The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1922-12-11
, tContinuen from Last issus)


impatience. The approach Of the
sheep was slow. The big ram led on
with regular persistence, and in half
an hours time he was in the bottom
Of the great gulf, and soon he was
facing up the slope. Gale. knew then
that the afluring scarf had fascinated
him. The animals disappeared behind
another ridge. Gale kept watching,
sure they would come out farther
on. A tense period Of waiting passed.
then sudden electrifying pressure of
Yaqui's hand made Gale tremble with
excitement.
Very cautiously he shifted his po-
sitlon, There, not fifty feet distant
upon high mound Of lava, stood the
leader Of the sheep. AS Gale watched,
the second ram leaped lightly upon
the mound, and presently the three
others did likewise.
The splendid leader" stepped closer,
his round, protrudtng amber eyes,
which Gale could now plainly see, in
tent upon that fatal red flag. Like
automatons the other four crowded
into his tracks. A few little slow
steps, then, the leader. halted.
At this instant Gales absorbed at
tention was directed by Yaqui to the
rifle. and so to the purpose of the
climb. He reached for the 4O5, and
as he threw the she'll into the chamber
the slight metallic click made the
sheep Jump Then he rose quickly
to his feet.
The noble ram and his band simply
stared at Gale. They had never seen
man. They showed not the slightest
indication of instructive fear. Gale
imagined that they were going to step
still closer. He did not choose to
wait to see If this were true. Ger
tainly it already took a grim resolu-
tion"to raise the heavy .4O5.
His. shot killed the big leader. The
others bounded away with remark
able; nimbleness. Gale used up the
remaining four shells to drop the Sec
ond ram, and by the time he had re-
loaded the others were out OF range.
The Yaqui's method Of hunting was
sure: and deadly and saving in energy.
but Gale never would try it again. FIe
chose to stalk the game. After being
hunted a few times md shot at, the
sheep became exceedingly difficult to
approach. He failed often. The stalk
called forth all that was in him of
endurance, cunning, speed. And like
a shadow the faithful Yaqui tried
ever to keep at his heels,
One morning Yaqui spied flock of
sheep far under the curved, broken
rim OF the main crater. Then began
the stalk. Hiding, slipping, creeping,
crawling, Gale closed in upon his
quarry until the lorg rifle grew like
stone In his grip, and the whipping
"spang" ripped the silence, and the
strange echo doomed deep in the cra-
ter, and rolled around, as If in hollow
nockery at the hopelessness of escape.
Fn raite1 beside his nuarry and
breathed deep. and swept the Ion
slopes with searching, eyes of ha
When Yaqui came up they set IL,
the hardest task of all, to pa
best of that heavy sheep down IA:
Of steep, ragged. chOya.cOvered lava,
The torrid summer heat came in
perceptibly, or 1t could never have
been borne by white men. 1t changed
the lives Of the fugitives, making
them partly nocturnal In habit. The
nights had the balmy GOODNESS Of
spring, and would have been delight
full for sleep, but that would have
made the blazing days uncomfortable.
As Ladd had said, one of their
greatest problems was the passing OF
time. The nights were interminably
long, but they had to be passed In
work or play or dream-anything ex.
cept sleep. That was Ladd's most in
flexible command. He gave no rea.
son. But not improbably the ranger
thought that the terrific heat of the
day spent in slumber lessened a wear
and strain, if not real danger of
madness.
Accordingly, at first the occupations
OF this little group were many and
various. They worked If they had
something to do. or could invent q
pretext. They told and retold stories
until al were wearisome. They sang
songs. Mercedes .tanght Spanish.
They played every game. they knew.
They invented Others that were ESQ
trivial children would scarcely have
been Interested, and these they played
seriously. In a word, with INTEL;
gence and passion. With all that was
civilized and human. they fought the
ever-infrineing loneliness. the savage
solitude Of their environment
Gale believed himself the keenest |
Of the party, the one who thought
most, and he watched the effect of the
desert upon his companions. For
hours, 1t seemed, Ladd would bend
over his checkerboarl and never
make move. It mattered not now
whether or not he had 4 partner. jim
Lash. the ca!mest. coolest. most non
chalant, best-humored westerner Gale
had ever met had BY slow degrees