Newspapers / Jackson County Journal (Sylva, … / Aug. 31, 1923, edition 1 / Page 10
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^ri iimmiiiiiNii tw wiiii i i i i i i i m iiiiiix tfiiiii - ^ ? ??????? ?? ? ? ? ? - ppq DESERT GOLD byzamcrey ^/txithor ?/"Riders of the Purple Sage, Wildfire, Etc. V ' , , \_ Copyright by Harper & Brothers. ( ? -^>-'''''''''iiii:iiiiTi^Viriillliii^XiiiiiriiTniTiiiiiiir<V>llllllllllllllllllllr<'htlllllllllinilllllJ<OMlllllllll[||||||IU<0>lllHHII|[inilllL jS CHAPTER XV.? Continued. I ? 15? f "Thorne! Thome! It's nil right, life all right !" cried Oaie, In piercing tines. "Mercedes is safe! Yaqui saved her! ltojna Is done for ! Yaqui jtftnped down (lie wall and drove the brfndit off the ledge, Cut him loose from the wall, foot by foot, hand by hand ! We've won the fight, Thome." For Thome these were marvelous 6tre?gth-givinj.' words. The dark hor ror left his eyes, and they began to dllnte, to shine. lie stood up, dizzily but unaided, and lie gazed across the crater. Yaqui had reached the side of Mercedes, was bending over her. She stirred. Yaqui lifted her to her feet. She appeared weak, unable to stand alone. But she faced across the crater and waved her hand. She was un harmed. The Yaqui Waved, too, and (Jule saw in the action an urgent signal. Hastily taking up canteen and rides, (Jnle put a supporting arm around Thorne. "Come, old man. Can you walk? Sure you can walk ! Lean on me. and we'll soon get out of this. Don't look across. Look where you step. We've not much time before dark. Oh. Thorne, I'm afraid Jim has cashed in! And the last 1 saw of Laddy he was badly hurt." (lale was keyed up to a high pitch of excitement and alertness, lie seemed to be able to do many things. Hilt once olT the ragged notched lava Into the trail lie bad not such difficulty with Thorne, and could keep his Km-n g?ze shifting everywhere for sialit of enemies. "Listen, Thorne! What's that?" asked (Jale, halting as they came to a place where the trail led down through rough breaks in the lava. The silence was broken by a strange sound, al most unbelievable considering the time and place. A voice was droning: "Turn the lady, turn ! Turn the lady, turn! Alatnon left. All swing; turn the lady, turn!" "Hello, Jim," called Gale, dragging Thorne round the corner of lava. "Where are you? Oh. you son of a gun ! I thought you were dead. Oh, I'tn glad to see you ! Jim, are you hurt?" Jim I. ash stood in the trnll leaning over the butt of his rltle, which evi dently he was utilizing as a crutch. He was pale hut smiling. Ills hands were bloody. A' scarf had been bound tightly round his left leg just above j the knee. The leg hung limp, and the f >ot dragged. "I reckon I ain't Injured much," re plied Jim. "Hut my leg hurts like h ? I. if you want to know." "Laddy ! v Oh, whore's Laddy?" "He's just across the crack there. T was trying to get to him. We had It hot an' heavy down here. Laddy j was pretty bad shot up before he tried to head Itojas off the trail. . . . Pick, did you see the Yaqui go after Ito.]as?" "Pid I ?" exclaimed Gale, primly. ,uTlio finish was nil that saved me from runnin' loco. I reckon our chances are against findin' Laddy niive. ... I tell you. boys, Rojas was h ? 1-bent. An' Mercedes was game. I saw her shoot him. But mebhe bullets couldn't stop him then. If I didn't sweat blood when Mercedes was fightin' him on the cliff! Then the finish! Only a Yaqui could have done that. . . . Thorne, how about you? Dick. Is he bad hurt?" "No, he's not. A hard knock on the skull and a scalp wound," replied Dick. "Here, Jim let me help you over this place." Step by step Gale got the two In jured men down the uneven declivity and then across the^narrow lava bridge over the fissure. Il^e he bade them rest while he went along the trail on that side to search for Laddy. Gale found the ranger stretched out. face downward, a reddened hand elutchlng n gun. Gale thought lie was dead. Upon examination, however, it was found that I.add still lived, though he had many wounds. Gale lifted him and carried him back to the others. "He's alive, but that's all," said Dick, as he laid the ranker down. "Do what you can. Stop the blood. Lad dy'a tough as cnctus, you know. I'll hurry back for Mercedes and Yaqui." Gale, like a fleet, sure-footed moun tain sheep, ran along the trail. He came upon Mercedes and the Yaqui. She ran richt into Dick's arms, and then her strength, If not her courage, broke, and she grew lax. "Mercedes, you're safe! Thome's safe. It's all right now." "Rojas !"? she whispered. "Gone! To the bottom of the crater! A Yaqui's vengeance, Mer cedes." He heard ti e girl whisper the name of the Virgin. Then he gathered her up In his arms. "Come, Yaqui." The Indian grunted. He hnd one I - ll^nd pressed close over a bloody place Ift his shoulder. Gale looked keenly at him. Yaqui was inscrutable, as of old. yet Gale somehow knew that wwund meant little to him. The In dian followed 'him. Gale carried Mercedes up to the rtm and alon/ to the others. .Tim Lash worked iwkw?rdtyr ow Ladtl. Thorne was trying to assist. Ladd, himself, was conscious, but he was a pallid, apparently a death-stricken man. The greeting between Mercedes and Thome was calm? strangely so. It seemed to Gale. But he was now calm himself. Ladd smiled at him, and evidently would have spoken had lie the power. Yaqul then joined the group, and his piercing eyes roved from one to tlie other, lingering long est over Ladd. "Dick, I'm figger'n' hard," said Jim, faintly. "In a minute It'll be up to you an' Mercedes. I've about shot my bolt. . . . Reckon you'll do ? best by brlngln' up blankets ? water ? salt ? firewood. Laddy's got ? one chance ? in a hundred. Fix him up ? first. Use hot salt water. If my leg's broken ? set It best you can. That hole In Yaqul ? only'll bother him a day. Thome's bad hurt. . . . Now rustle ?Dick, old? boy." Lash's voice died away in a husky whisper, aud he quietly lay back, "Thorne! Thome! It's All Right, It's All Right!" Cried Gale, in Pierc ing Tones. "Mercedes Is Safe!" stretching out all hut the crippled leg. Gale examined it. assured himself the hones had not been broken, and then rose ready to go down the trail. "Mercedes, hold Thome's head up, in your lap ? so. Now I'll, -go." On the moment Yaqui appeared to have completed the binding of his wounded shoulder, and he started to follow Gale. The descent to the ar royo was swift and easy. Gale hastily put together the things he needed; and, packing them all in a tarpaulin, he turned to retrace his steps up the trail. L>arkness was setting in. The trail was narrow, exceedingly steep, and in some places fronted on precipices. Gale's burden was not very heavy, but its bulk made it unwieldy, and it was always overbalancing him or knocking against the wall side of the trail. At last they reached a level, and were soon on the spot with Mercedes and the injured men. Gale then set to work. Yaqui's part was to keep the fire blazing and the water hot, Mercedes' to help Gale in what way she could. Gale found Ladd had many wounds, yet not one of them was directly In a vital place. Evi dently, the ranger had almost bled to death. He remained unconscious through Gale's operations. Jim Lash came out of his stupor. A mushrooming bullet had torn a great hole in his leg. Gale, upon examina tion, could not be sure the bones had been missed, but there was no bad break. The application of hot salt water made Jim groan. When he had been bandaged and laid beside Ladd, Gale went on to the cavalryman. A furrow had been plowed through his scalp down to the l ine. When it had been dressed, Mercedes collapsed. Gale laid her with the three in a row and covered them with blankets and the tarpaulin. Then Yaqui submitted to examina/ tion. A bullet lmd gone through the Indian's shoulder. To Gale it appeared serious. Yaqui said it was a flea bite. Hut he allowed Gale to bandage it, and obeyed when he was tpld to lie quiet in his blanket beside the fire. Gale stood guard. The hour had come for him to face his great prob lem. It was natural that he hung back a little at first ; natural that when he went forward to look at the quiet sleepers he did so with a grim and stern force urging him. Yaqui stirred, roused, yawned, got up; and, though :he did not smile at Gale, a light shone swiftly across his dark face. His shoulder drooped and appeared stiff, otherwise he was himself. Mer cedes lay in deep slumber. Thome had a high fever, and was beginning to show signs of restlessness. Ladd seemed just barely alive. Jim Lash slept as if he was not much the worse for his wound. Gale awoke Mercedes. Swiftly 8he sat up. ; "'Mercedes? ?coxa?. Art you all right? ? - c > . i.s ; ^ \ ? ?v ./ C ? Laddy is alive. Thome's not? not so bad. But we've got a job on our hands. You must help me." She bent over Thorne and laid her hands on his hot face. Then she rose ji woman, such as he had imagined she might be in an hour of trial. Gale took up Ladd as carefully and gently as possible. "Mercedes, bring what you can carry and follow me," he said. Then, motioning for Yaqui to remain there, he turned down the slope with Ladd iu his arms. Neither pausing nor making a mis step nor conscious of great effort, Gale carried the wounded man down into the arroyo. Mercedes kept at his heels, light, supple, lithe as a panther. He left her with Ladd and went back. When he toad started oft with Thorne In his arms he felt the tax on his strength. Surely and swiftly, however, he bore the cavalry man down the trail to lay him beside Ladd. Again he started back, and when lie began to mount the steep lava steps he was hot, wet, breathing hard. As he reached the scene of that night's camp a voice greeted him. Jim Lash was sitting up, "Hello, IMck. I woke some late this mornin'. Where's Laddy? Where's Thorne an' Mercedes? Look here, man ! I reckon you ain t packin this crippled out lit down that awful trail?" V "lla'd to, Jim? an hour's sup? would kill? both Laddy and Thorne. Come on,' now." For once Jim Lash's cool good na ture and careless indifference gave precedence to amaze and scorn. "Alwavs knew you was a husky chap. But, Dick, you're no hoss! Get me a crutch an' give me a lift on one side." "Come on," replied Gale. 'Tve no time to monkey." ( He lifted the ranger, called to Yaqui to follow with some of the camp out fit, and once more essayed the steep descent. Jim Lash was the hei\ lest man of the three, and Gale'3 strength was put to enormous strain to carry him on that broken trail. Neverthe less. he went down, down, walking swiftly and surely over the bad places; and at last he staggered into the nrroyo with bursting heart and red-blinded eyes. When he had re covered he made a final trip up the slope for the camp effects which Ya qui hod been unable to carry. In the labor of watching and nurs ing it seemed to Gale that two da> s and two nights slipped by like a few hours. Then Gale succumbed to wea riness. After his much-needed rest he relieved Mercedes of the care and watch over Thorne which* up to that time, she had absolutely refused to relinquish. The cavalryman required constant attention. Ills condition slowly grew worse, and there came a day which Gale thought surely was the end. But that day passed, and the night, and the next dny. and Thorne lived on, ghastly, stricken, raving. Suddenly, and to Gale's amaze and thanksgiving, there came an abatement of Thome's fever. With it some heat and redness of the In flamed wound disappeared. Next morning he was conscious, and Gale Gale Carried the Wounded Man Down Into the Arroyo. ) grasped some of the hope that Mer cedes had never abandoned. He forced her to rest while he attended to Thorne. That day he saw that the crisis was past. Recovery for Thorue was now possible, and would perhaps depend entirely upon the care he re ceived. Jim Lash's wound healed without ! any aggravating symptoms. It would be only a matter of time until he had the use of his leg again. All these days, however, there was little ap parent chance in Ladd's condition, un less it was that he seemed), to fade away as he lingered. Then Yaqui asked for the care of Ladd. The .Indian absented himself from camp for a while, and whan he returned ho : | carried the roots and leaves of desert plants unknown to Gale. ,From these the Indian brewed an ointment. Then lie stripped the bandages from Ladd and applied the mixture to his wounds. That done, he let him He with the wounds . exposed to the air, at night covering him. Next dny he again exposed the wounds to the warm, dry air. Slowly they closed, and Ladd ceased to bleed externally. Days passed and grew Into what Gale Imagined must have been weeks. Yaqul recovered fully. Jim La9h be gan to move about on a crutch; he shared the Indian's watch over Ladd. Thorne lay a haggard, emaciated ghost of his former rugged self, but with life In the eyes that turned al ways toward Mercedes. Ladd lingered and lingered. The life seemingly would not leave his bullet-pierced body. The tireless. Implacable, In scrutable savage was ever at the ranger's side. His great somber eyes burned. At length he went to Gale, and with that strange light flitting across the hard bronzed face, he said Ladd would live. The second day after Ladd had been given such thin nourishment as he could swallow he recovered the use of his tongue. "Shore ? this's h ? 1," he whispered. That was a characteristic speech for the ranger. Gale thought; and Indeed It made all who had heard It smile while their eyes were wet. From that time forward Ladd gained, but he gained so Immeasurably slowly that only the eyes of hope could have seen any Improvement. Jim Lash threw away his crutch, and Thorne was well, if still somewhat weak, before Ladd could lift his arm or turn his head. His whispers grew stronger. And the day arrived when Gale, who was perhaps the least op timistic, threw i doubt to the .winds and knew the ranger would get well. ? ? ? * ? ? ? O 1 "Boys, come round," said Ladd, In Ills low voice. "An* you, Mercedes. An' call the Yaqul " Ladd lay In the shade of the brush shelter that had been erected. There seemed little of him hut long, lean lines, and If It had not been for his keen, thoughtful, kindly eyes, his face would have resembled a death mask of a man starved. "Shore I want to know what day is It an' what month?" asked Ladd. Nobody could answer him. The question seemed a surprise to Gale, and evidently was so to the others. "Look at that cactus," went on Ladd. "I rerlon according to that giant cactus It's somewheres nlong the end of March." said .Tim Lash, soberly. "Shore It's April. Look .there the sun Is. An' can't you feel it's gettlp' hot?" "Supposln* It Is April?" queried Lash, slowly. "Well, what I'm drlvln* at Is It's about time you all was hittln' the trail back to Forlorn River, before the waterholes dry out." "Laddy. I reckon we'll start soon as you're able to be put on a hoss." "Shore that'll be too late." A silence ensued. In which those who heard Ladd gazed fixedly at him and then at one another. Lash un easily shifted the position of his lame leg, and Gale saw him moisten his lips with his tongue. "Charlie Ladd, I ain't reckonln' you mean we re to ride off an* leave you here?" "What else Is there to do? The hot weather's close. Pretty soon most of the waterholes will be dry. You can't travel then. . . ? . rm on mv back here, an' God only knows when I could be packed out. Not for weeks, mebbe. I'll never be any good again, even If I was to get out alive. You see. shore this sort of case conies round sometimes in the desert. It's common enough. I've heard of sev eral cases where men had to go an' leave a feller behind. It's reasonable. If you're fightin' the desert you can't afford to be sentimental. . , . Now. as I said, I'm all In. So what's the sense of you waitln' here, when it means the old desert story? By goln' now mebbe you'll get home. Shore now. boys, you'll see this the right way? Jim, old pard?" "No, Laddy, an' I can't figger how you could -ever ask me." "Shore then leave me here with Ya qul an' a couple of the bosses. We can eat sheep meat. An* if the water holds out ? " "No!" interrupted Lash, violently. Ladd's eyes sought Gale's face. "Son, you ain't bull-headed like Jim. You'll see the sense of It. There's Nell a-waltln' back at Forlorn River. Think what It means to her! You'll go, son, won't .you?" Dick shook his head. The ranger turned his gaze upon Ttiorne, and now the keen, glistening eyes had blurred. "Thorne, It's different with you. Jim's a fool, an' young Gale has been punctured by choya thorns. He's got the desert poison in his blood. But you now? you've no call to stick? you can find that trail out. Take your wife an' go. . . . Shore you'll go Thorne?" ' Deliberately and without a mo t ment's hesitation the cavalryman r* plied "No." Ladd tnen directed his appeal t? Mercedes. His face was now con vulsed, and his voice, though it had sunk to a whisper, was clear, and beautiful with some rich quality that Gale had never before heard in it. "Mercedes, you're a woman. You're the woman we fought for. An' some of us are shore goin' to die for you. Don't make It all for nothln'. Let us feel we saved the woman. Shore you can make Thome go. He'll have to go If you say. They'll all have to go. Think of the years of love an' happi ness In store for you. A week or so an' It'll be too late. Mercedes, don't make it all for nothin*. Say you'll persuade Thorne, If not the others." "Mercedes, You're a Woman. You'na the Woman We Fought For." For all the effect his appeal had to move her, Mercedes might have pos sessed u heart as hard and fixed as the surrounding lava. "Never!" White-faced, with great black eyes flashing, the Spanish girl spoke the word that bound her and her com panions in the desert. The subject was never mentioned again. Gale thought that he read ? sinister purpose in Ladd's mind. To his astonishment. Lash came to him with the same fancy. After that they made certain there never was a gun within reach of Ladd's clutching, clawlike hands. Gradually a somber spell lifted from the ranger's mind. When he was en. tirely free of it he began to gather strength daily. Then It was as If he had never known patience ? he who had shown so well how to wnlt. He was In a frenzy to get well. His ap petite could not be satisfied. The sun climbed higher, whiter, hot* ter. Every day the water In the lav# hole sank an inch. The YaquI alone spent the waiting times In activity. He made trips up on the lava slope, and each time he returned with guns or boots or som breros, or something belonging to the bandits that had fallen. Those waiting days grew into weekfc Ladd gained rery slowly. Neverthe less, at last he could walk about, an0 soon he averred that, strapped to it horse, he could last out the trip ta Forlorn River. There was rejoicing In camp, an< plans were eagerly suggested. Thl Yaqul happened to be absent. When he returned the rangers told him they were now ready to undertake the Journey back across lava and cactus. Yaqui shook his head. They de clared again their intention. "No!" replied the Indian, and hit deep, sonorous voice rolled out upoa the quiet of the arroyo. He spoke briefly then. They had waited too long. The smaller waterholes back In the trail were dry. The hot sum mer was upon them. There could be only death waiting down in the burn ing valley. Here was water and grass and wood and shade from the sun's rays, and sheep to be killed on the peaks. "Wait for rain," concluded Yaqul, and now as never before he spoke as one with authority. "If no rain ? " Silently he lifted a speaking hand. (TO BE CONTINUED.) V "Only a Man." Edith Wharton, the writer, told thl* war story: "The American wounded were being brought in from the seo ond Marne battle," she said, "and ? fussy-looking woman in a khaki uni form and Sam Browne belt knell over the stretcher and said, 'Is this an officer, or only a man?' 'The brawny corporal who stood beside the stretcher gave her a grim laugh and said: 'Well, lady, he ain't no officer, but he's been hit t^lce In the Innards, both legs busted, he'? got two bullets In both arms and wt dropped him three times without hi* lettln' out a squeak, so I mess ye cma <??ii him a man.' 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Jackson County Journal (Sylva, N.C.)
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Aug. 31, 1923, edition 1
10
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