St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1922-11-18
Ladd pursued a zigzag course south

ward across the desert, trOtting down
the aisles, cantering In wide, bare
patches, walking through the clumps
Of cacti. Gale became chilled to the
bone, and his clothes were damp and
cold. His knees smarted from the
wounds Of the poisoned thorns, and
his right hand was either swollen
stiff or too numb to move. Moreover,
he was firing. Mercedes must be made
Of steel, he thought, to stand all that
she had been subjected to and vet,
when the stars were paling and dawn
perhaps not far away, stay In the
saddle.
So Dick Gale rode on, brewster for
each mile, and more. and more giving
the horse a choice Of ground. Once
when he, thinking to fight his wearl-
ness, raised his head, he saw that one
Of the horses In the lead was riderless.
,Ladd was carrying Mercedes.
It seemed that hours passed, though
he knew only little time had elapsed,
when once more he threw of the spell
Of WEAKNESS. He heard dog bark.
Tall trees lined the open lane down
which he was riding. Presently In the
gray gloom he saw low, square houses
with fiat roofs. Ladd rode on for
perhaps quarter Of mile, though
It seemed interminably long to Dick.
A grove of trees doomed dark in the
gray Of morning. Laid entered 1t and
was lost in the shade. Dick role on
among the trees. Presently he heard
voices. and soon another house, low
and fiat like the others, but so long
he could not see the farther end, stood
mp blacker than the trees. AS he dis
mounted. cramped and sore, he could
scarcely stand. Lash came alongside.
He spoke, and someone with big,
hearty voice replied to him. Then 1t
seemed to Dick that he was led into
blackness like pitch, where, presently,
he felt blankets thrown on him, and
then his drowsy faculties faded.
When Dick opened his eyes flood
Of golden sunshine streamed In at the
open window under which he lay. His
first thought was one Of blank wonder
as to where in the world he happened
to be. The room was large, square,
adobe-walled. It was Uttered with
saddles, harness, blankets. The sight
Of huge dusty spurs, gun belt with
sheath and gun, and pair Of leather
chaps bristling with broken cactus
thorns recalled to Dick the cowboys,
the ride, Mercedes, and the whole
strange adventure that had brought
him there.
He felt dead weight Of complete
lassitude, and he did not want to
move. A sudden pain in his hand
caused him to hold it up. 1t was
black and blue, swollen to almost
twice It's normal size, and stiff as
board. The knuckles were skinned
and crusted with dry blood. Dick so
hloqulzed that 1t was the worst-look-
Ing hand he had seen since football
days, and that it would Inconvenience
him for some time.
The door at the far end of the room
was open Through 1t he saw poles
of peeled wood unfolding a porch
roof, bench, rose bushes in bloom,
grass, and beyond these bright ~-een
foliage Of trees.
HE shore was sleepin' when I
looked in an hour ago." said a voice
that Dick recognized rs Ladd's.
4 LET him Sleep" came the reply in
deep, good-natured tones "Mrs. B.
says the girls never moved Must
have been tough ride for them both.
Forty miles through cactus! Laddy
I'm right down glad to see you boys,
and Til do all can for the young
couple. But I'm doing some worrying
here; don't mistake me-"
about your -stock?"
I've got only few head Of cattle
at the oasis now. Pm worrying some,
mostly about my horses. The o. 8.
is doing some worrying. too, don't
mistake me. The rebels have worked
west and north as far as Casita. OF
course, my job Is to keep tab on Chi
nese and Japs trying to get into the
U. S. from Magdalena bay. But I'm
supposed to patrol the border line.
I'm going to hire some rangers. Now,
I'm not so afraid of being shot up,
though out In this lonely place there's