Nogales international., 1933-11-04

! NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
Neither the girl nor her husband
seemed anxious to start up the road.
1t was when this fact became plain 10
them both that Ruth cried, It'll be
sundown before long-we simply can't
stay here"
Warren nodded "We'd better start,
/ guess"
Ruth looked back toward the gate.
Beyond, her eyes sought the occasional
stretches of dusty highway as it
wound up the valley eighty-fve
miles to the first thing which could
be called civilization, eighty-fve miles
TO a policeman. She shivered; but
turned to her husband with a smile
which was meant to be brave "All
right, dear; let's go. If we get shot
we'll just get shot-we can't stay here
and we certainly can't go back"
For two long, hot, dusty hours they
walked on with never sign of human
things The awesome silence envel-
oped them, penetrated them, until their
very thoughts seemed like small inde-
pendent voices. They felt watched by
grim, thousand-eyed spirit. The oc-
casional rabbit Or coyote which ran
before them looked back furtively,
then went on to give news OF their
coming When rarely they spoke, the
words passed between them in low
frightened voice, as though speech
were forbidden.
They came. among the lower foot
ings of the mountains. No longer
could their eyes follow the two paral-
lei paths through the dead grass for
sry distance Constantly, the road
dipped into ravines, skirted low hills,
crossed gulches and arroyos covered
with coarse gray sand. The mans
FPS were bluish-white, his breathing
'asped, short and quick. The girl
Ilodded doggedly in the dust, red of
&ce, sweat-grimed.
The sun winked from behind
jagged peak and was gone. The man
and woman stared at the mountains
dun-colored, utterly desolate. David
clutched his mother tightly at the
sound OF her voice. "Where are we"
she moaned. "Oh, Kenneth where are
WEI"
He shook his head, but could not
afford breath for speech.
The girl picked up her son and
started forward desperately.
At the bottom of the next arroyo
well filled with live oak trees-the
wheel marks of the Indians wagon
turned to the right and disappeared up
the river of sand. 1t was strange how
they missed those fresh wheel tracks.
Beyond this arroyo the road rose to
descend presently into a deep gulch.
The banks On either side fell sheer to
the bottom of coarse, bare sand--a
great channel plowed by cloud-bursts
in the mountains. A distance ahead
large brown bowlder thrust its bulk
through the sand. The young man and
the girl kept their eyes upon this rock
an oasis, a place to sit for mo-
tnent, a place to empty their shoes.
The road, too, bent slightly to pass
the rock.
They rested a moment until the
deepening dusk, the awful silence
forced them to their feet. They took
but one step then froze to statues,
terror leaped into their faces: voice,
low, intimate, whispered into their
ears. "Go-back. Go-back."
"Ken-W Ruth screamed the word.
The man and woman clutched each
other, staring wildly. The gulch was
still barren, nothing moved, not rab-
bit could have been hidden. Yet the
hollow whisper came again, at their
very ears. "Go-back. You-must-
go-backl Co"
Like wild things, the man and wo-
man ran blindly forward. Immediately
the whisper was lost, dying away on
a single word. The two stopped again
| and clung together trembling. The
darkness was coming quickly-already
the banded walls of the gulch had
| taken on weird mystery from the light
With terror -widened eyes the man ano
girl looked from one bank OF the
Guich to the other, conscious of nc
thought or plan.
Then Ruth caught her breath in ar
hysterical sob, another followed. War
! rem gripped her shoulder with the
agony Of the sudden cough which
presently was Aecking his white lips
with red. E.
A dog barked friendlily. Some dis
tance ahead the gulch turned to the
i right and the road rose out OF It by
another incline. At the bottom Of this
cut in the bank sat a small black dog.
"DogW announced David, squirm-
Ing about in his mothers arms. AS
far as he was concerned, all was again
we'll with the world. Something Of
this feeling came to the parents. With
a backward glance, which now held
wonder instead Of blind feat they
went forward with Quickened step.
When they were quite near, the dog.
one ct whose remote ancestoIa had