Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-12-14

ranches, and was seen by men. This
did not suit him, and he took an old
trail across country. 1t was a fat
region with a poor growth Of mesquite
and prickIy-pear. cactus. Occasionally
he caught glimpse of low hills in the
distance. He had hunted often in that
section, and knew where TO find grass
and water. When he reached this
higher ground he did not. however.
halt at the first favorable camping
spot but went on and on.
At last he found a secluded spot, I'M
der cover of thick mosquitoes and oaks,
at a goodly distance from the old trail.
He took saddle and pack off the horse,
made small fire, prepared and ate his
supper. This done. ending the work
of that day, he sat down and filled his
pipe. When night set in and the
place seemed all the more isolated and
lonely for that Duane had a sense of
relief.
1t dawned upon him all at once that
he was nervous, watchful, sleepless.
The fact caused him surprise, and he
began to think back, to take note of
his late actions and their motives. The
change one day had wrought amazed
him. He who had always been free,
easy, happy, especially when out alone
in the open, had become in few short
hours bound, serious, preOccupied. He
felt tired, yet had no inclination to
rest. He intended to be off by dawn,
heading toward the southwest. Had
he a destination? 1t was vague as his
knowledge of that great waste Of
mesquite and rock bordering the Rio
Grande. Somewhere out there was a
refuge For he was a fugitive from
justice, an outlaw,
This being an outlaw then meant
eternal vigilance. No home, no rest,
no sleep, no content, no life worth the
living! He must be a lone wolf or he
must herd among men obnoxious to
him. If he worked for an honest liv-
ing, he still must hide his identity and
take risks of detection. If he Gid not
work on some distant, outlying ranch,
how was he to live? The idea of
stealing was repugnant to him. The
future seemed gray and sOmber
enough. And he was twenty-three
years old.
But what was the matter with the
light of his campfire? It had taken on
a strange green luster and seemed to
be waving off into the outer shadows.
Duane heard no step, saw no move
ment: nevertheless, there was another
present at that campfire vigil Duane
saw him. He lay there in the middle
of the green brightness, PROSTATE, mo-
tionless, dying. Cal Balm!
That haunting visitation left Duane
sitting there in a cold sweat q remOrse
gnawing at his vitalS, realizing the
curse that was on him. He OWNED
| that never would he be able to keep off
that phantom. He remembered how
| his father had been eternally pursued
| by furies of accusing guilt, how he had
never been able to forget in work or
| in sleep those men he had killed.
The hour was late when Duane's
mind let him sleep and then dreams
troubled him. In the morning he be-
stirred himself SO early that in the
gray gloom he difficulty in finding
his horse. Day had just broken when
he struck the old trail again.
| He rode hard all morning and halted
| in d shady spot to rest and Craze his
! horse. In the afternoon lie took to the
| grew wilder. Bald, rugged mountains
| broke the level of the mOnOtOnOus h0-
rizOn. About three in the afternoon he
| came to a little river which marked
| the boundary line OF his hunting terri
tory and followed it upstream.
! In this kind of travel and camping
| he spent three more days, during which
| he crossed a number Of trails, and one
where cattle-stOlen cattle, probably
| had recently passed. He followed the
| road until late hour, when, striking
| the willow brakes again and hence the
| neighbOrhOOd of the river, he picketed
| his horse and lay down to rest But
! he did not sleep. His mind bitterly re-
vOlyed the fate that had come upon
| him. He made efforts to think of other
| things, but in vain. Every moment he
expected the chill, the sense of lOneli-
| ness. that yet vas ominOus of a strange
| visitation, the peculiarly imagined
| lights and shades of the night-these
| things that preSaged the coming of Cal
Balm. DOggedly Duane fought against
| the insidiOus phantom. He kept tell
! ing himself that it was just imagina-
ton, that it would wear off in time.
Still in his heart he did not believe
what he hoped. But he would not give
up he would not accept the ghost of
| his victim as a reality.
Gray dawn found him in the saddle
| again, headed for the river. Half an
hour of riding brought him to the
! dense chaparral and willow thickets.
| These he threaded to come at length
to the ford. Once upon the opposite
shore, he refined in his horse and
looked darkly back. This action
| marked his acknowledgment of his sit
uation: he had voluntarily sought the
refuge Of the outlaws; he was beyond
! the pale.
The trail led into a road which was
hard packed and smooth from the
| tracks of cattle. He doubted not that
! he had come across one of the roads
used by border raiders. He headed
/