Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-05-09
Tie WHITE DESERT
By Conrtney RyIey Cooper

weeks more under ordinary circum-
stances. This will mean death to many
of us here. the wiping out of a great
timber and agricultural country. and
blot on the history Of Colorado. Hep
us-and We will not forget 1t.
- The Citizens Of the West Country
sounds good" The telegrapher was
| busily putting Il on the wire. Then
| wait or hours Then he wire clat
! tered forth message. He jumped.
Its from the papers in DenverE" he
i shouted. a joint message. They We
! taken up the fight
/ The SHOWS still swiried. the storms
/ still came and went During his period
OF uncertainty Houston met Batiste
Renaud. returning from the lake region
to find him raging.
Is Get that the world Is all unjust"
he roared. I am the mad enough to tear
them apart.'
Who What's gone grong:'
"Ah, | pass today the Blackburn mill.
They have the saw going they keep at
work, when there are the women and the
babies who starve, when there are the
cattle who are dying. when there is the
country that IS like a broken thing.
They know that we do moi get our ma
chinery. They have think they have a
chanee-fcr the con ract.
II brought Houston to sharp knowI
edge Of conditions. They had given.
that the rest of the country might not
suffer. Their enemies had worked on.
fred with the new hope that the maehin-
cry necessary to carry out Houston.s
4 contract would not arrive IN time.
| A shout had come from the distance.
Family through the sitting snow they
/ could see figures running. Then the
/ words came:
/ They're going to open the road!
! They're going to open the road"
/ A message bearer came from the sta
! ton. Its the " P. & 5. l.. According
/ to the message. the papers hammered this
/ stuffing out Of the Crestline road. The
4 other road saw a great chance to step in.
/ It's lending the men and the rolling
stock. They're going to open another fell
+ lows road, for the publicity and the good
will that's in it,
| Two pictures flashed across Houston's
/ brain; one of snowy sawmill with the
! force working day and night. when all
| the surrounding country cried for help .
ano; her Of carload after carload of neces.
sary machinery, snow covered, ice bound
on sidctrack AT Tollifer. with the whole
/ horrible. snow -cEltched Gerceness Of the
Continental Divide between it and its
/ goal.
| In the night be awoke. again thinking
/ of IT, Every possible hand that could
swing pick are jam a crowltar against
! grudging ice would be needed mp there.
mad desire began to come over him !;
strange. impelling scheme took hold
of his brain. They would need men
men who would not be afraid, men who
| would be willing to slave day and night
| il necessary to the success Of the ad
venture. Long before dawn. he rose and
scribbled note to Ba'tiste Renaud:
I i m going over the range. l can't
wait. They may need me. I'm writing
+ this, because you would try to dissaa de
me If l told Won personally. Don't be
afraid for meI'Il make It somehow I've
got to go. It's easier than standing by.
! HOUSTON"
Then his snnwshoes affixed be went
out into the night. The STERN clouds
! were thick on the sky again. the snow
was daShing about him once more He
/ foundered aimlessly. striving nv short
sailies to recover the path from which
/ the storm was driving him.
l Dawn found him at last, foundering
/ hopelessly in snow screened woods go
I ing on toward he knew not where.
4 half hour. then he stopped fifty
feet away. almost covered by the chang
ing SHOWS. a small cabin showed family.
His numbed hands banged at the door,
1 but there came no answer. He shouted,
/. still no sound came from within.
The door yielded. and climbing over the
pile of snow at the step. Houston guided
I his snowshoes through the narrow door
blinking in the half-light in an effort to
see about him. There was stove, but
the fire was dead. AT the one little win
dow the curtain was drawn tight and
! pinned Mt the sides to the sash. There
was a bed-and the form of some one
beenaih the covers.
i Houston called again, but still there
came no answer. He was looking into
the drawn. haggard features Of an I'M
conscious woman. the eyes half open. yet
lunseeing. one emaeiated hand grasping
about something that was shielded by the