The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1920-11-18

instructions long with ye then them.
All ther word thet liver come ter me
! wus ter saddle oop, ride down here
an mate this man Enright. don't
aven know fer shure whar OF Mendez
is-llkely 'nough he be in Mexico"
"In Mexicor Indignantly. "Of
course not. Lacy said you knew the
trail. It's place they call 'Sunken
| valley'-out there somewhere" and
Brennan could barely distinguish the
movement of her arm desertward.
tits across that sand fiat"
"Shoshonef"
"Yes; I couldn't remember the
name. That's all I know. about It.
only Lacy said you'd been there be-
fore-
"Shure, miss" assured the marshal
softly. clearly realizing that he had
already gone the limit. and that any
further questioning must lead inevit-
ably 10 trouble. "If II Is Sunken val
ley I'm ter ride ter, thet's aisy."
"Then it's good night"
She vanished up the side trail. as
though the wind hnd blown away
shadow. Brennan gathered up his
relns, Strengthening his body In the
saddle. lie 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 IL;
did your"
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 someyhar
In this country; but nobody has ever
found 1t yet. Right now. thanks to
this Miss La Rue, I've got a hunch
that we're goin' to make the dlscov.
cry, and put Bill Lacy and OIL Mendez
out of business. But there's no sense
of our gassin' here. We got a right
smart bit O. ridin' to do afore day
light"
We'll wait a while to read that. l
don't want to strike no light just yet.
Maybe 1t 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 blindly In the
darkness.
Too d-n dark" he said. coming
back. and catching up his rein. "a
cat couldn't find anything there :, but
there's firm sand. Wait minute:
I've got pocket compass"
He struck match, sheltering the
suffering blaze with one hand. The
light illumined his face for an in
slant, and then went out, leaving the
hight blacker than before.
That's SOUTH" he announced. snap
ping the compass case shut, "and this
'lame wind Is southeast; that ought IS
ieep us fairly straight"
"The ponies will do that; they'll
ieep where the travelling is good. Shift
his bag back OF your saddle, Dan. You
ide lighter, and my horse is begin
ing to pant already; that will ease
lin few pounds"
The transfer was made, and the two
men rode out into the rear desert.
Irging their animals forward. trust
ng largely 10 their natural instinct
or guidance. They would follow the
ard sand. and before long the scent
water would as certainly lead them
irectly toward the spring.
Yet 1t was not long until dawn be-
an TO turn the desert gray, gradually
evealing Its forlorn desolatIon. West ,
w 'A'eN MS htiu, anu SuZeu anOut |
18th wearied eyes, smarting still from
ne whipping of the sand-grIt. on
very side stretched away scene of !,
tier desolatlon, unrelIeved by either :
lrub or tree-an apparently endless .
rean of sand. in places leveled by the :
Ind, and elsewhere piled into fan 1,
Istic heaps. The breeze slackened :,
'mewhat as the sun reddened the y
lst, and the ponies threw up their y
'ads and whinnied slightly, increas- ,
Y their speed. Westcott saw the :
arshal arouse himself. straIghten in =
e saddle, and stare about, his eyes p"
i'll dull and heavy. =,
zone ii of view, jim" he said =
sgustedly, but / reckon we can't be :,
great ways from that spring. We've ;,
en ridin' right smart" y
ITS not far ahead; the ponies sniff :,
lter. All there's bunch o. green :.
end. fhaffn l-aI,, %