The Mena weekly star., 1917-07-12

df AADfMauon With Leftover. The two
 greea t was right, in the circum- staae tAat De Spain should be near er than sleepy Cat to Nan Moreover, The period of waiting she had enjoined on nina was almost complete.
 Without giving De Spain the story fully the two men talking before him @i he discussion drift toward a pro- pNsal on his part to go down to Gala iasas, where he could more easily keep facJ of elly movement to or from the gah and tals they approved. De Spain, already chaAng under hardlv en- 'igrea restraint, lost no time in start ine for Calahasas. directing Lefever to follow next day.
 t added nothing to his peace of mind in the morning to learn definitely from aIeAlpin that Gale Morgan. with Tn iwonty-four hours, had really disap- peared from Calabasas. No word of any kind had come from Music noun tain for days. No one at Calabasas was aware even that Nan had gone into the gap again. Bob Scott was at Thief River. De Spain telephoned to him to come up on the early stage. and turned his attention toward getting in- Formation from Music mountain with out violating Mans injunction not to frustrate her most delicate effort with her uncle.
 As q possible scout to look into her present situation and report on it, Me Alpln could point only to Bull Page Bull was a ready instrument, but his present value as an assistant had be- come matter of doubt, since prac- tically every man in the gap had threatened within the week to blow his head oif-though Bull himself felt no scruples against making an attempt to reach Music mountain and get back again. It was proposed by the canny McAlpin to send him in with a team and light wagon, ostensibly to bring out his trunk, which, if it had not been fed to the horses, was still in Dukes barn. As soon as rig could be got up Page started out.
 It was late November A far, clear air drew the snow-eapped ranges sharply down to the eye of the desert- as if the speckless sky, lighted by the radiant sun, were but a monster glass rigged to trick the credulous retina. De Spain, in the saddle in front of the barn, his broad hat brim set on the impressive level of the western horse man, his lips seeming to compress his thoughts, his lines over his forearm, and his hands half-slipped into the pockets of his snug leather coat, watched Page with his light wagon and horses drive away.
 Idling around the neighborhood of the barns in the saddle, De Spain saw him gradually recede into the long desert perspective, the perspective which almost alone enabled the watch CT to realize as he curtained his eyes behind their long, steady lashes from the blazing sun, that it was a good bit of way to the foot of the great out post of the Superstition range. De Spain's restlessness prevented his remaining quietly anywhere for long As the morning advanced he cantered out on the Music mountain trail, think Ing of and wishing for q sight of Nan. The deadly shock of Pardaloe's story had been duiled by days and nights of pain. His deep-rooted love and his loneliness had quieted his impulse for vengeance and overborne him with a profound sadness. He realized how different his feelings were now from what they had been when she knelt be- fore him in the darkened room and, not daring to plead for mercy for her uncle, had asked him only for the pity for herself that he had seemed so slow 10 give. Something reproached him now for his coldness at the moment that he should have thought of her suffering before his own.
 It WAS while riding in this way that his eyes. reading mechanically the wagon trail he was aimlessly following for no reason other than that il hr0aght hsfn. though forbidacn, 6 little tlcSer 10 her-aFrested his attention. Re checked his horse. Something. the trail told hinl had happened. Page had stopped his horses. Page had met two men on horseback coming from the gap. After a parley-for the horses had traiaped around long enough for one-the wagon had turned completely from the trail and struck across the desert. north; the two horsemen, or one with led horse. had started back for tl4e gap.
 All of this Dc Spain gathered with aut moving his horse outside circle of thirty feet. What did it mean? Page might have fallen in with cronies from the gap, abandoned his job, and start ed for Sleepy Cat but this was unlike ly. He might have encountered enc mics, been pointedly advised to keep away from the gap, and pretended to start for Sleepy Cat, to avoid trouble with them. Deeming the second the more probable conclusion, De Spain, absorbed in his speculations, continued toward the gap to see whether he could not pick up the trail of Pages rig far ther on.
 Within mile q further surprise awaited him. The two horsmen, who had headed for the gap after stopping Page, had left the trail, turned to the south, down q small draw, which would screen them from sight, and set out across the desert.
 No trail and no habitation lay in the