, 1923-01-31
CHAPTER XII
Across Cactus and Lava.

At the far corner of the field laQui
halted. and slowly the line of white
horses merged into a compact mass.
Yaqul slipped out of his saddle. He
ran his hand over Diablo's nose and
spoke low. and repeated this action
for zach of the other horses. Gale
had long ceased to question the
strange Indians behavior. There was
no explaining or understanding many
of his But the results of
them were always thought-provoking.
Gale had never seen horses stand so
silently as in this instance no stamp
no champ of bit-no toss of head
no shake OF saddle or pack-no heave
or snort 1t seemed they had become
imbued with the spirit of the Indian.
Yaqul 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 have been part of
the shadows. But he was there. He
started off down the trail leading
Dlablo. 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, a
blanket and a Mexican lying face
down. The Yaqui had stolen upon this
sentinel like n silent wine 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 1t 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 ont. Gale peered sharply
along the trail, and. presumably. on
the pale sand under n cactus, there
lay n blanketed form. prone. out
stretched, a carbine clutched in one
hand, n cigarette, still burning, In the
other.
The cavalcade of white horses
passed within five hundred yards of
campfres, around which dark forms
moved In plain sight. The lights dis
appeared from time to time, grew
DINNER, more pickering, and Mt 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 u~nquenchable
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 fatallstic 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 n rosy sun when Yaqui halted
the march mt Pnpago well. The horses
were taken to water. then led down
the arroyo into the grass. Here packs
were slipped, saddles removed. Jim
Lash remarked how cleverly they had
fooled the rebels.
ashore they'll be comm along" re-
piled Ladd.
They built n fire. cooked n ate.
The rnqui spoke only one word I:
sleep" Blankets were spread. Mer-
cedes dropped into n deep sluinber,
her head on Thorne's shoulder. Ex-
element kept Thorne awake. The
two rangers dozed beside the fire.
Gale shared the Yaqui's watch. AT
the end OF three hours the rangers
grew active. Mercedes was awak-
ened; and soon the party faced west
ward. their long shadows moving be-
fore them. Yaqui led with Blanco
Diablo In a 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.
-mushroomlng yellow clouds.
Yaqui was the only one OF the fu.
gifives who never looked back. Gale
had a conviction that when Yaqul
gazed back toward she well and the
shining plsin beyond. there would be
reasoL Tor II. But when the sun lost
Its hea, and the wind died down Yaqui
took long and careful surveys west.
ward from the high points on the
trail. Sunset was not far on. and
there In n bare. spotted valley lay
Coyote tanks. the only w~aterhole be-
! tween Papago well and the sonoyta