, 1923-02-07
CHAPTER XII
The Crater OF Hell.

Presently Gale, upon turning a sharp
corner. was utterly amazed to see that
the split In the lava sloped out and
widened into IN arroyo. It was so
green and soft and beautiful In all
the angry. contorted red surrounding
that Gale could scarcely credit his
sight. Blanco Sol whistled his well
come to the scent of water. Then
Gale saw n great hole. a pit In the
shiny lava, a dark, cool, shady well.
There was evidence of the fact that
Mt flood seasons water had nm outlet
into the arroyo. The soil appeared to
be a fine sand, in which a reddish
tinge predominated and 1t was apund-
antly covered with a long grass, still
partly green. Mosquitoes and palo
verdes dotted the arroyo and gradu-
ally closed in thickets that INSTRUCTED
the view.
"Shore 1t all beats me-" exclaimed
Ladd. "What n place to hole-up in!
We could have hid here for a long
time. Beldin' was shore right about
the Indian. An l can see Rojas'
finish somewhere up along that awful
hell-hole."
Camp was made on a level spot.
YaQui took the horses to water, and
Their turned them loose in the arroyo.
1t was a tired and somber group that
| sat down to eat. Mercedes was calm,
but her great dark eyes burned in her
white face. Yaqui watched her. The
others looked at her with unspoken
pride. Presently Thorne wrapped her
In his blankets. and she seemed to fall
asleep at once.
Little of Yaqui's purpose or plan
could be elected from him. The
rangers and Thorne, however. talked
in low tones. 1t was absolutely I'M
possible for Rojas and his men to
reach the waterhole before noon of
the next day. And long before that
time the fugitives would have decided
on a plan Of defense.
"What stuns me is that Rojas stuck
to our TRAIL" said Thorne, his lined
and haggard face expressive Of dark
passion. "He has followed us into
this fearful desert. He'll lose men.
horses, perhaps his life. He's only a
bandit, and he stands to win no gold.
All for n poor little helpless woman
Just a womanl I can't understand It."
"Shore-just a woman" replied
Ladd, solemnly nodding his head.
Then there was a long silence. dur
ing which the men gazed into the fire.
Those were cold, hard, grim faces
upon which the light fiickered.
Sleep" said Yaqui.
Thorne rolled In his blanket close
beside Mercedes. Then one by one
the rangers stretched out. feet to the
fire. Gale found that he could not
sleep. His eyes were weary. but they
would not stay shut: his body ached
for rest. yet he could not lie still.
The Yaqui sat like an image carved
out Of lava. The others lay prone and
quiet. Would another night see any
OF them lie that way. quiet foreverf
| Gale sat up after a while and again
watched the fire. Neli's sweet face
| fioated like n wrath In the pale
smoke glowed and flushed and
smiled In the embers. Other faces
shone there-his sister's-that Of his
mother. Gale shook of the tender
memories. This desolate wilderness
with Its forbidding silence and Its
dark promise Of hell on the morrow
this was not the place to unnerve one
self with thoughts Of love and home.
Toward dawn Gale managed to get
some sleep. Then the morning broke
with the sun hidden back Of the upllft
OF the plateau. The horses trooped
up the arroyo and snorted for water.
After n hurried breakfast the packs
Va