Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-10-07
CHAPTER I
The Water Hole

".X
1tcrso ~,aster hard. II burned like
y nkea except for n painting lizard
" fne a.. 49, or a dust-gray Jack rabbit,
~ srd W. tn., ,,s covert. nothing animate
MrId no" y. sace. High and motionless
Ir<d upon .s .,v buzzard poised long
4 4 ~ er,aa, enns crows among the thorny
~ AeS..r.d and whistled, cholSed and
UIrc@ sacred and grunted; dove
&1F' s,. s,,,,consoIably and out OF the air
,,StnIlic insect cries-the ul,ec'ion
~. ,hey came as unascertainaoie US
a <surce was hidden 49,.
.~>ouoh the sun was hsl-was
kH',,s rlare remained untempered,
= rrS ..ntaiszInr shade of the sparse
~ - moro Of a trial than a COM
-. Iona woman who, refusing Its
~ s.,,,at,on. plodded steadily over
1m SION. indeed, she dared not.
e 49, fatigue. regardless of the
W. ~ sss, and limbs unused to walk
~ -s,st as she constantly assured
s.sr going until strength failed.
<.~,.nately, she had kept her head,
~ q. rstalned sufficient reason TO deny
,-rc,ful apprehensions which ciamorea
.,S,1nce. II she once allowed hersei,
/ = S,rome panicly. she knew she woulu
far worse--nnd now, if ever,
ssa All her faculties Somewhere
"A.
.-.s dIstant, lay the water hole
/ 4Es... country was a deadly and
rr r'.s ..n,sness. devoid of landmarks
.,..s,,g well-defined watercourses. The
. ..s r,.so,,ite with its first spring foli-
ss.smbjed llmltless peach orchard
~ N, .orne careless and unbelievably
s-,i hsnd out Of these false acres
..sr.i knolls and low stony hills lifted
<'--s,,,ss 40 that one came. now and then.
/ Z <.rtage points where the eye leaped Tor
~ distances across imperceptible valleys
& horizons go far away that the scattered
!. rIrmps were blended into an unbroken
~ N rreen. To the woman these out
81. ~sre unutterably depressing, merely
X<,ns 10 reveal the vastness of the desc
| E-ea about her.
II, ~ crest Of such q rise she paused
- s,udlsd the country carefully, but with
svsu she felt diEzily for the desert
- sr,nr from her shoulder. only to find
| r~5,f and dry; the galvanized mouthpiece
| "a her fingers. with little shock she
| Srs,nSered that she had done this very
| ~ several times before, and her repeated
/ mftting frightened her, since It seemed
| 4 show that her mind had been slightly
r,>shnced by the heat That perhaps ex-
/ S.lsed why the distant horizon swan and
utrred 90.
~ an probabslity man situated as she
=. would have spoken aloud, in an en-
| E.vor 10 steady himself but this woman
! 81 nothing Of the sort Seating herself
/ 4 t4s densest shade she could find-it was
. zr3r no shade at all--she closed her eyes
4 "a rslaxed--no easy thing to do In such
4 eejnr temperature and when her throat
~ lchlng with drought.
ubnrth she opened her eyes again, only
/ id that she could mako out nothing
6efN Undoubtedly she was lost; the
mr. hole might be anywhere. She listened
/ rniy, and the very air seemed to listen
~ her 4 the leaves hushed their faint
u1hperinge; nearby cactus held Its forty
1sky ears alert, while others more distant
)szed In the same hardening attitude. II
n1ned to the woman that a thousand ears
rtp strainlng with hers, yet no sound
nne save only the monotonous crescendo
: ID dIminuendo Of those locust cries COM
/ 3 cut Of nowhere and retreating into the
Hlds Al last, as II satisfied, the leaves
1eun to whisper softly again.
Away to her left lay the yellow flood of
~ Rio Grande, but the woman, though
41ptsd TO swing in that direction, knew
Hltsr than to yield. At least twenty miles
tarrens lay between, and she told her
~ that she could never cover such dis
1act No, the water hole was nearer: II
/ 1ut BE- close at hand. If she could only
unk little more clearly, she could locate
Once more she tried. as she had tried
Aany times before, TO recall the exact point
I11re she had shot her horse, and to map
= her minds eye the foot-weary course she
- Travelled from that point onward.
pesert travel was nothing new to her,
n1H and fatigue were old acquaintanceS,
- shs could not help wondering II, in
xk OF her training, in spite OF that in
~ sense OF direction which she had
'1ea herself upon sharing with the wild
.tures she were fated to become a victim
the ehaparral. The possibility was re-
~ aoath az this moment seemed as far
e ever--if anything It was too far on
sns would find the water hole some
Or the unexpected would happen. as
1nV did when one was In dire straits.
- 100 young and too strong TO die
psssh was not SO easily won as this
she readjusted the strap of the
~ water bag over her shoulder and the
s[Iiese belt at her hip. then set her
feet down the slope.
oleo lnseringly. The sun gradually
crueity, but partial relief from
nsst merely emphasized the travellers $
snd muscular distress Onward she
90 using her eyes as carefully as she
no" She watched the evening flight
II uoses' thinking to guide herself by
|I...<~ ~uso, put she was not shrewd
Ec read the signs correctly. The
X4 .sa ~ round were old, for the most
- M they led In no particular direc-
/ &n ~here ~ uniting into anything like a
y arink the blood OF a taclx rabbit
H--<," would quench her thirst. But the
<.1 -, "ss repellent, and, besides, she
q n. = 5000 shot with revolver. Nor
~ S.'- s-'tus oner any relief, since II was
- % fruit anu - Se'
. san had grown red ana huge when
&s,--s = ,he hard-baked dirt she dis
IA .lo,. .sn ~ noorprints. These seemed TO
e ~ s me line In which she was travel
~ - she followed them gladly enco,,r.
Hk.'-asl asl they were Joined by Others. For
&|u.5 Ney meandered aimlessly, they
&.lAIss he'nlng = more like a trail than
III r<as haa as yet seen. Guessing al
|u1r e<'s, direction. she hurried on
~ sks1r.s INTO a region where the soil
F - ro<Ls ~. eno scarcely served TO cover
i Isf S'a,um- 80 low blum rose on
11Ik s.-s aions Its crest scattered
wv ths 80 We're ragsedly silhouetted
- :, - IN well-defined path nov, .n.
.rus1.6 -. Dst hsr legs were heavy; she
Mr. steat deal. and her breath made
60 u,,- ee..ns sounds as Il issued from
r11~ Hounding the steep shoulder
4 frs me hastened down a decliyit,
hslc< scrub oaks and ebony trees
g n~tsass staring ahead OF her.
N an< es..1 ot the stony arroyo, ths
~ r.~~t stuntsd thickets, were softeneS
soss.s' oI twilight; the air had sud.
uss y overhead the empty, fiawles.
-: ~ <Ssnlns swiftly from blue 4
= no<- - ,-''4pafrai had awakened and
In1Iie~ - the sounds OF life
- n ~ : shallow. finty bowl VIA,
burning. ~ 's Drink iitti'
N "a ehy nre' everhung with a black
|a1rs s... us odor OF greasewood AM
x . his fsst va sharp A man. rising