Show GIFT OF THE DESERT CHAPTER XII continued 12 qt it must most have been the old mexican camp was south there in that canyon canton where I 1 told you the cavalrymen are were waiting tonight I 1 am beginning to understand what Is up or nt at least suspect inspect what hat au all this may mean someone lias IRS accidentally stumbled onto tills this old mine I 1 dont believe the discoverer could be either cither bob or garrity hut but in some way they got wind taken possession tilts this of it and have train supposed to be header beaded for mexico stops here ca casebeer ebelt up and dont care dont L know he gets his n oney just the same with less traveling and danger maybe he asks no questions maybe lie ile knows weats up and Is in on the deal anyway u under nde r 0 orders ders lie ile dumps the stuff d dy dynamite whatever it Is P powder 0 and a d I 1 hustles st ri e it out of sight into that I 1 before daylight comes ills cabin b I 1 n mule train Is back again on the d desert es empty traveling north and there Is nothing you can do la is therel there 1 she asked it Is no 0 crime to dis discover coer and work a mine elnel no only perhaps that dead man you tell me about murder Is still a crime eyen even on tills border there Is about this affair which isn straight otherwise garrity and got meager be in it those guys are playing dirt somehow it Is up to me ine to find end out how kelleen stood up advancing to the very tory edge of the flat rock where lie could look foot straight down into the deep depression below there Is no movement down there Case beers outfit Is not onto the scheme after they go that stuff will all be carried into the tunnel meager will never dare leave it out yonder Wh the place called where the soldiers are box bos canyon why 1 I was wondering A charp spit of fire leaped out or fit the night beyond the horses accompanied by a dull report the startled animals whirled and disappeared in the darkness but deborah saw only helleen poised there on the edge of the chasm saw him fling up both hands clutching vainly at the air and then topple over down into those yawning depths below she could not even scream but some irresistible instinct caused her instantly to roll back from off the stone into the slight depression at its base in the black darkness of this shallow hole bole she lay motionless scarcely venturing to breathe in her fright and daze she yet comprehended all that had bad occurred the shot had come not from beneath but out of the desert kelleen had been killed the horses stampeded she was unhurt but alone it vaas vi as all over so quickly the situation barely flashed through her brain before a voice spoke a voice familiar and hated bated by G d 1 that got him I 1 did you tee see how he toppled plumb over the diff cliff that settles hla his spying on us I 1 reckon sl si senor benor but I 1 would sm swear ear there was two of them there you saw two no only the one standing against the light the senor kid I 1 know him but I 1 thought he spoke and sure senor there were two horses of course he stole mine I 1 had a shot at him then but there Is no one else here D n you look tor for ic A r deborah gazed frightened into those dizzy depths belo beltow w yourself Sanc hezi this roe rock Is clean at a billiard table and theres no place to hide bide where tile the h 1 do aou ou suppose oppose those went we find em when the day comes they not go far in the desert senor where tile the kid fall here deborah realized that the mexican bad clambered onto the flat top of the tock rock and was peering down over the edge ge while remained on the land and impatiently moving about aboul well what hat do you see he barked an anally ally not one d n tiling thing senor black like 11 1 down there be no live after that meager laughed ill may aay he not eert een it if he be was as a 4 cat aint no use our ha hanging 11 ong round here bere that guy gny Is out it t the way and well pick him up az an by randall parrish C acht by A C r mcclur co plant bilm after these others clear out Case beers outfit must be through by this time go on down and start back you paid him st sl senor he neter ne ter nut unload oad tilt till I 1 do he what you call liard hard boll lies iles hard boiled all right but by G d hes got to hold his d n tongue over this dealt deal ill go on down with you and have a final word with him ill tell that guy something hell not forget come on theres nothing more tor for us to do up here the frightened girl crushed into the shallow hole bole halt half beneath the shadowing rock dare not stir for some time the men might decide to return some dim might enter their minds causing them to retrace their steps slie she could see nothing her face pressed hard against the sand and the sound of the two died away quickly at last unable to remain in that posture longer she cautiously lifted her head and gazed about into the darkness there was nothing to be seen or heard and she finally struggled to her feet clinging to the rock edge for support it was wag 1 nil all plain enough yet she could not seem to think clearly und and her limbs were so weak they would scarcely support her body kelleen had been bee killed murdered meager had crept up in the dark and shot the man down dorn I 1 in cold blood as lie he silhouetted against that gleam gearn of fire the victim had toppled over tte cliff and it if not noi already dead from the bullet must have been crushed into pulp on the rocks below these facts came home more and more visibly to the girls mind she had escaped discovery as by a miracle and yet to what end she was alone lost without either horse or weapon to aid her in escape noth both animals iad had disappeared in the desert night her revolver volver le had gone down with netleen cut but one slender bit of fortune remained her ber presence there was still unsuspected the roan man whose discovery she had most reason to dread yet believed her back at tile the ranch hiding from him behind locked doors but helpless to escape his return ilow how she had ever evaded ills his recognition was a mystery yet thank god she had and this fact alone gave her a slender chance assured at last that the men had bad really departed a measure of strength returning as she moved her limbs and faced the realities deborah crept back upon the flat surface of the rock and gazed frightened into those dizzy depths below it was like a nightmare the horrid memory which haunted her of Kel leens body whirling down through that glare of red light but by then the light had bad faded the distant fire having died down to red ash and her eyes were unable to penetrate the gloom beneath she stared into a black void seeing no movement hearing bearing no sound bound the awful silence and loneliness crushed her spirit what could she do where could she go not to those men there in the valley surely not to gob bob meager asking for mercy and release ue ile was impossible her bitter hatred of him more intense than ever to all the wrong done her in the past was added now this brutal murder of daniel kelleen and suddenly edly the girl realized what this last meant to her h er she refused to acknowledge the truth fought it back there alone in the darkness yet it w would oll id not be altogether ignored daniel kelleen was dead gone from out her life forever there came into her heart a desire tor for revenge a mad impulse to fitly punish the murderer she longed to become the instrument to prove her loyalty to him by action yet how what was it possible for her to do slie she stared helplessly about into the dense blackness of the desert and up at the desert stars overhead her mind obsessed with these questions it was no longer herself so much as the aroused memory of him she would carry on his work she must at whatever cost hut but how the cavalrymen stationed at box canyon 1 they were waiting for tile the approach of Case beers outfit or else some word of command from kelleen Kell cen they could not be far away over there to the south he said and lie he had pointed in that direction the stars would help her to keep the points of the compass until daylight came and then surely she could discern something else to steer lier her course by she must go eo on foot straight out into the desert there might not be one chance in a hundred of her going right yet the one chance was better than remaining there for bob meager to find her slie she would rather die miserably in the sand waste than feel eel that bretch touch her again god yes the kiss of death would be sweet compared to the touch of his lips she shuddered at the thought ills his wife the subject of his foul caresses helpless to repel his bis lust his brutal bestiality she would make the trail she would go south this was all that her mind grasped clearly the soldiers were camped at box bos canyon and box canyon was somewhere out there to tile the southward to reach them was her only hope she stood up and studied the sky she knew so little of those stars they frightened and confused cont used lier her in their desert brilliancy and yet she rem remembered em enough to meet her immediate needs the big dipper was easily found and then the north star she must be right for kelleen had pointed over there and tile the direct lou he had in designated coincided exactly with lith what the stars told she could not go far wrong if slie she kept that north star at her hack back she would ile he going south A moment she paused hesitating to take the plunge a prayer on her lips ilow how lonely desolate black blac k the night was the very silence seemed to hem her in isolate lier her from all the world then with firm set lips the girl wert forward plunging her way through the sand instantly swallowed lomed up in the black desert she plunged on recklessly desperately hope dying within her ns as she advanced nothing could guide her now or save he be but gods mere mercy 31 the soundless void role through which she moved the black curta curtain I 1 n enveloping her almost drove her mad sh she e could not fight the depression or keep her mind clear the sand shifted under her feet and twice she fell heavily tr tripped ippei by some protruding rock and left bruised and breathless iier her was blind uncertain and she scarcely dared turn her face for waid for fear of 0 losing the guidance of that one star by which she endeavored to steer slip she was lost utterly but for that and when for a moment her eyes strayed eNery everything thing became confused her every evert sense of direction gone ilow how long she tolled on liow flow fast her rate of progress the girl never knew the way xv was une uneven veti with unexpected depressions here ona an there and ridges of rock through the sand and occasionally mounds she had to go around once she encountered a ravine stepping oft off into it unconsciously and then crawling painfully up tile the opposite side cut by ehni sharp ii splinters of stone before attal attaining ning the level again for the moment she lost her star but finally located it once more and plunged desperately on then she saw something just ahead ot of her a dim indefinable shadow N which b IC h seemed see med to in move 0 V e it w was as so hideous so grotesque and shapeless her very heart stood still with terror the girl sank to lier her knees trembling with no eyes tor for anything except that mysterious moving object misshapen huge looming oddly through the gloom it was advancing steadily toward her a formless something which resembled neither man nor beast CHAPTER XIII the border patrol deborah rose timidly to her feet lier heart beginning to beat once more but not with fear forth from the darkness came the low of a horse in sudden recognition while as instantly that horrid shadow took both shape and form it was a horse saddled bridled the rein trailing along the sand one of the two animals stampeded by the shot which bad killed kelleen lie he had bad sensed her coming in the desert night find and WILS was even then dumbly welcoming her the girl went forward slowly doubtfully fearful of again startling the animal into light flight but he remained quiet sniffing at her as she drew near and she finally put hand on the dangling rein it was the horse kelleen had ridden and deborah hid bid her face in his mane and cried softly while he turned and rubbed his muzzle muzzle against her shoulder in silent greeting it seemed too good to be true as though god had bad led her every step of the way the sudden reaction left her wea weak kas as a child yet she must go on there was more cause now than ever before to go on more hope of 0 success she made the effort twice before she succeeded in dragging herself up into the saddle but the horse stood patiently making no attempt to break away once there the girls strength came back null and with it her determination all was still deathly still not a breath of air touched her cheek the dense night shut them in carefully she located the only star she knew ew to her mind it seemed utterly wrong in its position yet she was faithful to it halt not daring to venture oth otherwise er she drew the borse about and rode south the night seemed endless the black desert eternal there were times when hen the girl lost consciousness ot of even thing except that shining north sta ever at her back it vas u as her one gulde guide and hope through it she be retained sanity and faith in that way lay box canyon and those waiting troopers she dare not ride fast knowing not what pitfalls were ahead the course irregular up and down the horse picked his way intelligently the reins lying loose except as she occasionally held him inexorably to the southward she swayed wearily in the saddle clinging to the high pommel for support unable to see yet aware that they crossed shallow ravines and found passage occasionally along ridges of out cropping rock and then advanced more easily for long spaces over wide expanses of sand noiselessly as a specter it was hard to keep awake concentrate to remember she had bad to struggle to realize this was not all a dream then after seemingly endless hours the dawn came would she ever again forget it she hardly knew at first what it was riding drearily with lo 10 ered head she became dimly aware ot of a cl change iange it a lightening of tile the gloom about a dull grayness ting tingling tingeing eing faintly the black the surrounding surround ins night almost as she wondered the daylight came wan and spectral at first widening lier vista on a gray circle a as a the stars slowly faded from out n in multicolored sky to tle tie left a brightening white light shot ap in mig s touch louch ing ng with more gaudy tinga the edges of t fleecy clouds while in fix the other direction a purple haze blended with ith the deeper shadows along the horizon it was we the coning coming of the sun sun rising ron ma Jest leally above the far off rian of the th desert and she was still moving southward through the long night hours she had kept the faith yet there was attle I 1 ate of hope of en coura gement in the picture unrolled before her iler her view gradually spread out in wider on wider circle but with no relief to its drear sameness or monotony sand leagues upon P leagues of binl stretched wherever her wearied eben 03 c turned leveled by the wind or cast upward in rounded hillocks but ever rray depressing a sea of desolation dead unmovable immovable extending to the tar far circle of the ove shadowing arch of sky it was all lifeless not even a sagebrush or spanish bayonet visible doubts assal assailed led lier her Us aad slip taken the right coursel course did kelleen imply that box bos cany canyon on lay directly south find and had bad she beer be en ltd astray and thus wandered blendl out into the iery ery heart of the desert deser t could she could the horse live through such a day of torture as th that at rising sun promised helpless a hope less ess the girl drooped dro broo droo oed |