The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1922-12-19

Suddenly he again heard the dull
roar Of falling water. 1t seemed to
have cleared itself of muffled vibra-
tions. Yaqui mounted little ridge
and halted. The next instant Gale
stood above bottomless cleft into
which a white stream leaped. His as
founded gaze swept backward along
this narrow swift stream to it's end in
a. dark, round, boiling pool. 1t was a
huge. spring. .bubbling well, the out
cropping of, an underground river
coming down from the vast plateau
above. , z,.'.-'s
>Yaqui had brought Gale to the
source of Forlorn river.
Flashing thoughts in Gales mind
were no swifter than. the, thrills that
ran. over him. He would stake out
claim here and never be cheated out
of it. bitches on the benches and
troughs on the steep walls would car
ry;::water down to the valley. Ben
Chase had built great dam which
would be useless If Gale chose to turn
Forlorn river from its natural course.
The; fountain head of that mysterious
desert river belonged to him.
His eagerness, his mounting passion.
was checked by Yaqui's unusual ac-
ton The Indian showed wonder.
hesitation, even reluctance. His
strangefeyes surveyed this boiling we'll
as If they could not believe the sight
they, saw. Gale OWNED instantly that
Yaqui had never before seen the
source OF Forlorn river. If he had
ever: ascended to this plateau, prob
ably 1t had been to some other part.
for the water was new to him. He
stood gazing aloft at peaks. at lower
raIppants of the mountain, and at
nearer landmarks of prominence.
YaGui sc eemed at fault. He was not
sure Of his location.
Then. he strobe past the swirling
pool of dark water and began to as
cend little slope that led up to a
shelving cliff. Another object halted
tue Indian: 1t was pile of stones,
weathered. crumbled, fallen into ruin,
bit. still. retaining shape enough to
prove 1t had been built there by the
hands of, men. Round and round this
the Yaqui stalked, and his curiosity
attested a further uncertainty. 1t
was as If he had come upon something
surprising. Gale wondered about the
nile Of stones. Had 1t once been a
prospector's claim?
.Ugh!, grunted the Indian; and,
though his exclamation expressed no
satisfaction, it surely put an end to
doubt. he pointed up to the roof Of
the sloping yellow shelf Of stone.
Family outlined there in red were the
imprints of many human hands with
fingers spread wide Gale had often
seen such paintings on the walls Of
the desert caverns. Manifestly these
told YaQui he had come to the spot for
which he had aimed
Then his actions became swift-and
Yaqui seldom moved swiftly. The
fact impressed Gale. The Indian
searched the level floor under the
shelf Flo gathered up handfuls OF
small black stones. and he thrust
them at Gale. Their weight made
Gale start. and then he trembled. The
Indians next move was to pick up a
piece Of weathered rock and throw it
against the wall. 1t broke. He
snatched up parts. and showed the
broken edges to Gale. They contained
yellow streaks, dull gllnts. faint trac-
ings Of green. 1t was gold.
Gale found his legs shaking under
him; and he sat down, trying to take
all, the bits Of stone into his lap. His
fingers were all thumbs as with knife
blade he dug into the black pieces Of
rock. He found gold. Then he stared
down the slope, down into the valley
with it's: river winding forlOrnly away
into the desert. But he did not see
any Of that. Here was reality as
sweet, as wonderful, as saving as a
dream come true. Yaqui had led him
to,a ledge Of gold. Gale had learned
enough about mineral to know that
this was a rich strike. All In a second
he was speechless with the JOY Of it.
But his mind whirled in thought about
this strange and noble Indian. who
seemed. never to be able to pay debt.
Bedding and the. poverty that had
come to. him! Nell, who had wept
over. the loss Of a spring! Laddy.
who never could ride again! Jim
Lash, who swere lie would always look
after his friend! Thorne and Mer-
cedes !,TAll these people. who had
been good to him and whom he loved,
were poor. But now they would be
rich. They would one and all he his
partners. He had discovered the
solircp Of Forlorn river, and was rich
!nwater. Yaqui had made him rich
in gold. Gale wanted to rush down
the slope, down into the valley, and
tell his wonderful news.
6 Suddenly his eyes cleared and he
saw the pile of stones. His blood
turned to Ice, then to fire. That was
the mark of prospector's claim. But
It was old. very old The ledge had
never been worked. The slope was
Wild There was. not another single
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