The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1916-12-21

the bearded yellow particles that spell |
power. There in the fas;ness Of those !
| steep, purgatcrial walls was the her !
mitage of the two voices-voiceS that
! no longer whispered Of hope, but left
! him in the utter loneliness Of posses.
sion and its birthright, fear.
| He cried aloud for the companion
ship of men and glanced fearfully
round lest man had heard him call
He again journeyed to the town be
side the railroad, bought supplies and
vanished, ragged wrath, on the
horizon.
Back in the canyon he set about his
labors, finding Il numbing solace III
toll
But at night he would think of the
child's face He had said to those
with whom he had left the child that
he would return with fortune. They
/ knew he went away to forget They
did not expect him to return That
had been ten years ago He had writ
ten twice. Then he had drifted. al
ways promising the inner voice that
urged him that he would find gold for
her. his child. that she might ever
think kindly of him So he tried to
buy himself with promises Once he
had been a man of his hands. a man
who stood straight and faced the sun
Now the people of the desert town
eyed him askance. He heard them say
he was mad-that the desert had got
him They were wrong. The desert
and its secret were his-a sullen para
mour, but his nevertheless. Had she
not given him of her very heart?
He viewed lis shrunken body, knew
that he stopped and shuflled. realized
that he had paid the inevitable, the in-
exorabie price for the secret. His wine
of dreams had evaporated. He sifted
the coarse gold between his fingers, let
ting it fall back into the pan. Was it
fer this that he had wasted his soul?
In the desert town men began to
notice the regularity of his comingS
and goings. Two or three Of them
, foregathered in the saloon and com
:, mented on it.
asserted one.
g There was silence. The round
clock behind the bar licked loudly
ominously.
Then he's struck it ar last" said
another.
y, "sIebby." commented the first speak
!, er.
< The third man nodded. Then came
G silence again and the absolute ticking
Of the clock Presently from outside
r in the white heat of the road came the
rush of hoofs and an abrupt stop. \
$ spurred and booted rider, his sWarth5
I'LL face gray with DIST strobe in. nodded
:, to the group and called for whisky.
(which way did he go. SaundcrsT
asked one
North, as usual" said the rider.
=, Lets set down." suggested the thirC
man
They shuf1led to 4 table. The bar
tender brought glasses and a bottle
then, unlimited, he pulled up chair
and sat with them. The rider looked
at him pointcdIy.
! "Oh, I'm in on this" asserted tn,
bartender "DauGherty is the Wells
z Fargo man here. He won't talk to no
4 body but me-abOut business"
4 "Whats that got to do with it?
4 queried the rider.
! Just what you'd notice, Saunders
Listen! The rat left Il bag of dust il
the company's safe last trip. Daugl
: erty says it's worth mebby five hun
dred. He says the rats goin' to brin
in some more Do come in?'
you're on" said the rider. Now
,r. see hero, boys we got to find out
he's filed on it yet and what his nam
Ill is. and then
10 "Mebby we'd better find out wher
H. it is first" suggested one.
ne "And then jump hin?' queried th
IN rider over his glass.
''And then jump him." chorused til
Ike group. Hes out there alone. 1t
ID. easy" And each poured himself
". drink, for which, strangely enough, Il
:! one offered to pay, and for which th
n bartender evidently forgot to collect.
he Meanwhile the prospector toile
as through the drought of that summe
as boarding the little yellow fakes ths
Of he washed from the gravel in the cal
* yon.
he All round him for miles each wa
to the wafer holes had gone dry. I'll
ed little canyon stream still wound dow
lis its shaded course. disappearing in
his patch Of sand at the canyons mout
so the prospector felt secure. MOI
Of had ridden out to look for him throu2
nd that furnace of burning sand th
-et stretched between. the hills and tt
he desert town.
The stream dwindled slowly, impe
i'm ceptibly.
i'm One morning the prospector notice
Id, it anu Immediately explored the cret
it'll to its source a squirt of water sprin
* ing from the roof of a grotto in Il
ms cliff Such a supply, evidently fro
the rocky heart of the range itse
Sc would be inexlaustiDle.
4 week later he awoke to find t
ed, creek. bed dry save in few deprt
on sions among the rocks. He again V
oil tied the grotto The place was Gar
zen and cool. g!iStening with beads
moisture but the flow from the re
md crevice had ceased. Still he thoug
MS there must be plenty Of water
ALL meath the rocks Of the stream bed.
I'M would dig fer it
yet Another week and he became l
IAN easy. The stream had disappeared