The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-03-24
CHAPTER XII.

The Trail OF Flying Hoof-Printo.
In the still air of that young day the
chill of night fingered stubbornly-
and would until the shadow Of the
eastern rampant had crept slowly
down the canyons western wall, tele-
scoped upon itself and vanished, let
ting in the sun to make the place
pit Of torment and of burning.
Refreshed from rest and exhilarated
by this grateful GOODNESS, his horse
responded willingly to the first light
touch Of Alan's spur. In twinkling
the overnight camp dropped from view
behind the rounded shoulder of hill.
side, mesquite-cloaked.
Then from its first spirited flight
the horse settled down to steady 60.
ing. heightened its stride, and ran for
leagues with the long, apparently ef-
fortress and tireless lope Of the plains
bred broncho, ventre-a-terre.
Alan's departure from camp had an.
ticipated by round quarter-hour the
appearance on the upper trail Of
friends Of the slain bandit, to the
number Of four or five, who had both
discovered and recovered his body,
called his death murder and pledged
themselves to it's avengement-laying
responsibility for the putative crime
at the door of the man and woman
to be seen in the canyon, Immediately
below the scene of Hopi Jim's fall.
Between the moment when discov-
cry Of the men on the ridge trail in.
terrupted their simple and hurried
breakfast and that which found Rose
and Barcus mounted on the back of
their own horse and making the best
of their way down the canyon in pur.
suit Of Alan, but little time had
elapsed.
And even with its double burden.
their horse made better time upon
the broad lower level than those who
followed the ridge trail BY mid morn.
ing, when they approached the foot.
hills that ran down to the desert, the
pursuit was more than mile in the
rear and shut of to boot by q mono
lithic hill, while Alan was many @
weary mile In ADVANCE.
He sat upon his horse, just then, al
standstill upon the summit of a round
ed knoll, the Painted hills lifting w
behind him, the desert before unfold
Ing like a map-but like q map al
blurred.
Only in the near foreground was
anything definite to be distinguished
in the aspect of that sunbitten waste
bleached earth patterned in almost or
derby arrangement by sagebrush ant
gnarled cacti. At the distance of hal
mile all blended into one vast plain
of glaring gray that stretched eve,
the round of the world to a broker
wall of purple hills that rec'cd drunk
emily in the haZe-veiled southwest.
Was Judith out there, somewhere
lost. defenseless. forlcrn, impotent {,
lift hand to shield her face from til,
blast of that savage SUI?
Staring beneath a shading hand. h
discerned nothing that moved upol
the surface of the desert but it
myriad heat-devils jigging monotc
! HOuSiy tutir lllSfIdl udISe IudCdDTt
Or-as seemed more probable-wa
she back there among the Painte
hills. lying still and lifeless, crushe
beneath the weight of that falle
horse?
No rest for Alan till he knew
Descending the knoll he refined hi
tagging mount back into the trail, 70
lowing its winding course through tn
foothills and rcupd the base of th~
monolithic mountain toward the jrn,
ton with the ridge trail, miles away.
1t approached the hour of noon b,
fore he gained the point where tn
two trails joined and struck out acros
TIE des~~t. And here he discovere
what he thought indisputable indie,
ton that the fright of Judith's hors
had persisted.
Abandoning Immediately all MOTTO
OF returning through the hills by tn
ridge-trail. he turned and swung ava
at the best pace he could spur froi
his broncho. delivering himself int
the pitiless embrace of that implac;
bic wilderness of sun and sand.
At long intervals he would chez