New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1921-09-02
p I.
David Moreland's Mountain.

,,rlvln Wilburton pale-knoWn 10
hi,,scIf and a few close friends as Blll
polr-had laid out II course oi action
aImnst before the northbound lr"'h
had left the outskirts of the state cap
nat bphind. 1t incurred facing DIE
odds. hut other men had iaced DIE
Odds and won out. and what Others
had doEe he could do. Indeed ne n"u
alr,ndy done several things wh'eh
either men might not have housht Vi
DANG and one Of them was leaving n
h,i,le. not iguratiyely but literally. NJ
,I,r oItnr i'm a fashionable church! but
a.. knew Patricia hadn't Wailted !"
marry him any more than he n"u
wanted TO marry her.
u was only natural for hlpl 10 'hihh
81 coat, now that he had cut loose ior
aii time from the set in which he
had always been n colossal mlsfit, now
that he must pull his " oars or VIZ
tunli, perish. lie had heard coai
taJsrd since the day of his blrth' 10
him coal aud business meant exactiy
~" same.
que of his fathers associates had
artcu spoken of a fin" VEN IN the
lonuntains of eastern Tenncssee-had
..riru tried to persuade his fhther 10
Ioa,k into il. Ia no avail, Young Dale re-
ncmherrd that this vein lay not far
f,,,m a long railroad siding called the
Halfway switch, in the vicinity OF BIG
iinr mountain. The owners were
mountain folk Of English descent. his
fathers associate had said. Decidedly
strange thought Dale. that his father
l,ad never cared to investigate II.
THE cludery little train reached the
Ion. siding about the middle OF a me
ouring morning. Dalr took up his bag
h1~trncd our. and soon found himself
Sanding alone II the heart Of an "N-
trcmcly wild section Of country.
when the noises Of the little train
and The fast mail it had just met had
died awny. there came the saucy chat
fcriur of hpomcr-Squirrcls aud he
sweet twit'rring of birds. Dale caught
rl,. ioypu, spirit. lie could have
f,;rv shouted out of the fullness Of
Ia. very human heart. Here all was
um,9pi,l and unprofanel, and some
HIN. whispered within him:
They won't call you a savage
l,,rr-mfkn this your owu country
From somewhere On q nearby
wauntaius.dr q rifles keen report split
,,,c air % bullet vhincd like a mad
r,rnet: Dale's hat jumped u little on
i,i- tread.
The awakening was exceedingly
rude. Dale wheeled, his gray eyes
..tiaze. and snw only = tiny cloud Of
smoke-mi-t rising from the laurelS
MORE than fifty feet away.
Come out. you coward" he roarcd.
Zone out and let me see YOU" curl
a-ity taking the place Of anger in his
,nice. "rve always wanted 20 know
lust what a real highwayman was
like
The muflpd sound " a twig break
ia. a short distance OF To- his left next
.taiwcd his attention. He was being
closely watched by a pair Of the fin
f~f. ElrdIt-l biNRh 49, ~ h' 49,
sen. lie saw her eyes first: he never
forget that.
She was standing on a low cliff be-
vcnd the sparkling creek that flowed
lsside the railroad. and She was par
TALLY hidden by a clump Of blooming
laurel. But Dale could c that she
was about twenty; that every line Of
her rounded. graceful figure whis-
pered of a doelike strength; that she
was as straight as a young pine; that
her chestnut-brOwn hair caught the
sunlight. and that her face was oval
shaped and handsOme-ratber than
pretty-in spite of its tan.
Dale took of his hat There was a
bullet hole in the very top Of its high
peaked crown