Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1924-05-03

4 went aIIef nm ana Ced MIN 10
tree"
Sam" cried wInton brokenly, 81
can't thank you enough-not now.
Get him, Saml Get himl"
Sam came back in five minutes,
leading the horse. Wlnton knew it
very we'll. 1t was not so fast as De
Wits, but It had woG prizes at the
local handlcaps. II was in frst-class
condition.
Sam had puc one foot into the stir
rup when Winton dragged him down.
Let me go, Mr. Garrett. Let me
goF" he pleaded. You're not fit, sir"
I'm going, Sam. III be back with
Miss Sheila-or I'll not be back. No
use, Sam. Leave it to me. It's my
job. confound your
Sam took his foot out Of the stir
rup with sigh. The tears were
streaming down his black face.
You're right, sir" he said humbIy.
Il"
But neither man could speak, and
WintOn, wringing Sans hand, mount
ca and rode away.
His burning anger gave him strength.
The thought of Sheila's danger, Of De
Wits trick at the end, nerved him
to desperation. Within two days the
wheel of his fortunes had made COM
plete revolution. Only the thought of
Sheila in De Wits power enabled him
to maintain his mental equilibrium.
And for a while, as he rode over the
lonely desert, touched here and there
with the green of the young grass,
he felt like a shadow moving in a
phantom world.
He tried to concentrate his attention
on the tracks of the three horses,
which were distinct in the rain-soaked
ground. So long as these were plain
in sight he felt that he was nearing
Sheila every moment, In spite Of the
fact that he could see no one. He
discovered that what his horse lacked
in speed 1t made up In staying powers,
and hours passed without any slacken-
ing of the easy triple" pace.
But the morning wore away, and 1t
became clear to Winton that De Witt
had at least maintained his lead. 1t
was almost midday when he discov-
cred that the tracks had disappeared.
For some time they had been grow
ing less distinct, for the sandy earth
of the desert had yielded to finty
them, and discovered that the horses
had struck of at an angle leading far
away from the headquarters Of the
tribe.
Hitherto the horses had been travel
ing almost Immediately toward the
hills. Yet it had seemed improbable
that De Witt could have allied him
self with the Bechuanas They would
have rejected overtures from any
white man; and De Witt, scoundrel
though he was. would hardly have
made them Winton's suspicious now
became a certainty In his mind. The
Dutehman, who was well known
throughout the desert country, had
gathered about himself a few wander
ing Hottentots, probably old servants
or cattlemen, by whose aid he hoped
to strike across the desert into an
other territory.
The tracks led due west, toward the
heart of the almost unknown Kala-
hari, the desert of salt pans, inhabited
only by few wandering Bushmen and
the antelope on which they lived.
WintOn knew that there was no set
Element of any kind, not even native
one, for hundreds of miles in this d.
rection. If one went far enough, how
ever, and knew how to live on the
wild melons that send their tap-roots
hundreds of feet into the ground and
draw up water, one would enter Ger
man territory, where the Herrera
tribesmen lived among the infrequent
GASES. Thence enc could strike the
western shore.
And Winton suddenly began to think
that Van Worst must have taken this
route. Probably the same Hottentots
who had accompanied De Witt had
helped Van Worst across the desert.
They might even have cached food and
water in some lonely spot.
Winton's heart sank as he followed
the faint tracks mile after mile, often
reduced TO a slow walk il order not
to lose them. Sometimes only a tuft
of downtrodden, withered grass, or 4
few displaced pebbles showed him
his route. And then even the wisps
of grass vanished, and the tiinty desert
lay smooth before him.
1t was early afternoon. Winton had
been guiding himself more by instinct
ard judgment than by any visible
traces. He realized now that he had
lost the trail. and lost 1t half an hour
before, and had been deluding him
self with signs which were nonexist-
emit Worse than that, 1t was impoS-
sible to pick up the spoor by going
back.
His horse had gone gamely. but It
was gradually giving out. He dis
mounted, and the beast stood painting,
with dropping head. 1t had ceased to
sweat-an ominous sign. He left It
and began to cast about in a wide