, 1923-03-28
CHAPTER XIX
The Secret Of ForIorn siv.,

S"'' moihihS Gale, seeking
soiitude where he could brood over
MS trouble, wandered alone. II was
% easy for him to elude the Yaoni
and just at the moment when he had
cast himself down in a secluded sbady
corner the Indian appeared, noiseless.
mysterious as always.
Inc Indian had been told of tho
loses sustained by Bedding and his
rangers.
Conner" and Yaqui, with an i'm.
pressive gesture toward the lofty lilac
colored steps of No Name mountains
lie seemed the same as usual. but n
glance on Gales part. a moments at.
tention. made him conscious of the old
strange force in the Yaqui.
why does my brother want me TO
cllmb the nameless mountains with
him?" asked Gale.
'Lluvia d'oro," replied Yaqui, and he
mace motions that Gale found diff
cult of Interpretation.
shower of Gold" translated Gale.
mat was the Yaqui's name for Nell.
what did he mean by using it in con.
nection with a climb into the noun
tains! Were his motions intended to
convey an idea of a shower of golden
blossoms from that rare and beautiful
tree, or a golden rain? Gales l~istless-
ness vanished in a flash of thought.
Inc 1aqui meant gold, Goldl He
meant he could retrieve the fallen for
OF the white brother who had
saved his life that evil day at the Pa
pago well. Gale thrilled as he gazed
piercingly into the wonderful eyes of
this Indian. Would Yaqui never con-
slider his debt paid7
Conner repeated the Indian,
pointing with the singular directness
that always made this action remark
able in him.
"Yes, Yaqui."
Gale ran to his rom, put on hobnailed
boots, hlled a canteen and hurried back
to h corral. Yaqui awaited him. The
Indian carried a coiled lasso and n
short stout stick. Without n word he
led the way down the lane, turned up
the river toward the mountains. None
of Belongs household saw their de-
parture.
What had once been only a narrow
mesquite-bordered trail was now a
well-trodden road. A deep irrigation
ditch. full of flowing muddy water. ran
parallel with the road. Gale had been
curious about the operations of the
Chases, but n bitterness he could not
help had kept him from going out to
see the work. He was not surprised
TO find that the engineers who had CON
structed the bitches and dam had an
ticipated him in every particular. The
dammed-up gulch made a magnificent
reservoir, and Gale could not look up
on the long narrow lake without n
feeling of gladness. The dreaded ano
seco of the Mexicnns might come again
and would come. but never TO the in
habltants of Forlorn River. That
stone-walled, stone-floored gulch would
icy leak, and already II contained
water enough TO irrlgnte the whole of
Altar valley fos W dry seasons.
Yaqui led swiftly along the lake to
the upper end, where the stream
roared down over |unscalable walls.
This point was the farthest Gale had
yer penetrated into the rough foot
hills, and he had Belongs word for II
that no white man had ever climbed
No Name mountains from the west.
The Indian left the gulch and clam
bered up over u tumble OF %weathered
slides and traced n slow course along
the base of the giant wall. He looked
up and seemed to select a point for
ascent. II was the last place I'm that
mountain side where Gale would have
thought climbing possible. Before him
the wall rose, leaning over him, shut.
ting out the light, n dark mighty moun
tain mass. Innumerable cracks and
erevices and caves %roughened the
bullying sides of dark rock.
Ynqul tied one end OF his lasso to the
short, stout stick and, carefully Olsen.
tangllng the coils. he whirled the stick
round and round and threw II almost
over the first rim OF the shelf, per
hnps thirty feet up. The stick did moi
lodge. Yaqul tried again. This time
Il caught In n crack. lie pulled hard.
Then. holding to the lasso, he walked
up the steep slant, hand over hand on
the rope. When he reached the shelf
he motioned for Gale TO follow. Gale
found that method OF scaling n wall
both quick and easy. Ynqul pulled up
the lnsso. and threw the stick alofi in
To another crack. He climbed to n
other shelf, and Gnle followed him. The
third effort brought them to n more
rugged bench n hundred feet above the
slides. The Yaqul worked round TO
the left and turned Into n dark assure.
Gale kept close nj his heels. They
came out presently Into lighter space,
yet one TINT restricted any extended
view. Broken sections OF cllf were OF
oil sides.
Here the ascent became toll. Gnle
could distance Ynqul going d%ownhlll;
ON the climb, however. he was hard