The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1920-10-16


wus ter saddle oop. ride down here
an mate this man Enrisht. L doh [
avan know fer shure whar Of Mendez |
is-Iikely 'nough he be in Mexico.
SIN Mexicor Indignantly. "of |
course not. Lacy said you knew the
trail IFS place they call 'Sunken
yalIey'-out there somewhere, ana
Brennan could barely distinguish the
movement of her arm desertward.
It's across that sand nat.
"Shoshone?"
yves. couldn't remember the
name. That's all l know ABOUT It,
only Lacy said you'd been there De-
fore"
.Shure. miss" assured the marshal
softly. clearly realizing that ne fad
olreadv gone the limit, and that any
further questioning must LEAD newt
ably to trouble ''If it is Sunken val
lev I'm ter ride ter. thet's alsy.
Then it's good night.
Sbe vanished up the side tran, as
Though the wind had blown away
shadow. Brennan gathered up MS
reins. STRENGTHENING his body In the
| saddle. He glanced back toward the
| dim shade of his companion, chucK-
| ling.
"Some bit of luck that, Jim.
| "Doesn't seem to me we know much
more than we did before" Westcott
answered gloomily. "Only that TINS
chan Mendez Is at a place caiiea
Snnl,en valley. | never heard of 1t;
did you"
mo; I reckon it's no spot the la"
has ever had any use for I'VE sup
nosed all along them Mexican ca'tie
thieves had hidden corral somewhat
in this country; but nobody mas ever
found it yet. Right now, thanks u
this Miss La Rue. I've got a huhci
that we're goin' 20 make the dlsco'
ery. and put Bill Lacy and OF Mende'
ont of business. But there's no sense
of orr eassin' here. We got rlsh
smart bit O. ridin' to do afore day
light"
GLOW about the note she gave you!
even wait while to read that.
don't want to strike no light just ye'
Mavbe it had best be kept till day
break"
The men rode steadily, and mostl
in silence. a large part of the way sid
, by side. The animals they bestrod
, we're fairly mated, quite capable 9
maintaining their gait for severf
n hours, and needing little urging. LII
night gloom envelOped them complete
w: their strained eyes were scarcei
able to trace the dim outlines OF III
ridge road. but the horses were desel
= broke, and held closely to the beate
track. Then Westcott's pony, whlt
carried by far the heavier load, D
8 gan to show signs of fatigue. The
drew up, and the marshal dlsmoun
. ed, searching about blindly in Il
- darkness.
= "Too d-n dark" he said. comiI
back, and catching up his rein.
a cat couldn't find anything there; b
there's firm sand. Wait mlnut
:. I've got a pocket compass"
- He struck a match, sheltering Il
sputtering blaze with one hand. II
= light illumined his face for an l
- slant. and then went out, leaving t
y night blacker than before.
THAT'S SOUTH" he announced, sna
~ ping the compass case shut, land II
" blame wind is southeast; that ought
keep us fairly straight"
Ii. 1.-THE ponies will do that; the!
at keep where the travelling is good. Sh
a this bag back of your saddle, Dan !
" ride lighter, and my horse is beg
ming to pant already; that will ca
- him few pounds"
W The, transfer was made, and the {
mon rode out into the rear desc
ie' urging their animals forward, tru
et' ing largely to their natural lnstii
er. for guidance. They would follow
'h' hard sand, and before long the SCI
- of water would as certainly lead TIL
directly toward the spring.
Yet it was not long until dawn
I gan to turn the desert gray, sradua
revealing it's forlorn desolatl0n. we
colt lifted his head, and gazed abb
n with wearied eyes, smarting still fr
N the whipping of the sand-srit.
HI every side stretched away a scene
I'LL utter desolation, unrelieved by cit
l shrub or tree-an apparently endi
Hi ocean of sand, in places leveled by
lN wind. and elsewhere piled into I
lN tastic heaps. The breeze Stacker
81 somewhat as the sun redeemed
WI east. and the ponies threw up II
III heads and whinnied slightly. mere
ing their speed. Westcott saw
marshal arouse himself, straighten
the saddle, and stare about, his
III still dull and heavy.
IN "One HI of a view, jim, he
IN disgustedly, "but reckon we can
~ a great ways from that spring. W.
Y been rdin' right smart"
h cts not far ahead; the ponies
u water. All! there's bunch o 81
ahead: that'll likely be Bat
springs"
Assured they were beyond purs
the two unsaddled and turned
monies out to crop the few hand
,.o ,ross which the sweet w