Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1923-02-16
CHAPTER XVI
Mountain Sheep.

stllliling situation. If considered from
= safe and comfortable home away
.afn the desert, became. now that ne
rs slut in by the red-ribbed lava
LIS and great dry wastes, a matter
,afinly accepted as inevitable. So he
imagined it was accepted by the 9th
ers. Not wen Mercedes uttered a
regret. No word was spoken of home.
If there was thought of loved ones,
it was locked deep in their minds.
BY tacit agreement Ladd again be-
came the leader of the party. The
first thing he asked was to have he
store of food that remained spread
out upon a tarpaulin. Assuredly, it
was a slender enough supply. 1t was
impossible to read the gravity of
Ladd's face, for he still looked like
a dead man, but the slow shake of his
head told Gale much. There was a
grain Of hope, however, in the signif-
canoe with which he touched the bags
of salt and said, ashore it was sense
packin' all that salt"
Then he turned to face his COM
rades.
THAT'S little grub for six starvin'
people corralled in the desert. But
the grub end amt worryin' me. Yaqui
can get sheep up the slopes. Water /!
That's the beginnin' an middle an
end of our case"
daddy, l reckon the waterhole here
never goes dry" replied Jim.
"Ask the Indian"
Tpop baipr uractinnad Vanui cn0lxn
of the dreaded ano seco Of the Next
cans. In a dry year this waterhole
failed.
Dick, take a rope an see how much
waters In the hole"
Gale could not find bottom with a
thirty-foot lasso. The water was as
cool, clear, sweet as If it had been
kept in a shaded iron receptacle.
Ladd welcomed this information
with surprise and gladness. Lets
see. Last year was shore pretty dry.
Mebbe this summer won't be. Mebbe
our wonderful good luck1l hold. Ask
Yaqui If he thinks it'll rain"
Mercedes questioned the Indian.
HE says no man can tell surely.
But he thinks the rain will come" she
replied.
"Shore it'll rain. you car gamble
on that now" continued Ladd. "1f
there's only grass for the bosses! We
can't get out of here without bosses.
Dick, take the Indian an scout down
the arroyo. Today I seen the bosses
were gettin' fat. Gettin' fat in this
desertl But mebbe they've about
grazed up all the grass. Go an see,
Dick. An may you come back with
more good newsl"
Gale found that the arroyo widened
as 1t opened. Near the head, where
It was narrow, patches Of gray grass
grew everywhere. Gale began to won
der where the horses were. Finally
the trees and brush thinned out, and
a mile-wide gray plain stretched down
to reddish sand dunes. Over to one
side were the white horses. and here
was grass enough for many; the ar
royo was indeed an oasis.
Ladd and the others were awaiting
Gales report, and they received 1t
with calmness, yet with a Joy no less
evident because 1t was restrained.
Gale, in his keen observation at the
moment, found that he and his con
rades turned with glad eyes to the
woman Of the party.
"senor Laddy, you think-you-be-
lieve-we shall" she faltered, and
her voice failed.
Mercedes, no white man can tell
what'll come to pass out here" said
Laid, earnestly. "Shore l have hopes
now / never dreamed of. l was pretty
near a dead man. The Indian saved
me. Beldin' had it right. Yaqui's
our godsend. Now, as to the future,
I'd like to know mebbe as well as
you If we're ever to get home. Only
bein' what I am, 1 say, Quien sabef
But somethin' tells me Yaqui knows.
Ask him, Mercedes. Make him tell.
He's a silent Indian, but make him
tell"
Mercedes called to Yaqui. At her
bidding there was always a suggestion
of hurry, which otherwise was never
manifest in his actions. She put a
hand on his barred muscular arm and
began to speak in Spanish. Her voice
thrilled Gale, though he understood
scarcely a word she said. He did not
need translation to know that here
spoke the longing of a woman for life,
love, home, the heritage of a woman's
heart.
"Sir" rolled out the Indians reply,
full Of power and depth.