, 1923-03-07


ond ram. mt 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. He
chose to stalk the game. After being
hunted IA few times and shot at, the
sheep became exceedingl!t 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 n 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 long rifle grew like
stone in his grip, and the whipping
"spang" ripped the silence, and the
strange echo doomed deep In the era.
ter, and rolled around. as If in hollow
mockery at the hopelessness of escape.
He waited beside his quarry, and
breathed deep, and swept the long
slopes with searching eyes of habit.
When Yaqul came up they set about
the hardest task OF ALL to pack the
oest OF Una heaVy sheep Gown miles
OF steep ragged c~hoya-covered lava.
The torrld summer heat came i'm
perceptibly. or 1t could never have
been borne by white men. 1t changed
the lNes OF the tugltives, making
'helh purity nocturnal In haDlt. Inc
hights n the baimy GOODNESS OF
spring ana would have been delight
iui ior sleep Dut that Won have
haue the blazing days ndura
AS Ladd mad said, n of their
greatest problems was the passing of
time. Inc nights were interminably
long but they had to be passed In
WORK or play or dream-anything eX-
cept steep. mat was Ladds most in
heAlDle command. lie gave no rea-
SON but not lmproDably the ranger
thought that the terrific heat of the
uay spent IN slumber lessened n wear
ana straln' II not n real danger of
madhess:
~ccordingiy at frst the occupations
OF this little group were many and
various. Ihey worked If they had
something 10 40 or could invent a
pretext. They told and retold stories
until all were wearisome- They sang
songs Mercedes taught Spanish.
lhey prayed every game they knew
lhey invented others that were so
Trivial children would scarcely have
oeen interested and these they played
seriously. In n word, with intelll-
sence ana passion with all that was
ciViiizeu n human. they fought the
eVer-nniringlhg loneliness, the savage
son'uue OF their environment.
uaie oeileved himself h keenest
Oh the party the n who thought
most ana ne watched the effect of the
uesert upon MS companions. Fol
hours IL seemed Laid would bend
o'er MS checkerooard ana never
make a move. 1t mattered not now
whether or not he n a partner. Jim
Lash' the calfnest, coolest, most non
viai"nt' oest-hunored westerner Gale
had ever met had by slow degrees
ioSt mai cheerful character which
"ould nave been or such Infinite good
TO ms companions, and always he sat
silently brooding. Jim had
no ties Few memories, and the desert
was claiming him.
Ihorne ana Mercedes. however,
were living wonderful proof that spir-
IT. mind' n heart were free-free to
soar In scorn OF the colossal barren
ness and silence and space of that
terrible hedging prison of lava. They
We're young; they loved; they were
togetner' Inc the oasis was almost a
paradise. Thorne and Mercedes had
forgotten the outside world. II they
had been existing on the burned-out
desolate moon they could hardly have
oeen IN a harsher, grlmmer, loneller
spot than this red-walled arroyo.
Although the Yaqul was us his
shadow, Gale reached n point when
he seemed to wander alone at twl-
Hight, In the night, at dawn. At night
he had formed n habit of climbing M