Show Z 1 5 A romance Ro manice the ollia oi of arizona avo jo velzer from edmund vay f r melodrama by JOHN MURRAY AND MILLS MILLER Z copyright 1908 by G W dillingham co theres a banch of coi co cu i r I 1 era in this story if it will do yn y n good tonn to oct 1 and for good measure theres slim hoover sheriff whom nobody loves because 1 a fat man and there arc are other characters of the great southwest women of charm and inter est desperadoes and soldiers tier 1 whose doings on the stage have I 1 called forth much favorable comment from tho the public end the critics they aro ara woven into a plot of dramatic interest colored by characteristic actions and sayings of typical women and men of the land of the rattlesnake and the gila monster tha the long horned steer and the lowly despised sheep the incidents of the tale I 1 will hold you the women wo and the men will attract you they arc df different ferent from those of other yarns of 0 the west that is 13 ever ready reads for a fight figh t or a fro frolic tic 1 I OWN an old trail in the ghost range in northwestern me D DOWN ico just across the arizona border a mounted prospector wound his tits way bis his horse home carefully picking its it steps ninona the broken granite blocks which had tumbled upon the ancient path from the mountain wall above A burro followed leden laden heavily with pack bed roll pick frying pan and battered coffeepot coe coffe pot yet stepping along euro sure foot edly ns as the mountain sheep that first forn fonnie itil the trail ogea ages ngu ago and whose pe trilled hoof prints still remain to afford footing for tin sc scarcely larger hoofs of if tin the pack animal an all awful stillness hun hung over the ecna that was broken by tim t nc I 1 click of hoofs of horse and burro upon the locks and the clitter of the loose looie stores they dislodged that rolled and kipped dipped down the mount aln side not a breath of nir air was stirring and the BUU sun blazed down don from the zenith with ith buch such alerce and direct radiation tb tint it the wayfarer vay farer nettled net led not to ere the shadow shado to note its edict position in the heames singly adiong tho broken block and in lit banks along the the ali cactus had burst under the lit heat beat ns its it were into the ganeous combustion of flowery name to the passing beside them their red blooms blazed with the th arri tating tailing superfluity of a torchlight procession ce islon rt tit noonday the trail leads down to a flat ledge which overlooks the desert and which la the observatory whither count countless lesi generations of mountain sheep have been wont to report to survey the strange world orld beneath them with what purpose arl what feelings it re for some writer of to inform us broin the led leaf t to the valley below the trail Is fri arff P from front obstruction and broader more beaten heaten and less belom than aboe indle biting that it has been for formed nied by the generations of men toll fog up from the valley alley to the natural watchtower watch toner on the hel heights a lits I 1 Rea reaching Lhing the lodge ledge the prospector found that what from the an T pit to le be an irregular pile of large was nn art fortl forti fleit fleetion ion the iii blat wall being toward the mountains u unit kettring ring thy the incao bure u the prospector dismounted rp r llevad his horse of its brodle and chiq barru of its pick and oc acceded ceded to prep ire his hn tucal looking for the best pl ice uv here he might light a fire ore he lie ob sered in the most protected corner a flat stone marked marled by tare and bar it in lit the rock ground a pot pothole bole ol el donty dently formed for grinding maize the ashes antics of ancient fires were vere scat seat about and rind in lit cleaning off his tits new found hearth the man discovered a pots lurd lard apparently of a native olla or jar and a chipped fragment of flut flint too small to indicate whether it had formed part of an in dian arrowhead or had dropped from 0 en old flintlock musket lucky strike observed the pros rector 1 I was down to my last match natch and gathering sonie some me amps aatto brush for fuel and ru abbing n dead arat brah 11 into nto under der he drew out a 0 and repeatedly knife nn rapidly striking the back of its blade with the flint produced produce d a stream of sparks which fell fall od 0 the lindet mowing blowing w or while III lie tie a it when N lien the or alre u was read the man shook bis his canteen precious little drink left be bald sahl 1 I wish that potsherd water ns tho the flint chip doea does tire however theres lots of cactus around inn lare tind natural water ater jars mv knife inar set get me a drink out of tho the deserts 4 thorns as well nell as kindle n fire from its atones stones and right heres my watermelon the bi bis nagi gnaga the first one ive ite found in tit months he lie exclaim ed going ovar to the edge of the cliff abbie the level of which peered the fat heat of n cactus covered with spines that v bere rere ore barbed like a fish hook hool its short taproot was fixed in a e mitlee 1 a few feet below the parapet lying on the edge of or the cliff 0 e man sliced off the top of the cactus cartus and began jabbing hito its interior bre breaking ahing down the fibrous walla walls of the u water ater cells of which tho the top heavy plant Is almost entirely composed in a few moments lie he arose now I 1 can empty my canteen in the coffeepot sura aura of 0 a fresh supply of water by the time I 1 am ready to mosey niong along lie ile filled the pot set it on tau the and than pressed the uncorked and empty canteen down into the macer atad interior of the while his hn coffee waa was boiling the prospector continued his examination of the fortification beginning in tb th manner of his kind lind with the more minute signs 1 nod abd ending WIM aliat to a tourist would have been the first and dul su subject blevit of observation the view on the inner side of the large boulder bowlder in the wall he discerned the faint outline of a cross painted with red ocher bc bt raping with lit his pick beneath the ro rok rol L to see if the emblem was the sign of hidden tre treasure tr ensure tsure or relic he unearth cd ed a rattlesnake before it could strike with a quick fling of his tool he sent tho the reptile whirling high in the air toward the precipice rut lint from the clump of cactus growth long along the harapat nrose n sa Ra huaro with br inching arms ill ind agi ngi this the snake finale was flung wrapped around the thorny top by the momentum or atie cast it bung hissing and rattling with pain and hatred the looked up nt at the lm tin palal rattlesnake with a smile ilem item anisco of sunday school across neross his tits mind gee im 31 moses be he ajic Il first irit I 1 bring water ater from the face of the rock and thin n I 1 lift up tho the serpent in the the 5 car le spent in tho the mount mountains Lins and debert seems like ille forty to me at a now at last I 1 hate a sight of tue the promised land god N hat lint a magnificent N lev levi le v dropping his pick lie si stretched retched out tits arms with symbolize iza tion of the wido ulde prospect and espres slon of an exiles yearning for his native land over there Is god gods s country sure enough ho he continued glang gh ing the trite a re erenthal erent ial tone he lie had not used in hi lit first expression of the name of deity delty thank him the parallel with old moses stop right here many a time I 1 thought I 1 would never rever get ot f of the mountains alive and that my g ae lie mould bo be unmarked by so much as n bo bonifer bowlder NIder with a red cross it t but now before ill be an stillness I Ine huny hung oscr 01 cr the scene back bach in the he states and in three more days at home on the old danili I 1 promised to return in a year and ill mike good to tte hour I 1 sure tit did hate to leave tint strike though after all nil the bird luck I 1 had been having sixty dollari it day lay nud und gron growing ing richer but the last horn was blow ins no tobacco six mr tchee ps nothing left of the aicon but rinds rind well the gold Is 1 there and the claim 41 it bring whatever I 1 choosy to ask for it and echo shall hai hal n home as good as alien allen ua t lenda and a ranch as fine as bar one yes be b bar none my ranch out of the sea or molten air that stretched before him that nebulous chaos of quivering bars and belts or heated atmosphere which remains above the debert as a memorial of the first stage stae of the entire planets existence the imagination of the prospector created it n paradise of his tits own there took shape b bjoro fore his eyes a mexican bric hacienda tenda larger and more beautiful even than that of father the beau ideal of a home to his limited fancy and on the piazza in front cohered with flowering vines there blood awaiting him the slender figure of a woman with outstretched arms and dark eyen tender with wits yearning loie e C echo X ho echo alien allen he murmured fondl repeating repenting the name no not echo alien lien but echo lane for dick lane ha lias redeemed his promise and return to claim 3 ou on as his own As he gazed med upon the shimmering heat waves which distorted and displaced the objects within and beneath them n group of horsemen suddenly appeared to him in the distance and as suddenly vanished in thin air Rura Il urales lest ejaculated lane 1 I wonder if they are chasing apaches that infernal mirage agles you no idea of distance or dirce direction tion if the red devils have got away from crook and slipped by these greaser rangers oer the border thov 11 II sure be making aking tu straight lit for the ghost range and ba a this very trail if so im at the best place on it to meet them and here I 1 atay till the coast at Is clear turning to the red cross on the rock he reflected perhaps haps nil ita its n case of Ne belios lios onela mountain I 1 lane bad hardly reached tills this slon before lie found it justified Just lOod by the bight hight of a apache in lit the re gilli of biar emerging from front a hidden bidden dip till in tup the trip tn atlow the fortification lane droppa behind the parapet oil c before lie was us onried as the n ising number and loud ness nes of the boot hoof be belts iti it i on the rocky trail indicated to tho tb listener crawling back to his its horse bur ro lie made them it iia down against the upper nail nall und lind picketed them with short leng lengths tivi of rope to the ground for he fo foresaw that dinger could come only from front the mountain side taking his tits winchester lie io turned to tho the pir apet nud and hil hilt sealed seated half reclining behind it opened fire on the unsuspecting cit ap aches the leader shot through the head fell from his 1119 horse reared and kicked N wildly down the trail other bullets must have found tai ir billets also but because of the confusion which ensued among the in diana waits the prospector was unable to tell how hov many of them he lie ind put out of action in a fl alish asti tiery rider bid hid leaped off bla his bese be ho se sc and protect ing himself by its body was scram bling with lift bla his mount to the protecting declivity in the rear the prospector was sorely tempted to pump his cai cat fridges hie the group ns as it poured b bick ick 0 or if tie e rim rini of the hollow but he lie desisted from froin the useless slaughter of horses alone knowing tint thit lie could bo att attacked acted only ni foot un bai that every one yf of his blender store of cartridges cart ridged must find a buman human mark if be lie would return to he states alive got to put me out of business before they can go on lit lie ruminated an apache Is 1 a good doil of a coward couard when hon hos fighting for pleasure but just corner him and great snakes and sp spitting IttIn wildcats what n game be he does put up I 1 buist ga c my c for one things sure they wont enste nn an of theirs they ro re not as good allots shots as white men for ammunition Is too scarce with thorn them for use in guu gun tace so they wont mont ore tire till got mo me to rl rights let jet me see there a about a dozen left lu in the party and I 1 have fifteen cartridges thach three in cesere for my own if some of the others fall to get their men those red debili enjoy ek aL inning luning au an animal ailse a ns much a us torturing a toan man and you cm con bet they wout nae cue tue any bullets bv booting nance nonce anil anti jinny reasoning that the indians would not dare to attack by way of the open trail la in front and that it would take so some me time fo them to male make the detour necessary to approach him from above since they would have to leave their ponies below and climb on band hands and knees over jutting ledges and around broken granite blocks lane coolly proceeded to drink bis his coffer and eat his lunch of bard bread and cold bacon rind after be he bad had finished he care gave a lump of sugar to each of bis his animals and pressed bis tits check cheek with an affectionate bug hug against the side of hlo horses bead head old girl he lie said im sorry we cant take a parting drink for I 1 m afraid neither of us will reach our next nater hole but ou can count on me that the red tie dei its wont won get got you then going to his pack he undid it and took out a double handful of yel yet low nuggets and a number of canvas bags these be he deposited in the pot hole and pran up the flat stone of the fireplace li laid lil it over them and cohered the stone with embers its a ten to one shot thai thin i tin ish me he reflected but the wages ive paid for by a year of 0 hard work wort and absence from her side stay just as near echo alien allen as I 1 can bring them nil all e ard if it theres any truth in what they yay say about spirits disclosing in dreams the place of burled buried treas ore ure with ith the chance of my getting them to her after I 1 am dead taking the useless udde us de bolders bowl ders from the edge of the cliff but carefully so us its not to expose himself to the fire of the apaches be he piled plied them on top of the upper wall in such a fashion ai as to form little turrets lie ile left an opening in in each through which he could observe in lit turn each point of the corn com pass hence danger might be expected and could tire his winchester with out exposing himself then he began going from post to post on a continuous round of self imposed sentinel duty if I 1 could boniv climb tha sa ea huaro hunro he thought and fly my red shirt a flag to let the know ive flanked the enemy it might hurry them niong la in time to put a crimp ro in these devils before they get me cut put till have to bo duld the fort without any oh say can you seel business anyhow im flying the rattlesnake tle snake flag flap of bunker dont tread on mel me whether the see it or not lo 10 saved their hides bides if the apaches had got to this fort first gee how they would have crumpled up the greasers greaser 3 as is they came along the traill rendered thirsty by bis his exertions I 1 ane atie the canteen in the w N bach lie bid ind forgotten amon among his tits other preparations preparation for defense cautiously reached iiii hind over tho the aldge it do and secured the pic piteous clous vessel but aa as be lie was withdrawing ith drawing it ping cinie a bullet through the canteen knocking it out of hia aa baud handl As it fell clat clattering tring down donti the side of the ledge he lie groaned I 1 good shoo shooting e probably left their best marksman below with the ponies no hope fores for es c epe on that side well theres some consolation in the thought that the undoubtedly mo me before I 1 get too thirsty glad it m iny baud hand although the period he spent malting alt for the attack was less than an hour by his its watch it seemed to lane ial I al if 11 lot L the leader shot through the head cid f fell 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