The Aberdeen weekly., 1919-04-04

! They were ready to show their resent
ment against the man who had sup
planted Hardin. their Napoleon, If ii
cost them their places. BY this time
the cause OF the desert was as COM
pelling to these hardy soldiers as were
the lily banners of France TO the fol-
| lowers of the Little Corporal.
! Richard was not expected. He had
been gone less than week. The ef-
feet of his return was that of Il per-
son who returns suddenly into q room.
hLshing an active babel of tongues.
He knew what he would find. ample
reasons why! He was not given the
satisfaction of locating any particular
act of disobedience. The men pre-
sented a blank wall of politeness, rea-
Sonable and Intellectual. Silent eX-
planned briefly that he had not been
able to collect enough men. Most of
the force was busy in the No. dis
trict, trying t0 push the shattered Wis
taria through by new route before
that years crops were entirely ruined.
A gang was Ut Grants Heading; the
floor needed bracing Another squad
=,
gion, where they were excavating for
the new headgate.
mo hurry for that" Rickard was
glad to pick a flaw in such a perfect
pattern. "You might have withdrawn
those men and put them to work on
the levee-"
Il was given no authority to do
that"
The chief pretended TO accept the
reason; else it were case of chang
ing horses in midstream. What he
had seen at the Heading. his peep at
the exposed valley, his cleaning OF
the rivers history had convinced him
that in haste and concentration lay
the valleys only chance. He must re-
fuse to see the INSTRUMENTATION of the
engineers, the seasoned desert sol
diers. He needed them, must win
their confidence if he could. If not,
they must save the valley anyway
The imperturbable front of Silent his
bland, big stare, eXasperated him:
easier to control the swapping terrier
of Il Wooster. He had told Silent dis
tinctly to gather his men and rush the
levee. A good soldier had made bet
ter guess than his, and had stopped
the casual work at Black Butte, or
had found Indians, Tho1ghtfully
Rickard followed that last suggestion
across the ditch into Mexicali.
He gathered all the recruits he
needed that morning. The Indians.
lazy Cocopahs. crept out OF their huts
to earn few of the silver dollars held
Arx< 20
A few Mexican laborers were bribed
TO toss up earth to the vast of the
town. Estrada, at his request, put
squad of his road force at the service
of the manager. He could not spare
many men.
The railroad had already started
the line projected by Hardin to Mar
shall the year before a spur across
the desert. dipping into Mexico be-
tween the lean, restless sandhills,
from Calexico to Yuma. The Mexican
government had agreed to pay five
thousand dollars a mile were the road
completed at certain period. Estrada
was keping his men on the jump to
fill the contract, to make his nation
pay the price. The completion of the
road meant help to the valley; sup
plies, men, could be rushed through to
the break.
In spite of his haunting sense of
ultimate failure the growing belief in
the omnipOtence of the Great Yellow
Dragon as the CocOpahs visualiZed 1t,
EStrada's work was as intense as
though he were Fastening a sure vic
tory. The dauntless spirit of the elder
Estrada pushed the track over the hot
sands where he must dance at times
to keep his feet from burning. Many
of the rails they laid at night.
"Rickard's gone hog-wild," Hardin
told his family the next morning.
Building a levee between the towns
The Nuns off his head"
There isn't any danger?" Gerty's
anxiety made the deep blue eyes look
black.
Innes looked up for Toms answer.
His face was ugly with passion.
Danger! It's a bluff, big show
of activity here because he's buffa-
loed he doesn't know how to tackle
the job out there"
1t had begun to look that way to
more than one It was talked over