul VI IQS SdSIuS
as it died of drought. He was really of
two minds. One desire was to find the
location Of the gold. The other was to
Save his w life and assuage the bit
ter fast which he knew meant death.
At last he stumbled to his feet and
peered across the mist yelled valley
Far away he saw a light. Gathering
all his strength, he started toward it,
for it held out to him the prospect of
help for his physical injury. and as be
fingered his revolver he feverishly
dreamed of finding Gallon and so
avenging himself.
Under the stars he tramped on. As
men see their real world in miniature
and their ideal world magnifed, as we
all do, the moon, flooding it's light
down upon his path. did not appear
within his range Of vision. 1t was
only the little pin points of stars in
the purple black sky that he discerned
and in the midst of this armament, as
IL horizons had been obliterated. he
saw a solitary twtnkling light, which
meant a human habitation.
"IIl get him yet" he muttered thick,
iy. The mere act of articulate speech
died in his throat. He realized that he
had no water. and the overpowering
thirst burned In his very marrow.
II can't make It," he thought to him
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