The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1922-12-18
rhe Secret of Forlorn River.

ne SECRET OF VOTtOIU uIvST.
In the early morning Gale, seeking
solitude where he could brood over
his trouble, wandered alone. It was
not easy for him to elude the Yaqui.
and just at the moment when he had
cast himself down in secluded shady
corner the Indian appeared, noiseless,
, shadowy, mysterious as always. -;
The Indian had been told Of the
loses sustained by Bedding and his
rangers.
"Go-me" and Yaqui, with an i'm
pressive gesture toward the lofty lilac
colored steps of No Name mountains.
He seemed the same as usual, but
glance on Gales part, moments at
tention, made him conscious Of the old
strange force in the Yaqui. .
"Why does my brother want me to
climb the nameless mountains with
him?" asked Gale. = .-y- A.. - >
"Lluvia Toro." replied Yaqui, and he
made motions that Gale found diff
cult of Interpretation. >:
"Shower OF Gold," translated Gale.
That was the Yaqui's name for Nell:
What did he mean by using it in con-
nection with a climb into the noun
tains? We're his motions intended to
convey an idea of a shower Of golden
blossoms from that rare and beautiful.
tree, or golden rain? Gales listless-
ness vanished in flash of thought.
The Yaqui meant gold! Gold! He
meant he could retrieve the fallen for
tunes of the white brother who had
saved his life that evil day at the Pa
pago we'll. Gale thrilled as he gazed
piercingly into the wonderful eyes of
this Indian. Would Yaqui never con-
slider his debt paid? - r.
"Go-me?' repeated the Indian,
pointing vi th the singular directness
TINT always made this action remark
able in him.
Eyes, Yaqui." t
Gale ran to his rom, put on hobnailed
boots, filled canteen and hurried back
to the corral: Yaqutsawaited him. The
Indian carried eoiled fasso and a
short stout stick Without a word he
led the way down the lane, turned up
the river toward the mountains. None
of Belongs household saw their de-
parture.
What had once been only a narrow
mesquite-bordered trail was. now q
well.trodden road, "A deep irrigation
ditch, full of flowing muddy water, ran
~ th1 Il oil had
curious about the operations of the
Chases, but bitterness he could not
help had kept him from going out to
see the work. He was not surprised
to find that the engineers whoshad con-
structed the bitches and dam had an
ticipated him in every particular The
dammed-up gulch made magnificent
reservoir, and Gale could not look up
on the long narrow lake without a
feeling of gladness. The dreaded ano
seco of the Mexicans might come again
and would come, but never to the in
habitants off, Forlorn River. &. That
stone-walled, stone-foored gulch would
never leak, and already 1t contained
water enough to irrtgate the whole Of
Altar valley for two dry seasons.
Yaqui led swiftly along the lake TO
the upper end, where the stream
roared down over unscalable walls.
This point was the farthest Gale had
ever penetrated into the rough foot
hills, and he had Belongs word for II
that no white man had ever climbed
No Name mountains from the west.
The Indian left the gulch and clam
bered up over a tumble of weathered
slides and traced a slow course along
the base Of the giant wall. He looked
up and seemed to select point for
ascent. 1t was the last place in that
mountain side where Gale would have
thought climbing possible. Before him
the wall rose, leaning over him, shut
ting out the light, dark mighty noun
tain mass. Innumerahle cracks. and
crevices and caves Hroughened the
bulging sides Of dark, rock. 7o,r br.,
Yaqui tied one end Of his lasso to the
short, stout stick and, carefully disen-
| tangling the coils xheswhirled the stick
round and rohntf and threw it almost
over the first rim Of the shelf, per-
haps thirty feet up. The stick did not
lodge. Yaqui tried again This time
1t caught in a crack. He ,pplled hard,
Then, holding to the lasso, he walked
up the steep slant, hand over hand on
the rope. When he reached the shelf
he motioned for Gale to follow. Gale
found that method Of scaling a wall
both quick and easy. Yaqui pulled up
the lasso, and threw the stick aloft in
to another crack. He climbed to an
other shelf, and Gale followed him. The
third effort brought them to a more
rugged bench hundred feet above the
slides. The Yaqui worked round to-
the left and turned into a dark fissure
Gale kept close at his heels. They
came out presently into lighter space,
yet one that restricted any extended
ssiew--- Broken sections Of cliff were on
all sides