The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1923-09-27

Of the desert stretching outward
toward tie Meager ranch. 1t would
be impossible to crosse this on foot
with neither food nor water to u
tein her; nor could she for a moment
contemplate seeking refuge there, even
II II were possible. Her only hope
was to circle that hidden chasm, and
then endeavor to find her way north
until she reached some human habita.
ton. The hope Of accomplishing this
was the merest mirage; the attempt
probably meant death. She had no
horse, no food, yet somehow, In the
| exhilaration of that first moment ~
release, she could not wholly despair.
God had been good she would go on
c~Ourageously, and trust Him.
She arose TO her knees, and looked
about. II was a lonely, contracted
scene, amid which she vas concealed
Some rift in the rocks led down to
that opening through which she had
just crept. Perhaps it had formed a
w~atercOurse In other ages, but 10
the sand Of the desert had drifted in,
and covered all with a yellow mantle
Of desOlatiOn. The sides were too
steep to scale ever on foot, the loose
sand fOiIing every attempt, so she was
compelled to follow the course of the
defle in seeking a way out. For the
first few yards of advance the girl had
no suspicion she was not alone. A
patch of s~agebrush limited her view,
and she was threading her way through
these, when the sound Of a voice
speaking caused her to crouch sud
denly down In the midst Of the thicket
and lie m~otlOnless, scarcely daring to
breathe. 1t was the voice itself which
paralyzed her every vOlltiOn, a voice
instantly recognized, never to be for
gotten-the voice of Bob Meager.
He was not dead, then; the blow
struck had No more han stunned the
man, and-and she was his wife.
Deborah's fingers dug at the sand in
sudden agony, as the hldeOus thought
came home anew to her mind. In
some mysterious way he must have
| discovered what had occurred, sus-
pected that she and Kelleen had rid.
den away together, and then followed
like an Indian on the trail. She lifted
her head suddenly; another voice
spoke quietly, indifferently. Surely
the voice was familiar; it must have
been Kelleen himself who spoke.
She crept forward inch by inch,
crouchlng low behind the sage until
she could see the figures of two men.
Neither II faced her; Meager sat on
the side of the bank, his horse grazing
just beyond, while the Frisco Kid"
remained in the saddle, his mount still
breathing heavily, as though he had
only just arrived after a hard ride.
Wei, what difference does 1t
make?" he asked quietly. "Am l In
on this or notl"
"Of course you're in now" was the
surly response. 81 reckon that was
what caused you to show up in these
parts, amt II? / wondered what was
being pulled Off when you rode in last
night. Say, Kid who really piped 1t
to you-Casebeer or Clarity?
"The less you know about that the
longer you'll live, Bob" Kelleen re-
| piled calmly. ut is enough that l do
know, n o only what you are up to out
here, but that Ii was also your game
to double-cross me. You tried the
same game once before, Bob. The
scheme has never worked very well.
You haven't got the brains to do it
with. Casebeer never told me any
thing: nor Garrity. All I needed was
to know you and your kind. You were
never honest In your life, and when
l heard about this deal it was easy
enough to figure what was up"
"What deal, Kid? What do you
mean?'
This ranch inheritance Garrity
fixed up $ % nicely for you. no, l
haven't all the. dope-not yet. But I'm
on my way to 1t, all right the rawest
| deal I ever heard about. and IL WIFI
blow up like a p%unctured balloon just
as soon as your ~stepmother gets nerve
enough TO see a good lawyer. That's
true. amt 1t. BobT"
"The old man left il to me-"
yes, he did-not. ! was down In
old Mex when l first heard what was
going on up here. Young Clair got
hold of one end of the story somehow,
and told it to me. You remember
Clair?"
"He worked here on the ranch"
Eyes; that's what made him talk.
He's square, that kid, and you fired
him, and every other American on the
| place: her put on Mexicans. That
made him sore. When he told me
that i came pretty neal knowing what
was up"
"You did. hey! Wanted a hand in
the gamer"
"why shouldn't I, Bob? I held you
up when you was fiat, didn't I? There
Is no reason why you should forget
me now. DIN you! I mean to see
that you don't. That's what Tn here
for. Now listen-Tm on to what Is
| going to be pulled Off tonight-this
Casebeer business. You sent Sanchez
and his helper over here to take care
Oh the Casebeer outfit-that's right.
isn't it,"
Meager growled something indis-
tinctly. his eyes angrily watchful, but