The Pulaskian., 1919-04-11


 through. He itched to begin. It never occurred to him that, like Hardin, he might fall.
 Though it's no pink tea," he told himself, fits no picnic" At Tucson he knew that the situation was a grave one, but his talk with Brandon, who knew his river as does good In- dian, made the year a significant, eventful one. Matt Hamlin, too, whose shrewd eyes had grown rIver-wise, he, too, had had tales to tell of the tricky river. Maldonado, the half-breed, had confirmed their portents while they sat | together under his oleander, famous throughout that section of the coun- try. And powerfully had Cor'nel, the Indian who had piloted Estrada's party across the desert, whom Rickard had met at the Crossing, deeply had he im- pressed him. The river grew into a malevolent, mocking personality; he could see it dragon of yellow waters, dragging it's slow. sluggish length across the baked desert sands; deceiv- ing men by it's inertness turing the. explorer by mild mood to rise sudS denly with it's wild fellow, the Gila, sending boat and boatmen to their swift doom.
 Rickard was thinking of the half breed, Maldonado, as he inspected the new stretch of levee between the towns. He had heard from others be- sides Estrada Of the river knowledge of this descendant of trapper and squaw, and had thought it worth while | to ride the twenty miles from down the river to talk with him. The mans suavity, his narrow slits of eyes the 1 lips thin and faeile, deep lines of cru. city falling from them, had repelled his visitor The mystery of the place l followed him. Why the 'dobe wall which completely surrounded the small, low dwellings,? Why the eau tious admittance, the atmosphere of suspicion? Rickard had seen the wife, frightened shadow of a woman; had seen her finch when the brute called for her. He had questioned Cor'nel about the half-breed. He was remem- bering the wrinkles of contempt on the old Indians face as he delivered him. self of an oracular grunt.
 "White man? No. Indian? Noi Coyoter'
 Though he suspected Maldonado would lie on principle, though it might be that two-thirds of his glib tissue were false, yet thread of truth CO., incident with the others, Brandon and Hamlin and Cornel, might be pulled out of his romantic fabric.
 "When the waters of the Gila run red look out for trouble l" He doubt ed that they ever ran red. He would ask Cornel. He had also spoken of a cycle, known to Indians, of a hun dredth year, when the Dragon grows restless; this he had declared was a hundredth year.
 Following his talk with Maldonado and the accidental happy chance meet ing with Coronel at the Crossing Rick ard had written his first report to Tod Marshall. Before he had come to the Heading he had expected to advise ' against the completion of the wooden headgate at the Crossing. Hamlin
 
 was fighting chance. And he wanted to be fair. Next to being successful he wanted to be fair.
 Its time to be hearing from Mar shall" Rickard was thinking, as he walked back to the hotel. 'I wonder what he will say" He felt it had been fair to put 1t up to Marshall; personally, he would like to begin with a clean slate-begin right. Clumsy work had been done, it was true, yet there were urgent reasons now for haste; and the gate was nearly half donei He had gone carefully over the situation. The heavy snowfall, un- precedented for years, hundred, ac- cording to the Indians-on the Wind Rover mountains-the lakes swollen with ice, the Gila restless, the summer floods yet to be met; perhaps, he now thought, he had been overfair in en- phasizing the arguments for the head gate. For the hundred feet were now a thousand feet-yet he had spoken of that to Marshall: Calculate for yourself the difference in expense since the flood widened the break. It is vastly different problem now. Disaster island, which they figured on for anchor, is mere pit of corroding sugar in the channel. An infant Col orado could wash it away. However, a lot of work has already been done, and lot of money spent. There is a fighting chance. Perhaps the bad year is all Indian talk.o
 A guess, at best, whatever they didl It was pure gamble what the tricky Colorado would do. Anyway, he had l given the whole situation to Marshall.
 In his box at the hotel was tele- gram which had been sent over from the office-from Tod Marshall. "Take the fighting chance. But remember to speak more respectfully of Indians" | tfkFo,.cboII o1J oxyat. Io I, ey.h-