Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1917-11-23
III.
The Hioh Hills.


The Nevada through freight was two
hours late issuing from the western
portal Of Timanyoni cnnOn. Through
the early Notwithstanding hours Of
the night and the later flight across the
Red desert, the dusty, travel-grlmed
young fellow In the empty box a mid
way of the train had slept soundly,
with the hard car floor for a bed and
his folded coat for a pillow. But the
sudden cessation of the crash and roar
Of the shut-ln mountain passage awoke
him and he got up to open the door and
look out.
It was still no later than a lazy mans
breakfast time, and the May morning
wns perfect. over the top Of the east
ern range the sun was looking, level
rayed, into a parked valley bounded
on all sides by high spurs and distant
snow peaks. In its nearer reaches the
valley was dotted with round hills,
some Of them bare, otf ers dark with
mountain pine and FIR.
From the outer loopings Of the
curves, the young tramp at the car
door had m%omentary glimpses Of the
Tlmanyoni, a mountain torrent in its
cnnon, and the swiftest Of upland riv-
ers even here where 1t had the valley
in which to expand. A Copah switch
man had told him that the railroad d.
vision town Of Brewster lay at the end
Of the nights run, in n river valley be-
yond the eastern Timanyonls, and that
the situation Of the irrigation project
which was advertising for labOrers in
the Denver newspapers was a few
miles up the river from Brewster.
As the train swept along on its way
down the grades the valley became
more open and the prospect broadened.
At one Of the p%romontOry roundings
the boX-car passenger had q glimpse
OF n shack-built construction camp on
the rivers margin sOme distance on
ahead. A concrete dam was rising I'm
sections out Of the river, and dominat-
ing the dam and the shacks two steel
towers, with a carrying cable stretched
between them, formed the piers of the
aerial spout conveyer for the placing
Of the material In the forms.
The train made no stop at the con-
structlon siding, but a mile farther
along tho brakes began to grind and
the speed n slackened. Sliding the
car door another foot or two, the young
tramp with the week-Old stubble beard
on his face leaned out TO look ahead.
His opportunity was at hand. A block
semaphore was turned against the
freight and the train was slowing in
obedience to the signal. Waiting until
the brakes shrllled again, the tramp
put his shoulder to the sliding door,
sat for n moment in the wider opening,
and then swung OF.
His allghtlng was upon one Of the
promontory embankments. To the
westward, where the curving railroad
track was lost In the farther wlndings
Of the river, lay the little intermoun-
tain city Of Brewster, a few Of its
higher buildings showing clear-cut in
the distance. Parallellng the railroad,
on a lower level and nearer the river,
a dusty wagon road pointed in one d.
rection toward the town, and In the
other toward the construction camp.
The young man who had crossed -four
states and the better part Of a fifth as
a fugitive and vagrant turned his back
upon the distant town as a place to be
avoided. Scrambling down the rail
road embankment, he made his way to
the wagon road, crossed It, and kept
on until he came to the fringe Of aspens
on the rivers edge, where he broke all
the tramplsh traditions by stripping of
the trnvel-worn clothes and plungine
In 70 take a soapless bath. The water,
being melted snow from the range, was
Icy cold and 1t stabbed like knives,
Nevertheless, II was wet, and some
part OF the travel dust, at least, was
soluble In 1t. He came out glowing,
but a thorn from his ~well-groomed past
came upvdnd pricked him when he had
70 put the sOlled .lOtheR on amin,