Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

THE PSOPLE. BARNWEf.U R. C. DESERT GOLD ^ hy 1 ZANE GREY ^ithor of Riders of the Purple Sage 9 Wildfire, Etc. Copyright by Harper St Brothers. CHAPTER xvi H-Cpnirnuej: —18— , “My heart Is broken,” sobbed- Nell, ■’‘for—I—I can’t marry you!” The boyish brightness faded out of Gale’s face. Here, Belding saw, ^was the stern reality arrayed against his dreams. - . ‘‘That devil, Radford Chase—he’ll tell my secret,” panted Nell. “He swore if you ever came back and married mp he’d follow us all over the world to tell it.” Belding saw Gale grow deathly ■white and suddenly stand stock-still. “Chase threatened you, then?” asked Dick; and the forced naturalness of his vtriee struck Belding. “Threatened me? He made my life a nightmare.” replied Nell, In a rush of speech. “He got so half the time, when he was drunk, he didn’t want or ask me to he his wife. I was about ready t» gi'** up and go mad when you—you came home." She omled in a whisper, looking up wistfully and sadly at him. w as a n crnble beaten wretch, who knew his condition and felt the eye* <upon him. He sobbed and moaned and ho\. led. But no one offered to help hirp to his feet. Backed against the door of the hall stood Ben Chase, for once stripped of all authority and confidence and cour- ace. Dick Gal<» confronted him. He shook a huge gloved list in Chase's face. “Your gray hairs save you this time. Bift.keep out of my way! And when that son of yours comes to, tell him every time Tjne^t him I’ll add some more to<what he got today!” CHAPTER XIX i t r The Sejret of Forlorn River. In the early morning Gale, seeking solitude where he could brood over his trouble, wandered- alone. It was not easy for him to elude the Yaqul, and just at the moment when he had cast himself down in a secluded shady corner the Indian appeared, noiseless, shadowy, mysterious as always. The Indian Ijad been told of the loses sustained by Belding and his rangers. “Go—me!" and Yaqul, with an Im pressive gesture toward the lofty Iliac* colored steps of No Name mountain*. He seemed the same a* usual, hut a Belding | glance on Gale's part. * moment'* at* inc fire within, cold without. | tentlnn. made him conscious of the o4d Gi in red Nell *r to hla up Into hh hrenst for •ure the Wi ',** he said. strange for<e In the M \Yhy does my hr climb the natnehsis bliur nsked Gale. Yaqul. >t her y int me to i wJUi lightness of foot. These Gale had he* yor.d the *hare of most men. It w«* a matter of time power, and the Ya* qul’* life had been spent scaling the desert heights. Moreover, the climbing wu* Infinitely alow, tedious, dangerous. On the way up several times Gale Imagined he heard a dull roar of fall ing water. The soumf seemed to be under him, over him, to this side and to that. When he was certain he could locate the direction from which It came then he heard it no more until he had gone on. Gradually he forgot It In the i>by8iea4- sens*dio*»- of-ihe-XlUllb._ ^ He Ids hands ami knees. He_grew hot and wet and winded. His heart thumped so that it hurt, and there were instants when his sight was blurred. When at last he had toiled tQ where the Yaqul sat awaiting him. upon tlie rim of that great wall,’it was none too soon. Gale lay back and rested for a while without note of anything except the blue sky. Then lie sat up. He was amazed to find that after that wonder ful climb he was only a thousand feet or so above the valley. Judged by the nature of his effort, he would have said he had climbed a mile. The village lily beneath him, with Its new adobe struc tures ami tents and buildings In bright contrast with the older habitations. He saw the green alfalfa fields, and Beld- Ing’s white horses, looking very small and motionless. He pleased himself by Imagining he could pick out Blan co S»*l. Then his gaze swept on to the river. Indeed, he realized now why some one had named It Forlorn river. Even at this season when It was full of water It had a forlorn a*|>ect. It was doomed never to mingle with the waters of the Gulf. It womtd away down tie- valley, growing wider ami shallower, eo- try »« re VMPf I** Yaqul had never before seen the source of Forlorn rt\er If he had ever ascended to this plateau, prob ably it had been to some other part, for the wster was new to him. He stood gazing aloft at peaka, at lower rampants of the mountain, and at nearer landmarks of prominence. Yaqul seemed at fault. ' He was not sure of his location.- Then he strode past the swirling pool "of dark wntet* and began to as cend a little slope, that led up to a shelving cjiff. Another ol)j#ct halted the Indian. It-was a pile of stones, It wna’i certificate twenty-one y*»rt old,. and recorded the marriage of Robert Burton and Nellie Warren. Mrs. L. E. Conn find her daughter-hap^y and the past withered, ofumTiRvflr fallen tnrrt ftihirtIfnrteit'forevcr Hv -two lonely graves. but still retaining shape . enough t prove it had-been built there by the hands of men. Round and round this the Yaqu4 stalked, .and Itts curiosity attested a further uncertainty. It was as If he had come upon something surprising. (Idle wondered about the pile of stones. Had it once been a prospector’s claim? “Ugh!” grunted the Indian; and, though his exclamation expressed no satisfaction, it surely put an end to doubt. He pointed up to the roof of the sloping yellow shelf of stone. Faintly outlined there in red were the Imprints of many human hands with fingers spread wide. Gale had often seen such paintings on the walls of the desert caverns. Manifestly these told Yaqul he had come to the spot for which he had aimed. - ' Then his actions beckme swift—and Yaqul seldom moved swiftly. The fact Impressed Gale. The Indian searched the level floor under the shelf He gathered up handfuls of small black atones, and he thrust them at Gale. Their wbight made „ CHAPTER XX. , .-i* _ Desert Gold. A summer day dawned on Forlorn River, a beautiful, still, hot, golden day with huge sail clouds of white motionless over No Name peaks and the purple of clear air In the distance.- along the deserf horizon. Mrs. Belding returned that day to li ( KWh Gale believed he would never forget the sweetness, the wonder, the pas sion of her embrace when she called him her boy and gave him her bless ing. The little wrinkled padre who mar ried Gale and ,Nell performed the ! ceremony as he told his heads, with- ' out Interest or penetration, and went | his way, leaving happiness behind. “Shore I was a sick man," Ladd said, “an' darn near a dead one. but ; I’m agoin’ to get well. Mebbe I’ll be able to ride again some day. Nell, I lay It to you.- An' I'm agoin’ to kiss you an’ wish you all the Joy there is In this world. An* Dick, as Yaqul says, she's shore your Shower of Gold.’’ He spoke of Gale’s finding love— ' spoke of It with the deep and wistful feeling of the lonely range- who had always yearned for love and had never known it. Belding, once more jmo tion I, and lni|»ortant as never before with mining project* and water claim* to nianage, *|M»ke of Gale* great good fortune In the finding of gold- be called It de«ert g»»ld. “Ah. ye* Hrwerf GoldT exclaimed I Dick’s father, aoftly. with eye* of i pride |Vrh«i*i he wa* glad Dlrfc had Health Bring* Beauty A Discovery That Ha* Don* m World of Good Augusta, Ga.—“My father’s family was kept well ever since I can re member by using Dr. Pierce’s remedies. My father used to get % supply of the ‘Golden Medical Dis covery’ every spring, as a tonic. Ho took it himself and gave it to the rest of us. He did not wait until we wero sick. He said, ‘An ounce of preven tion is worth a pound of cure.’ When I was about sixteen my parents saved me, I believe, from serious feminine trouble by giving me Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription."—Mrs. L. E. Gunn, 506 Moore Ave. Keep yourself ^ the pink of con dition by obtaining Dr. Pierce’* Gold en Medical Discovery in liquid or tablets from your neighborhood drug gist, or send 10c to Dr. Pierce’* In valid*’ Hotel in Buffalo, N. Y., for U.4 package. Put y«*ur energy Into achievement today rattier than Into regret* tomor row. If You Need a Medicine You Should Hate the Best rt •* t-rl '*• • • COI.D IN THE HEAD *• » » w. Y • * * ft. i - .••iv will *»• find thcfte r.**»v. ,; • Dirk of |U ding. ey’ve got a place donn the road ing the Inn.* They mil It their At this hour itndfnrd will he sure. I don't know about the office is now Just **T adjol dub. llief* 1 old man. But his across the way.’’ They passed several houses, turned n corner into the main street, and stopped at a wide, low adobe struc ture. The place was a hall, and need ed only a bar to make it a saloon. A large table near a window was sur rounded by a noisy, smoking, drinking circle of card-players. “point out this Radford Chase to said Gale. The dug fellow with the red face. TRs^eyes stick out a little. See! He's dropjte44iis cards and bis -face isn’t red any nioftC^ Dick strode across the room. His heavy boot shot up, and with a Altar valley f.-r two dry season*. Yaqul hsl swiftly along the lake to the upper end, where the stream roared down over iin«ruhihle wi.1l* Thi* point wit* tin* farthest Gale had ever penetrat.-d into the rough foot hills, and he had Helding's word for It that no white man had ever climbed No Name mountains from the west. The Indian left the gulch and dam bered up over a jumble of weathered slides iffRl traced a slow course along the base of the giant wall. He looked up and seemed to select a point for ascent. It was the last place in that mountain side where Gale would have thought climbing possible. Before him the wall rose, leaning over him, shut ting out the light, a dark mighty moun tain mass. Innumerable cracks and crevices itmU caves roughened the britginglides oT durk rock. Yaqui tied one end dfdyis lasso sliort, stout stick and, carefully to the dl.sen- tbe tuotesgpllt. and glasses, cards, chipS-j tnngling dhe coils, he whirled the stick fh-w everywhere, As they rattled down and the elutics of the dumfound- ed players began to sTHlgDiek called out: “My name Is Gale. I'm looking for Mr. Radford Chase.” A tall, heavyshouldered fellow rose, •boldly enough, even swaggeringly and glowered at Gale. *T’rn Radford Chase.” he said. His Voice betrayed the boldness of fils ac- flon. It tras over In a few moments. The tables ami chairs were tumbled Into a heap; a poof table had been shoved aside; a lamp lay abattered. with oil running dark upon tfee'^oor. L ftpe^d again*! a post »UI» a aye king gun In hi* hand, A Mexieaa croc cjnar to the wall maaolag over a rotmei amt round and threw it almost over tTre-^lirst rim of the shelf, per haps thirt.vfeetup. The stick did not lodge. Ynqui tru 5 ^-^^!^. This time it caught in a craCk/^Hgnulled hard. Then, hoblinyrto tlie lnssf\fie walked up the steep slant, hand over hand op the ropi*. When he reached the shelf he motioned for Gale to follow. Gale found that method of scaling a wall both quick and easy. Yaqul pulled up the lasso, and threw the stick ajoft in to another crack - He climbed to^- otber shelf, and Gale followod him. The third eff.»rt brought (hem to a more 14 | rugged bench a hundred feet above tb* ■Hdea- The. Yaqui worked round to left and turned Into a dark Assure 1 kepi rio*e at hia heeln They i*l him * ^ ream of an eagle. Often lie wondered If tin* Indian could hear thing* that made no •iound. * Yaqui was beyond understund- Iwf. Whatever- the Indian had listened to or for. presently he satisfied him self. and. with a grunt that might mean anything, he rose and turned away from the rim. Gale followed, rested now and eager to go on. He saw that the great cliff they had climbed was only a stairway up to the huge looming dark bulk of the plateau above. Suddenly he again heard the dull roar of falling water. It seemed to haveCleared itself of imiflled vibra- •ftli * Tl th Hkrd tin* hroT Gal kr-vT arm la tb# fa by ewftafftftrs ftft*ab*r rftB cri»4 **rt ta pata afi»—fTf-1 *• draw vmq aad laMr had cvhpp** la ra* a Pm*# f%am. • R**#v Mi M#aa#f ftpu** ftk* a* at ftw* fia aaa rorarr vp#«M ■ ratfa pat —w |i I Mwtl ! f« Mr iftat rr*trV-i*d aay -riradril Thwww taa lad ( - ftrw#«a aarOM* of ritt aarr «a hM* «a«a Gala i aA tara TWfc Haro tb* aarvat baM%a |«H GaW mmn* h*j ftad - roafei ftMUMaa lap** 4 Na #«a*Aja kadka^l < at ta* <#■##. i**aa*a* #• aaa ft#*# wt+mms ‘ hm- •* H a» la*# ta* ia#aa a# k • mm * £- Mi a* a #*nmn# m tions. Yaqui mounted a little ridge am] halted. The next instant Gale stood above a bottomless cleft- Into which a wliite-stmuu leaped-. His 4p(tinded ga/.e swept backward along this narrow swift stream to Its end In a dark, round, boiling pool. It was a huge spring, u .bubbling well, the out cropping of an underground river eojhing d n fr/.m the vast plateau above. Yaqul had brought , Gale to the source of Forlorn river. Flashing thoughts In Galf^s mind were no swiffer^than the thrills that ran over him. He^wmjhl stake out * claim here and never Be cheatetl out «f It. Ditches on the bench*** am) trough* on the steep walla w<>u.ur>*t- ry water d.»«n to the vidjey. Ben Ghajie had hdfk a great dam which IT Gale chu*e to turn Forl->m river from M* natural course The I««m#(b bead **f that .myatmua* deaevt Hver betoviged to him. Hm e##mt*»* hi* now that pa****’#. ■ v#o rhw'bed ky YaaaT* vatMNal ae- ■ tkom TV* !>**•#■ *d avmdae, koapiactaMc e*ra wia>saar# Mi* t *TT*it~* 0*00 *arvo|rd ta.V* kwNN*# BMP# i aa 4T t#*r? rBNhd a*c_ laftr** (to m&r • ca*f a*« m*b* ftMtMft aaoroj.. t Bhaf Indian wa* digging and dust under the. khelvmg wall. He threw nut an ot>je*i that rung against the stone. It waif a belt buckle. He threw out old shrunken, withered hiKits. He came upon other things, and then he ceased to dig. Tim grave of des**rt prospectors! Gulo hud seen more than one. Ladd hud told him many a story* of such gruesome finds. It was grim, hard fact. ( Then the keen-eyed Yaqui reached up to a little projecting shelf of rock and took from it a small object. He showed no curiosity and gave the tiling to Gale. How strangely Gale felt when he re ceived into his hands a flat oblong box! Was it only the Influence of the Ynqui, or was there n nameless" and unseen presence beside that grave? Gale could not he sure. ' But he knew he had gone hack to the old iert mood,—He—knew something - hlmg In the balance. No accident, no luck, rhK debt-paying Indian could ac count whoTty^for that nioment.^^Gale knew he held in'bls hands more that! **«ii*« Hr~adl f;« * hrwa • hi! flMftO* l B|v; *, *!•*; %e «f^lrr luif* .|* Um Yaqoi del rod T 1 lira 1 ft* •«ay. Imp ro.ront- III tfiali 1 I#* hr»«tf*W( ., , , 1 , ft,. '• and ro*le d*» wa the |*li*i i “ii* !•»» erftj llie * • going 1 MOiiy. ’ aald Itelft ! e ■ ‘•Me •IB •me«|i| , i | _ .i.i. i.U I deb knew the ran*f*i r had felt the r* wurging tide of tuft-nii>r y. Home—acr • •** tlie cactu* * and lava . through noletni u loi.. ly days. the silent . lonely night*. Into the VOHt and red-li iuzivI world of «le»' .la* i." • r tl gold. Th he box was a tin one, and not at an^nc icn fhf Hon. “Thorne, Mercedes, Nell, let’s climt the foothill yonder and watch him out of - said l»i< k. They climbed while the others n* turned to the house. When they reached the summit «»f the hill Ynqui was riding up the fur hank of the river “He*wlll turn to look—to wave good- by?" asked Nell. “Dear, he is an Indian," replied Gale, From the height they watched,him ride through the mesqultes, up over the river hank to enter the. cactus. Hia mount showed dark againfft the green and white, and for a long time he was plainly 4fc sight. The sun hung red- r in a golden sky. The last the watch ers saw of Yaqui was when he rod* across a ridge and stood silhouetted Inst the gold of.desert-sky—a w444 r lonely, beautiful picture. Then he was gone. " Strangely it came to Gale then that he was- glad. Yaqui had returned to his own—tlie great spaces, the desola tion. the solitude—to the trails he had trodden wlieiv a child, trails haunted now by ghosts of his people, and ever by his gods. Gale realized that in th*i Yaqul 'be hud known the spirit of th«i desert. thaY'this spirit had claimed all which was wild a«d primitive in him. Tears glistened In Mercedes’ maf nifleent black.eyes, and Thorne kissed them away. HAIR STAYS COMBED, GLOSSY “Hair Groom” Keeps Hair Combed—Well-Groomed. v HAIR GROOM Keeps Hair Combed Millions Um It—Fine for Hair!—Not Sticky, Greasy or Smelly. A few cents buy* a Jar of “TI*Ir- Gruom” at any drug store. Even stub born, unruly or shampooed hair stay# That acti«»o recalled Gale * earlier v ^nihed oil day In any styt* ymi Ilk*. all rusty: Gale pried open the. re luctant Md. A faint old musty oddr iven et rated his rnwutrils. Inside the hoi''-4.ny a i*acket wrapped In what once might have been oilskin. He took It out and removed this covering. A folded paper remained in his hands. ft wa* growing yellow with age. But he described a dim tracery of wgjrd*. A crabbed scrawl, wriuen in hlor&L F ' r d rend ’ He held^lt more | the Joy of the present, and h* 1 “Hair-Groom’’ Is a dignified rombtac | to the llghi. and slowly he deciphered I turned to Nell’s sweet face The desert creami which gives that natural gloee I It* contenM: ! ,r,MI Ik**'"* unmlerful. constructive, en- and well groatped effect to your h#Ar— acbling. beautiful, terrlblk. but It wax that final touch tw good dress both hi ace for him a* It aaa for tUe Indian. . business and on amdal sera*!*— In the light of Nell's tremulous re | Grreorleo* maiolee* “HoiMieaos" tarodag smile that strange, dee# #aca aat aOkow e# the hair hoengpe II riafrh’.fif afcad-’* fed*#, km Its hold h vtirort *d #f Km ars|p #*reu**. aad he traae# fUmm to •vor. ^ j. , T . oh*M#orM#: h» d era”— p ftfte##| , and #e* nf . g##| leg y*n rna aaoj * 1 'too and Jitdas War- this gold dataa to It sad half to Notl daughter sad fr&a'UiMxt, s.'*’ Li ] Kac’'< 1 lor " * e j - «»<*o»e urn* 1 by «a WHeteawb# « ffiiiaenra ti«jo fw# »t myth 4 4«* mrn fia ftM n e#an ms I mm _