Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1922-12-29

Gale could bear no more. he TOOK
quick shot at the rider He missed
the moving figure but hit the horse.
There was a bound, horrid scream.
a mighty plunge, then the horse went
down, giving the Mexican stunning
fall. Both beast and man lay still
Gale rushed from his cover to. in
tercept the other raiders before they
could reach the house and their weap-
Ons. Then the frightened horses burst
the corral bars, and in a laundering
dust-mantled stream fled up the ar
royo.
The fallen raider sat up, mumbling
to his SAINTS in one breath, cursing In
his aext
"Go, Greasersl Rum" yelled Gale
Then he yelled it In Spanish. At the
point of his rife ne drove the two
raiders out of the camp. His next
move was to run into the house and
fetch out the carbines. With a heavy
stone he dismantled each weapon
That done, he set out on a run for
his horse. Blanco Sol heard him com
ing and whistled a welcome, and when
Gale ran up the horse was snortln-
war. Mounting, Gale rode rapidly back
to the scene of the action, and his
first thought, when he arrived at the
veil, was to give Sol drink and to
Il his canteenS
Then Gale led his horse up out of
.e waterhole, and decided before re
ounting to have a look at the In
ans. The Papago had been shot
rough the heart, but the Yaqui was
i'll alive Moreover, he was conscious
ID staring up at Gale with great.
range, somber eyes, black as volcan-
Stag.
''Gringo good-no KILL" he said, in
sky whisper.
His speech was not affirmative SO
uch as questioning.
"Yaqui, you're done for" said Gale.
nd his words were positive. He was
simply speaking aloud his mind.
'"Yaqui-no hurt = much,' replied
the Indian, and then he spoke
strange word-repeated it again and
again.
An instinct of Gales, or perhaps
some suggestion in the husky, thick
whisper or dark face, told Gale TO
reach for his canteen. He lifted the
Indian and gave him drink, and II
ever In all his life he saw gratitudt
n human eyes he saw ii then. Theu
examined the injured Yaqni. The
Indian had three wounds-a bullet
hole in his shoulder, a crushed arm,
and badly lacerated leg.
The ranger thought rapidly. This
Yaqui would live unless left there to
die or be murdered by the Mexicans
when they found courage to sneak
back to the well. 1t never occurred to
Gale to abandon the poor fellow. All
the same, he knew he multiplied his
perils hundredfold by burdening
himself with crippled Indian. Swift
ly he set to work, and with rifle ever
under his hand, and shifting glance
spared from his task. he bound up the
Yaqui's wounds. At the same time he
kept keen watch.
The Indians burros and the horses
of the raiders were all out of sight.
Time was too valuable for Gale to use
any in what might be vain search.
Therefore, he lifted the Yaqui upon
Sol's broad shoulders and climbed
into the saddle. At word Sol
dropped his head and started east
ward up the trail, walking swiftly,
without resentment for his double bur-
den.
Gale, bearing in mind the ever-pres-
ent possibility of encountering more
raiders and of being pursued, saved
the strength of the horse. Once out
of sight of Papago well, Gale dis
mounted and walked beside the horse.
steadying with one firm hand the help
less. dangling Yaqui.
Gale kept pace with his horse. He
bore the twinge of pain that darted
through his injured hip at every stride.
In the heat of midday he halted in the
shade of rock, and. lifting the Yaqui
down, gave him a drink. Then, after
a long, sweeping survey Of the sur
rounding desert, he removed Soils sad
die and let him roll, and took for him
self welcome rest and bite to eat
The Yaqui was tenacious of life
He was still holding his own. For the
first time Gale really looked at the
Indian to study him. He had large
head nobly cast, and face that re-
sembled a shrunken mask. 1t seemed
chiseled in the dark-eyed, volcanic
lava of his Sonora wilderness. The
Indians eyes were always black and
mystic, but this Yaqui's encompassed
all the tragic desolation of the desert
They were fixed on Gale, moved only
when he moved.
Gale resumed his homeward jour
ney. He held grimly by the side of
the tireless, implacable horse, hold
ing the Yaqui on the saddle, taking
the brunt of the merciless thorns. In
the end it became heartrending toll
His heavy chaps dragged him down
hut he dared not 90 on without them,