The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1921-03-03

{ (aIlteSGlsats ts.HR.ihy ss6sssSsssis Il 3 saiSSzSien.
deg yin sbe, ,Rsidka,fisuinpd dbliars for
.!somathips-I CAN'T saske putt what.
only 1t has to do with Irisensrs., Ia y
sal says he'll be the5s g confer @ with him
"Iacy atite' 4 S@ st~'-:,: p. :.
''Yes; at least he sfgned it"i - !:
swell, If Lacy sfrfs 70 meet Mandez
tonight. he jougKt;, t6 s5s 'siong here
soon after nightfaIES aHowid it do to
hide in these, sand, ,hills and waitq'
I'VE can do. that Dans; If. we don't
bit any. TRAIL" said sSysstoett, leaning
over, his hand on the others. knee,
"but If we can get; there earlier, I'd
rather not wdstes time. There's no
knowing what a devil Hike Mendez may
do. Let's take scouts around, any
how :. -
They started, the enA going east, the
other west, and made ,eisemicircIe un-
til they met. hu9dred yards or so,
south of the spring. having found moth
Ing. Again they circfed out, plowing
their way through the sand, and all. at
once Brennan lifted his. hand into the
air and called. Westcott hurried over
to where he stood motionless, staring
down at the track OF a wagon wheel.
1t had slid aleng a. slight aeeaivity, and
left a. mark so deepaas NOT yet TO be
obliterated. They tyaeedsit for thirty
feet before 1t entirely. disappeared.
"Still goin' SOUTH" affirmed the mar
Shol ua1inu =,
look like there's notnfh sgt there, but
we might try. Let's 9aa4fs UP. NJ
1t was a blind trains 81 sa Il Tprogfess
was slow. The men sebasSsted. tridine
back and forth. leaning 9foS@ard iin the
saddles, scanning the sand .for the
slightest sign. TWICE s3hex " epcoun-
tered an undoubted wheel marx, and
once traces Of the .whnle four wheels
were plainly ,:yisible.s These 3epnhl be
followed easily for nearly q a.aparter of
mile, but then as quickly vanished as
the wagon came again to %an. outcrop-
ping Of rock. Yet this was assured
the outfit had headed steadily, south
ward. :.s.,..
This was desperately slow work, and
beyond that ridge of rock they discov-
cred no other evidence. An hour
passed, and not the slightest sign gave
encouragement. Could the wagon have
turned In some Dther .directfoa2 In
the shadow of sand dune thay' hfflted
finally to discuss the situation. Should
they go on? Or explore further to the
west? Might 1t not even be better to
retrace their way to the springs. and
walt the coming Of Lacy2 -
Brennan was for turning back,
arguing the uselessness of. going fur
ther, and the necessity of Water for
the ponies.
"Come on, JIM" he urged "Be SEN
sible; we've lost the trail. and that's
no fault o ours. An Apache .Intlfan
couldn't trace herd O. steers through
this sand And look ahead tlrars, It's
worse, an more of it. I'm for stalking
Lacy at the springs" He stopped sud-
denly, staring southwark as though he
mad seen vision. "Holy smoke
WHAT'S that? BY God! It's a wagon,
jim; an it come right up out of the
earth. There wasn't no wagon there
a second ago."
For moment borh men SUSPECTED
that what they looked upon was a
mirage-its actual existence there in
that place seemed impossible. Yet
there was no disputing the fact that
yonder In the very midst of that desc
iation of sand wagon drawn by
straining horses was slowly moving
directly toward them. Westcott was
first to grasp the truth, hastily Jerking
the marshal back to where the tired
ponies stood with dropping heads be.
hind the protection Of the dune.
Westcott lay Outstretched on the
far side Of the dune, his hat beside
him, and his eyes barely able to peer
over the summit, ready to report OBJ
servati0ns to the marshal crouched
below.
Its MoOre's team, all right" he
whispered back, land Matt is driving
them. There isn't anyone else on the
seat, so guess he must be alone"
1--WE can't be sure of that" returned
Brennan, wise in guarding against
surprises. "There was another fellow
with him on the out trip and he might
be lying down back in the wagon.
Wed better both Of US hold 'em up. I
can hear the creak Of the wheels now,
so maybe you best slide down. Is the
outfit loadedT
travelling light, should say" and
Westcott, after one more glance, crept
down the sand heap and joined the
waiting man below. Both stood intent
and ready, revolvers drawn, listening.
'he heavy wheels grated in the sand,
the driver whistling to while away the
dreary pull and the nurses breathing
heavily. Moore pulled them up with
Jerk as two figures leaped into view,
his whistle coming to an abrupt pause.
Ills fire r. was all he said, staring
dumbly down into Brennan's face over
the front wheel. "Where In Sam Hill
did you come from?"
ha