Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1923-04-05


! or snort 1t seemed they had become
imbued with the spirit of the Indian.
Yaqui moved away into the shadows
as noiselessly as if he were one of
them. The darkness swallowed him.
He had taken a direction parallel with
the trail. Gale wondered if Yaqui
meant to try to lead his string OF
horses by the rebel sentinels.
The Indian appeared as he had van
ished. He might lave been part OF
the shadows. But he was there. He
started off down the trail leading
Diablo Again the white line stretched
slowly out. Gale fell in behind Peer
ing low with keen eyes, he made out
| three objects-a white sombrero,
blanket and a Mexican lying face
down. The Yaqui had stolen upon this
sentinel like a silent wind of death.
Once under the dark lee of the river
bank Yaqui caused another halt, and
he disappeared as before. Moments
passed. The horses held heads up,
looked toward the glimmering camp
fires and listened. Gale thrilled with
the meaning of it all-the night-the
silence-the Highland the wonderful
Indian stealing with the slow inev-
itableness of doom upon another SEN
tinel.
Suddenly the Indian stalked out of
the gloom. He mounted Diablo and
headed across the river. Once more
the line of moving white shadows
stretched out Gale peered sharply
along the TRAIL and, presumably, on
the pale sand under cactus there
lay a blanketed form, prone, out
stretched, a carbine clutched in one
hand, a cigarette, still burning, in the
| other.
The cavalcade of white horses
passed within five hundred yards of
campfires, around which dark forms
moved in plain sight. The lights dis
appeared from time to time, grew
| DINNER, more Pickering, and at last
/ they vanished altogether. Belongs
fleet and tireless steeds were out in
front; the desert opened ahead wide,
dark, vast. Rojas and his rebels were
behind, eating, drinking, careless. The
somber shadow lifted from Gales
heart. He held now an unquenchable
faith in the Yaqui. Bedding would be
listening back there along the river
| He would know Of the escape. He
would tell Nell and then hide her
! safely. AS Gale had accepted a
strange and fatalistic foreshadowing
of toll, blood and agony in this desert
journey, so he believed in Mercedes
ultimate freedom and happiness, and
his own return to the girl who had
grown dearer than life.
A cold, gray dawn was fleeing be-
fore rosy sun when Yaqui halted
| the march at Papago WELL The horses
were taken to water, then led down
| the arroyo into the grass. Here packs
were slipped, saddles removed. lin
Lash remarked how cleverly they had
fooled the rebels.
ashore they'll be comm along" re-
piled Laid.
They built a fire, cooked and ate
| The Yaqui spoke only one word !:
"Sleep." Blankets were spread. Mer-
| cedes dropped into deep slumber,
| her head on Thorne's shoulder. Ex-
| citement kept Thorne awake. The
/ two rangers dozed beside the fire.
/ Gale sh..red the Yaqurs watch. At
the end of three hours the rangers
! grew Sctive, Mercedes was awak-
ened: end soon the party faced west
ward, their long shadows moving be-
| fore them. Yaqui led with Blanco
I DiablR in long, easy lope. The
heated air lifted, and incoming cur
rents from the west swept low and
hard over the barren earth In the
distance, all around the horizon, accu-
mutations Of dust seemed like ranging,
mughrooming yellow clouds.
Yaoui was the only one of the fu-
gitsyes who never looked back. Gale
had conviction that when Yaqui
gazed back toward the well and the
shining plain beyond, there would be
reason for it. But when the sun. lost
i its heat and the wind died down Yaqui
| took long and careful surveys west
ward from the high points on the
| trail. Sunset was not far off, and
there in a bare, spotted valley lay
| Coyote tanks, the only waterhole be-
tween Papago well and the Sonoyta
oasis Gale used his glass, told Yaqui
there was no smoke, no sign of life !;
/ still the Indian fixed his falcon eyes
| on distant spots and looked long. No
| further advance was undertaken, The
Yaqui headed south and travelled
| slowly, climbing to the brow Of bold
| height of weathered mesa. There he
sat his horse and waited. No one
/ questioned him. The rangers dis
mounted to stretch their legs, and
Mercedes was lifted 20 rock, where
she rested. Thorne had gradually
yielded to the deserts influence for
silence. He spoke once or twice to
Gale, and occasionally whispered to
Mercedes. Gale fancied his friend
would soon learn that necessary
speech in desert travel meant few
greetings, a few words to make real
the fact Of human companionshfp, a
few short, terse terms for the bust
ness of the day or night, and perhaps
stern order or a soft call to a horse
The sun went down. and the golden,
rosy wells turned to blue and shaded
darker till twilight was there in the