Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1920-09-17

In Mexicor Indignantly "Of
course not. Lacy said you knew the
trail. Tits a place they calf 'Suuken
valley'-out there somewhere" and
Brennan could barely distinguish the
Of her arm desertward.
ITS across that sand fiat"
"Shosh0nef"
Eyes; couldn't remember the
name. That's all I know about it,
only Lacy said you'd been there be-
fore"
"Shurc, miss" assured the marshal
softly. clearly realizing that he had
already gone the limit, and that any
further questioning must lead newt
ably to trouble. "If It is Sunken val
ley Pm ter ride ter, thets aisy."
"Then its good night"
She vanished up the side trail, as
though the wind had blown away
shadow. Brennan gathered up his
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 this
chap Mendez Is at place called
Sunken valley. l never heard Of 1t;
did you"
mo; reckon It's no spot the law
has ever had any use for. I've sup
posed all along them Mexican cattle
thieves had hidden corral somewhat
in this country; but nobody has ever
found it yet. Right now, thanks to
this Miss La Rue. I've got a hunch
that we're goin to make the discov'
cry, and put Bin Lacy and OF Mendez
out of business. But there's no sense
of our gassin' here. We got a right
smart bit O. rdln to do afore day
light"
How about the note she gave your
oven wait a while to read that, !
don't want to strike no light just yet,
Maybe it had best be kept till day
break"
The men rode steadily, and mostly
In silence a large part of the way side
by side. The animals they bestrode
were fairly mated, quite capable Of
maintaining their gait for several
hours. and needing little urging. The
night gloom enveloped them complete
ly; their strained eyes were scarcely
able to trace the dim outlines of the
ridge road, but the horses were desert
: broke, and held closely to the beaten
track. Then Westcott's pony which
carried by far the heavier load, be-
; gan to show signs of fatigue. They
drew up and the marshal dismount
> ed, searching about bllndly in the
=, darkness.
: "Too d--n dark" he said coming
back, and catching up his rein. "a
: : cat couldn't find anything there; bu
! there's firm sand. Wait minute
= I've got pocket compass
He struck match, sheltering tn
: suffering blaze with one hand. Th
!. light illumined his face for an In
y slant, and then went out, leaving tn
) night blacker than before.
!, That's south, he announced snap
- ping the compass case shut, land thi
blame wind Is southeast; that ought t
keep US fairly straight"
= The ponies will do that; they
y keep where the travelling is good. Shit
= this bag back of your saddle, Dan. Yo
u ride lighter, and my horse Is begir
ming to pant already; that will cas-
him few pounds"
" The transfer was made, and the tW
men rode out into the rear deser
% urging their animals forward, trus
- ing largely to their natural instln'
T. for guidance They would follow II
III hard sand and before long the seer
= of water would as certainly lead the
directly toward the spring.
! Yet 1t was not long until dawn b
I gan to turn the desert gray, gradual
revealing its forlorn desolation. Yves
colt lifted his head, and gazed abol
n with wearied eyes, smarting still fro
IN the whipping of the sand-grit
HI every side stretched away scene
III utter desolation, unrelleved by eth
III shrub or tree-an apparently endle
M. ocean of sand, in places leveled by Il
III wind, and elsewhere piled into ia
u tostic heaps. The breeze slacken
"a somewhat as the sun redeemed t
MI east and the ponies threw up the
Il heads and whnned slightly, increi
u ing their speed Westcott saw t
In marshal arouse himself, straighten
Ia the saddle, and stare about, his ey
81 still dull and heavy.
W zone Ii of a view, jim" he 50
n dlsgustedly, but reckon we can't
" a great ways from that spring. We
/ been ridn' right smart
IA ITS not far ahead; the ponies sn
water. Ali there's a bunch o gre
ahead; thatll likely be Bads
springs"
Assured they were beyond purst
the two unsaddled and turned
ponies out to crop the few handf
of wire grass which the sweet wa
bubbling up from a slight depressi
ed had coaxed into stunted growth. TIT
was no wood to be had, although Il
ght found evidence of several camp-fr
rive and consequently they were obliged
ie2. content themselves with what Il
. 1t could find eatable in their bag Exc