The Glasgow courier., 1916-11-24

pastime than with an idea Of tindin.
gold. Slow.y he oscilatcd the whis
pering sand stopping the water ont un
til he had banned the lot. He spread
his bandanha on smooth rock and
gently emptied the residue of the wash
ing on it. color. but thin" he said
Lets try her again.
He moved farther upstream. this
time with one of his regular pans. He
became absorbed in his experiment,
He washed painful after painful. slowly.
carefully. colectcdly. Suddenly he
stood up. sworc softly and flung the
half washed dirt of the last pan on the
rocks. I'm nut" he exclaimed
This livin' in civilization has been
putin my intellcc' to the bad. Too
much eastern saSSiety. And with this
inexpicable self arraignment he stoop
ed at the tent door. bucklcd Oh his
gun and started upstream. He c'anc
ed from side to side of the steep and
narrowing walls as he advanced slow
w. He passed places where the stream
disappeared in the sand to find some
subterranean channel and reappear be-
low again Rounding an angle of the
cliff, lie dropped to his knees and ex
amincd some tiny parallel scratches
on rounded rock--ihe marks made by
a bootheel that had slipped For an
hour he toiled over the rocks on up the
diminishing stream. "Gettin' thin" he
muttcred. gazing at the silver thread
Of water ripping over the pebbles a
few feet ahead the cliffs met ut tAe
bottom in Il sharp edged ~" not over
a foot apart in the stream bed, but
widening above. Overland scrambled
through. On the other side of the
opening he Strengthened up. breathing
hard. His hand crcpt to his hip. On
sandy level Il few yards ahead Of
him stood ragged and faded canvas
! tent, its flap wavering idly in breath
! rain washed charcoal Of an old fire. \
rusted pan. a pick and the worn stub
Of a shovel lay near the stream. \
box marked "Dynamite" was half fill.
ed with odds and ends Of empty tins
. cooking utensils. and among the things
matches.
Slowly OverIands hand dropped tt
his side. He stepped forward, stOop
ed and peered into the tent. "rhousht
sO." he said. laughing Vueerly. Save
for a pair of old quilts and an ole
II.
Fools luck." muttercd Overland
wonder the Gophertown outfit didn
find him and fix him! But. come t,
think of it. they amt SO anxious tt
cross over to this side Of the range
and get too close to IL real town ant
get run in or shot up. Fools luck"
he reiterated. cOoliy rolling IL cigarett,
and gazing about with critical eye
'They's another trail into this canyOl
that the proSpcct0r knowed. | got t.
find it. Billy ii be some interested"
Overland Rcd lay concealed in an ar
royo at the foot Of the range. Ill
could overlook the desert without he
ing seen. 1t was the afternoon of th'
day following Winthrop's departure.
Since discovering the dead proSpec
tors camp and all that it meant. tin
tramp was doubly yigilant. He tric'
to believe that his anxiety was for hi
own safety rather than for WinthropS
He finally gave up that idea. grumblini
something about becoming plumb sof
in his feelin's since he took to asso
ciatin' with sassiety folks" However
had Winthrop been of the west am
seasoned in its more rugged way
Overland would have thought little o
the young mans share in reren
events. While he knew that Winthro
looked upon their venture as nothin
more than Il rather kccnly eXcitin
game, Overland realized also that tn
easterncr had played the game roya
ly. Perhaps the fact that Winthrop
health was not of the best appealed t
some hidden sentiment in the tramp
peculiar nature.
Far in the south a speck moved. a
most imperceptibly. The tramp's kec
eyes told him that this was no horse
man. He rolled cigarette and la
back In the shade Of bowlder. He
couple of points Off his course. br
he cant miss the range" he reflected.
Desiring to assure himself that II
horseman followed Winthrop. Overlan
Red made no sign that might help tn
other to find the trail over the range
The rim of Winthrop's hat became di
tinguishable; then the white lacinS {
his boots. Nearer. Overland saw tn;
his face was drawn and set With line
of fatigue.
No riders appeared on the horizon
Overland stepped out from behind tn
rock. Well how did you make it;
he called.
Winthrop came forward Ncaul.
NO luck at all
''Couldn't find it, eh:'
Il counted every lie between II
tank and that little ditch under tt
track. The entire stretch has been r.