The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1916-01-06
The De,ert--andll
! Man
BY 2. w. LUENIN0.

Even the trail was gone. Only z
line Of telegraph poles remained.
bleached yellow-white-as dry and
dead as the land about them. Two
wire threads flashed heat from pole
10 pole and quivered strangely. ST.
fling dust clouds settled on the teams
and the yellow wagons assumed the
color Of their Enlightenment for the
most. Men swore YEARLY a. the car
AVIAN followed the metallic line. a
sun-baked riverbed crossed their way.
They stopped. From out Of the bed
protruded an iron pump and near 1t
lay q crude trough Of planks. So they
found Cheepetah-The Well Of Lost
Water.
Four men watched the empty wag-
ons disappear in the dust. A line Of
cement sacks marked Cheepetah, .
pile Of lumber and a tent. The four
returned to work, for the sun beat up
on them mercilessly. They erected q
f1imsy shed. It offered shade. and
they rested. Under q cliff that tower
or sheer they pitched the tent. Then
ate Of canned beef and sank to weary,
exhausted slumber. And the moon
shone on. the desert and the coyotes
howled.
They awoke % days Of toll. Shell
tered from the hurning rays they la
bored under their shod-molding hol-
low blocks of cement. These they
ranged neatly in long rows under a
blazing sun-then staggered back to
their refuge to curse and toll again.
AS the rows Of finished blocks grew
long the pile of cement sacks dwin-
died. So the four watched the line
Of telegraph poles. But the expect
ed-the string of yellow, ~dust-covered
wagons-did not come. The last Of
the cement sacks emptied, they wait
ed. The rest was good. They smok-
ed calmly under the shed. Heat raves
simmered without and lizards played
on the rocks. Within was drowsy
peace and they sprawled on the sands
content.
The fiery disk of red sank into the
western lodges. They sought the tent.
The canned beef was gone, SC they
ate dried prunes. Then slept. A
mountain rat came slyly out of the
night. The g%littering tin spoons fas-
cinated. 1t nosed among them eager
~ upsetting the can with a crash. The
Man stirred uneasily and the rat fed.
It returned warily, later on. When
the four awoke two spoons were gone
and the dried-up prunes. They
drank coffee and finished the last of
the oatmeal-then smoked-and wait
ed-under the shed. The day passed
idly away. Only the lizards stirred
and a buzzard-high above.
The. rat came again when they SLEPT,
It carried away another spoon. It
found the flour and Toasted freely.
In the morning they had coffee and
six biscuits between them, then re-
turned to their vigil. No wagons came.
The inactivity wore on their tempers
and they quarreled more bitterly that
night, then slept r~estlessly.
The Man heard the mountain rat
rattle the spoon. He followed it out
into the night-then forgot it. He
bowed his head in his hands.
"God." he whispered, it'll be hard
to die-in such CO ,pany."
Restless breathing came from the
tent: Someone stirred and muttered
oaths. The Man gulped. He arose
and went to the pump. The iron han
die lifted lightly and dropped clang-
ing on to it's rest. The valves offered
no resistance. The Well of Lost Wat
or was dry!
"ItTl come sooner now" he NUT
tered dispassionately. He sat down on
the empty well and slept.
With the morning came Thirst.
Three men dug frantically in the well.
The Man remained calm. He sat un-
der the shed and smoked. The three
labored long, but found no trace of
moisture. Then they %quarreled fierce
land fought. Unreasonable. brut-
ish anger ruled them. Fear awoke
the beast. The sun drove them to
shelter, SO they sank exhausted IN
der the fiimsy roof and glared at the
telegraph poles. Nothing anne The
sun shone cruelty and the sandstone
lodges and the cactus quivered in the
heat.
That evening they chewed coffee
beans. There was no water. The Man
shunned the tent. He lay down among
the rocks. His parched throat kept
him awake. When he slept. feverish-
". moaning . little, he dreamed. A
coyote howled disnally. very near. He
stirred. aw0ke. and stared hopelessly
into the starlit skies above him. His
eyes burned and his lips felt hot and
cracked.
Only one man sat under the shed
next day. He chewed an empty pipe.
Near him lay three Things. Gaunt.
haggard Things, that scanned the line
Of poles with %glittering. animal eyes.
Fear shone IN the eyes-a restless,
haunting fear. The Things watched
one another furitively. They cursed
thickly now and again and fought
hlind1v. caua01essly-whan fho slow