The Lamar register., 1923-03-28
CHAPTER Xxx.
Desert Gold.

A summer day dawned on Forlorn
River, beautiful. still, hot, golden
day with huge sail clouds OF white
motionless over No Name peaks and
the purple OF clear air in the distance
along the desert horizon.
Mrs. Belding returned that day to
find her daughter happy and the past
buried forever in two lonely graves
The haunting shadow left her eyes
Gale believed he would never forget
the sweetness, the wonder. the pas
sion of her embrace when she called
him her boy and gave him her bless.
ing.
The little wrinkled padre who mar
ried Gale and Nell performed the
ceremony as he told his beads, with
out interest or penetration, and went
his way. leaving happiness behind.
"Shore | was sick man" Ladd
said AN darn near II dead one, but
I'm ngoln' 10 get well. Mebbe I'll be
able to ride again some day. Nell.
lay II to you. An I'm agoin' TO kiss
you an wish you all the JOY there is
in this world. An Dick. As Yaqui
says, she's shore your Shower of
Gold"
He spoke OF Gales finding love
spoke of II with the deep and wistful
feeling Of the lonely ranger who hnd
always yeHrned for love and had never
known IT. Belding. once more Irac.
tical, and important as never before
with mining projects and water
claims to manage spoke Of Gales
great good fortune I'm the finding Of
gold-he called il desert gold.
"Ah, yes. Desert Gold :" exclaimed
Dicks father. softly. with eyes Of
pride Perhaps he was glad Dick had
found the rich claim: surely he was
happy that Dick had won the girl he
loved. But II seemed to Dick himself
that his father meant something very
different from love and fortune in his
allusion TO desert gold.
Yuqui came to Dick to say good
by. Dick was startled, grieved. and
In his impulsiyeness forgot for a mo-
ment the nature Of the Indian. Yaqui
was not to be changed
Beldlng tried to overload him with
gifts. The Indian packed bag Of
food. n blanket gun, d knife, can.
teen. and no more. The whole house.
hold went out with him to the corrals
and fields from which Beldlng bade
him choose a horse-any horse, even
the loved Blanco Diable. Gales heart
"ns In his throat for fear the Indian
night choose Blanco Sol. and he
hated himself for a selfishness he
tould not help. But without word
le would have parted with the treas
Ired Sol
iaqui whistled the horses up-for
.he last time Did he care for them7
II would have been hard to say He
never looked at the fierce and naughty
Dlablo. nor at Blanco Sol as he raised
his noble head and rang his piercing
blast. Tie Indian did not choose one
Of Belongs whites. He caught
lean and wiry broncho, strapped
blanket on him, and fastened on the
pack.
Then he turned to these friends, the
same emOtionless, inscrutabie dark and
silent Indian that he had always been.
This parting was nothing to him. He
had stayed to pay Il debt, and now he
was going home.
He shook hands with the men, swept
a dark fleetlng glance over Nell, and
rested his strange eyes upon Mercedes
beautiful and agitated face 1t must
have been moment of intense feeling
for the Spanish girl. She owed 1t to
him that she had life and love and
happiness. She held out those speak
ing slender hands. But Yaqui did not
touch them. Turning away, he mount