The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1934-08-10
Flame Of the BOrder
CHAPTER XI-Continued
ID.

But he followed closely at their heels
while Marston, Serge, and Rodney
Blake walked about the scantily stored
front room, looked under counters, In
tipping bins and behind doors. They
entered the storeroom behind with Its
stacks of packing cases, barrels, the
usual tumble of merchandise and Its
containers which litter such a place.
And here the red left Parks face. 1t
became waxen. like moon in fog.
But none of the three men no.
ticed it.
Serge was too violent with sorrow
to notice much Of anything, and Rod
ney Blake was cold to his very vitals
for the same reason. Ever since the
sound Of Darkness running feet had
brought him into the patio at home he
had been like man in trance. The
bottom had fallen out of life for him,
but there was in the emptiness ter
rible blackness of suspicion. First Of
the Indians; then Of Sonya herself.
He was following Serge and Mars
ton here and now, would follow them
some hours longer. Then he knew
what he meant to do himself, what
campaign of searching he would be-
gin, and his always thin lips drew into
a fine line.
AS the three men explored aIsong
the disorder of the place the pro-
prietor kept close to them, and once
when Marston raised the lid Of bin
of dry beans the muscles Of his right
hand rose along the back, exactly as
the body of a cat lenses before 1t
leaps. Marston dropped the lid, and
the hand relaxed.
"There is nothing here" Serge said
In despair
They went to find the sheriff and
see how many men he had sent out
in which directions.
And back at the ranch Lila, who had
held her tongue, looked in the face Of
Myra Little and poured out in flood
all she knew of Sonya and Starr
Stone. Myra, who had come as fast
as her two good horses and a bounc-
ing blackboard could bring her when
she heard the news from Navajo run
ner who had passed her place.
my Lord!" she said aghast. "You
think-that maybe she's gone with
him? Run off?'
"What else?" said Lila miserably.
"She loves him. And Rod Blake has
said he'll never give her up to any
one"
"H'm-yes, maybe you're right. She
told me of this man-what kind of
eyes he had. Blue eyes, wild an ex-
citable-with pupils that spread easily.
Use seen their like-once in preacher
who never should have been one, an
in an outlaw at Laredo. Strange eyes
they are, an strange men who own
'em, an women can't forget them,
ever. Maybe you're right, Lila. He'd
take her-an' she'd go-if she loved
him."
"She does" said Lila with convic-
tion.
And all among the Bad Lands, in
the scattered canyons, along the sage
brush levels, a peculiar thing was hap
pening. From every crevasse Of the
lonely land where she had worked for,
loved, and befriended them, the Nava-
Jos were coming: tall brown men on
sorry horses, their long hair bound
on their heads beneath their wide
brimmed hats, their turquoise neck
laces swinging on their breasts.
They met and spoke in soft clipped
voices, parted, and went appointed
ways, their dark eyes on the deserts
floor, scanning the open book Of the
world around, moving network Of de-
lection.
1t was Hosteen Tso who traced her
shod horse to the town, who knew that
she had sat some hours in dry wash
over to the east before she went to
town, and who followed her step by
step back along the circling way which
had taken her to that certain spot
where Sonya Sayarin had looked last
upon the deserts familiar face from
the security of her saddle. And there
Two Fingers stood with Hosteen Nez,
holding her lost hat.
The three men looked at each other,
nodded, spoke few low words.
They all saw, too. three long strange
marks in the sand-wheel marks soft
and wide with indentations in them,
a sharply defined mark running be-
tween them, beginning a bit before
their start, ending bit before they
did.
None of the three had ever seen an
airplane closer than the high blue sky
above, but they spoke Of one now, con-
sidering And they took the SOM
brero with them, jogging back to their
hogans.
Tomorrow they would meet again,
these three, and circle wider, asking
all others of their tribe they met what
they knew of sky ships, telling this
which they knew. And only these
the humble ones whom Rodney Blake
despised-knew anything of Sonya