Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 89

felt only the velvet Un ll fj He who takes an 4 He and pillow you know that case of course the ra to was ap thc sand by the edge of the in an that PRES A OCTOBER 31tl 9 20 1H Page ive THE DE 0 I struck would He bot i i overtook me thrall him He tells me back him up he ex SWUDg stolen 1 lost And yelled got to across but The un turn sanity slimy magic htw did He the feet to said to the adopt a water last but Had not re i the the the out the Chapter The litkt ooxrnnrxB now yiairvo It! It Is It weeks Miss Dalzell He unless the party hole' the supply and dry throat so end He dropped and laid bls ear to then knew that the Upa were cracked and toagwes were like dry bones Miss Dalsell sat on her draopiag horse Ilka corpse lashed to the saddle her eyes with oat erpression her face like atom The first animal to tall was Lan ss pack horse It went dowa wtth a proas and was soon followed by one oof Callahan' a bnt on they went without attemptlsg to shift the burdaaa leaving the beasts te the vultures They were aow strung out far apart Laurens and the girl half a mile In the rear of the others and often losing sight of them The end came suddenly enough It was late In the afternoon and the girl had without knowing it daawn near to Laurens The party ahead had long been out of sight Ior some reason the man awoke to the fact that there had come a ehangan the sky though not tn the hoot he realized In a dull way that there was a sign of coming relief but ha was too tar gone even to thank Cod for It Ho dimly knew the meaning of the low blue black you not?" "I refuse to answer" "But had better not refuse to act Get from your horse nr I'll pull you from it" As he made the demand he drew his revolver The Chinaman at once obeyed and stood on the sand while Tdturens dismounted and stepped near him When we met my Stillwell In Guanalualo he traveling for his health I my father told hltn secret he she answered "I than that my health about had discovered in the ball He too when he died a st soke of too that the man weapon he would have shot him like a unaka "Now yon thief I waat ths ball" Laurens slipped the rtvolrsr Into kla pocket and throw off his eoat Not a word was returned The Chinaman Vlmply stood there In the moonlight as unmoved and nnmor Ing as though ho were a fixture la the landscape Hln continued alienee brought the American's temper to a climax and warning he leaped for him and caught him with the force of a football tackle And then Laurens was astonished The Chinaman did not even raise a hand when he was grappled and the athletta man threw him to the ground as easily as be had many a time upset a dummy on ths grid iron and the Oriental lay where be fell And still without the least resistance he allowed Laurens to go through his clothing There was no weapon bnt a closed clasiyknlfe but the ball was found It was wrapped In a piece of fine Chinese silk Once the thteig was tn hta posses sion Laurens straightened himself bank at clouds which had lifted ana cursed the prostrate Celestial as few men are ever cursed damn ing his ancestors along with him The Chinaman looked up at him and spoke calmly: "Confucius says: 'Lie who lies on the ground cannot fall far' You will remember sir that I have not raised my hand against you even In self defense You have used violence I have sub mitted to force but your God may pity you from this day forward Confucius says: ox must return a horse' You tblak you have won but remember an other axiom of Confucius: 'Allying gnat is more dangerous than a dead serpent' It was a thinly veiled threat for the future "You had better see te "My father was a the United States passion for trav mother and now mcret ay knows inmMhing of It Once he saw the Jimi in nty hand and nt of It he bowed to the floor but ha would never tell us bie spoke with a naivete that was mlnlne and attractive ung Wanff saw it In my and did the same to aureas handing the box Irl I know why you 1 uncle advised It and Hihnu into (the semi desert He would not have accomplished his end had it not been for tho dear moonlight and tho patches of barren sand With them he was ablejo pick up the careless trail At last he caught sight of the fat figure as horse and man crossed a hillock and he insantly sent out a hall to halt The surprised Oriental obeyed and a moment later Laurens reached his side He began without preface "ung Wang you no like me I no like you You run oft like one dog 1 know why You want a littlo ivory ball hid In bed you go way with Now I He held out his hand with an untnistabable gesture he demanded The Chinaman sat still on his horse and looked at the young man 'Xr Laurens if you will consent to speak in your native language I think we will get along The wWrds were in as clear and cor rect English as Laurens himself could have used It was like hear ing an animal suddenly talk or a moment the American foolish butthe next instant anger flamed higher though at same time he felt a certain respect for the man have the hall belonging to Miss perhaps Ha knew it felt bis' the like to himself and saw the girl standing bls side And then he knew He stared at her and at the empty bottle in her hand but he did not even thank her Her beauty was gone her eyes sunken her cheeks fallen in her lips swollen cracked and dark She tried to apeak tn hlnj but only a clacking noise came from her throat and as Laurens looked at her she slowly reeled sidewise and fell on rock obeyed and Laurens left closing thadoor behind away asked in his MexL "I no see hecm for He 'wedHe "He nd hr had line! I thought I was We were in a rough com out of my way in future" There waa no answer Laurens remounted hta mule Cod rode off aomb distance before looking back ung Wang was still on the ground face down his arms extended and his lingers clutching the looas sand an attitude of deep despair Do ye want to go wld "But the boy can't travel and the boy was the scowl ing return "Lave him an the chink take thsir chances wld me cook" Laurens did not hesitate Tho thought of leaving the wounded girl to the mercy of the Chinaman de cided him He did not have to re member tho promise he had fclven to the man lying dead In the next room "I will stay here Mr Calla han" The Irishman looked and down "Ye be a fool!" claimed disgustedly and from the room Laurens was In no shape to meet any new emergency that night and fortunately none arose In a state of utter exhaustion he threw hlnf self" on the floor and slept the sleep of health and fatigue' And al the following day his brain was fogged with drowsiness When at noon the pseudo major was burled with the help of the cook there was no otfter ceremony thaii a simple kiss on his white forehead given by his half a kiss of forgiveness she said Then Callahan went off without laurena practically owned the abandoned ranch Under the condition Laurens and the girl naturally became friendly and it was then that Laurens won dered how he could ever have mis taken hla companion's sex for even In her male attire she now showed graces refined face with anger but before SVTIaJ "The major is dead he had much riding to do There were both danger and Ineenrenlexce la my own costume I fare "I seeP Interrupted Laurens as ho marked the increasing color la her cheeks and was about tn her to talk no mere when he heard vnuauau UH "Lie down! Quick rhe exclaimed "You had better not be open to that brutes Insults And you have not recovered you are feverish!" The girl the room him was empty The "ball Chapter VII Climax her fall Lahrcns became eenly alive He over her but she was entirely un He chafed her hands he called her by name but by every outward sign he "believed her to be dying for her breath was feeble and the slow rise and fall of her bosom almost Imperceptible He looked around in despair Nothing was in sight but the swells of the desert and the two exhausted animals each with its muzzle close to the cleft In the rock BjTthte time Callahan and the two Mexicans were a mile ahead To overtake them now would be impossible The water had revived Laurens and for the moment he felt all his old strength He now knew what the girl had sacrificed for him His own selfishness seemed colossal and the fact that what he had done was (Continued on Page Six) twenty four hours and tha Jonraey to ort Hancock vould be a matter of throe days It was nearly eight when the last thing urao done Laurens lifted tho girl to her saddle and then ats ntit (( lai xi iaiv mm juu mo tvory can he asked In a low voice She looked startled "No" aba whispered "In my burry I forgot It Last night I bld It under ths mattress of my bed" Without a word Lauren ran back into tho deserted ranch house and by the sons of feeling for the interior was dark ha found th box Why ho opened It at that time ho could not have told tho box not being his but open It he did and ms fingers lag Tho box was gone or a moment he stood In dark room and then ho heard Irishman calling Ho thrust box into his wide pocket ran and elbnbed Into the saddle of great Spanish mule which had longed tg Josephine's uncle A few moments later the group of doomed buildings was left be hind When It at length became certain that they could not be over taken that night Laurels drew his mule dose to the girl's mount "I have the box you forgot" ho said in a guarded voice "Did you make your own bod this morning?" "No ung Wang offered to and I lethlm Ha is not my servant you know after my father's death he became my uncle's valet" She suddenly turned to him "Mr Lauret you are hiding something from me! You did not find tho ball!" "No Tho box was empty" "Then ung Wang has It! has stolen it else he would told me" 'I believe you are right" re turned Laurens "and If he has It as he probably has it Is far from being lost Trust me I will get It from him If I have to take his fat life with It" At midnight to the great relief of all Callahan halted to let the animals have the last of the grass and it was full time as ft had 'be come tplaln to the man from the north that tho girl could not hold out another mile without rest After picketing the mule Laurens looked around for the Chinaman who had always trailed but he was nowhere to be seen He went up to the busy cook who was bustling over a puck Callahan and his fore man being some distance 'Where's that chink?" he and there was something voice which demanded tho can's attention long time boss" he returned taka boss he go thata way" pointed toward the low sand swells to the north Laurens did not lose a second Banning back to his mute he flung saddle and bridle on It and with the risk of following a lost scent the feminine trnlta and which characterise the woman As they were sitting on mada on the evening of the third day they were startled by the sight tf turn hnripmpn whn nniA toArlncr along the trail beyond the pecana hot with Indignation he drove They were coming at full speed and Laurens instantly recognized one as Callahan the other being a Mexi can as ho knew by tho flying se rape and uncouth sombrero The young heart Jumped Men do not ride like that unless something serious urges them Callahan did not dismount and his face was aflame with hurry and excitement as It had good cause to be still here! lie shouted goes me fore man Dominick Irn miles down rldin' like the wind that the divils do be this night to clane me out kill ivvery soul an' bur ivvery buildin' to pay for the work ye did to young Villa! They're tin miles off fifty o' thim!" words poured from him punctuated stream Laurens sprang to Ills "What are you going said he his tones tense There be but wan thing to do Wd deflnd the house agin the rush av thim! We've got to git out an' donined sudden! there's but one' he wheeling his horse aim tor ort Hancock 'Tls the hell the ierro He spurred his mount and dis appeared behind the house The suddenness of it all came up on Ijiurens like a clap of thundtr The tragic situation Was one to which the ex naval otlleer had been schooled to meet Willi his own hands heraded Jhe cook's quarters everything being thrown open with his own hands he' filled the shceposkin water bag and fastened I iho naplrhnrKP hp I irl tr tn that "as rainer puAitu vnew quick compliance witn orders the fellow offered to draw a She IUKh and Well" there was Mnllcillyls tell of ind make rou're due to lose It for it looks though the secret had finally died rlth your uncle Miss Miss "My name is Josephine Dalzell" she volunteered etired colonel of irmy and had aling I have no io relative As for the sec I believe ung Wang ALLAH AN came In bls black he spoke said "Thtn th' major should thank God fer that mib!" returned the Irish man "D'ya know what we'ra up ferplstf Without waiting for a reply he burst out Into a recital of his own troubles "Nota man left on the place save me runt av a cook an' he'e ecared stiff Me foremen Dotnlnlcli an' ivvery peon except thim out on range have deserted an' gone off wld thim divils Tomorrow I ride above the northern horizon its top as straight and level though ruled He recognized It for wbat It was a coming storm a ''norther" one of tho violent tempests pe culiar to these latitudes and which turn the tropics to thearctlca In an hour would bring wind and possjbly hall and rain on the following day but would he live that long? He ex isted In the present only to him there was no future The sky was like a demon as It smote him mule stumbled Ho vaguely remembered getting off arid walking by Its side to ease the animal to lose whlch meant the end of all and ha had come upon an outcropping of living rock jutting from the bottom of a swale Hie poor beast mada a piteous noise In bls throat and at that instant iur ana heard tho sound of running water It was no freak of his brain It was tho noise of gushing bubbling water and It wan flowing rapidly as If over a rocky bed He stopped and looked around locating the eource of the wonderful music In an Instant A cleft not two Angers wide lay et Ills feet and from the opening came the subdued' roar of a fast running stream Such anomalous conditions ere not infre quent In the desert the land above may be aflame but under its sur face may run a sluice of water give no sign Ijturens tried to shout but baked tongue not permit a on bls knees the cleft and water Was far beyond his reach It was a sunken river from twenty to fifty feet below and there was no way getting at It Then he went to pieces tried to give one mighty yell and tearing off tils cap flung' It far from him the first sign of a desert locoed brain and then hebecamo aware that" he was clutching a bottle and swallowing great gulps of a warm slimy fluid which tasted like nee tar When a man is dementeiiy des ert thirst water is a qulelWcmcdy even moistening the tongue Ing him from madness almost Instantly So water he had taken acted on Ijiurcns He came Chapter VI lajkt fieri IT was still dark when camp was broken and the party again started The moon had' set and the air was bitterly cold The gfrl weomed some better for her rest but did not appear greatly Inter ested when Laurens told her of his adventure with ung Wang She was too weak to do much talking Laurens gave her the ball and not wlshUiK to be trammeled by tho emptybox and not caring to throw It away he tied it to the horn of the saddle When the sun sprang up In a brazen sky they had advanced well into the desert proper there now being nothing fn eight but sand cactus greasewood and a little sage and bunch grass They were well past the Indefinite line where the inferno of scarcity merges Into the veritable hades of the ierro desert the sister of the great American waste north of the Rio Grande When tho sun rose the chill of the night was almost instantly dis pelled and thehtHvena blasted them Laurens had known heat in the tropics but it was as nothing to that of the ierro desert and his thirst was intolerable He had looked for the Chinaman and failed to see him but when broad day came andxthere was no sign ef him the young man was worried a trifle for he had not meant to drive him to perish alone in that horrible land They were up early next morning and greatly to the young re lief the young woman looker some better though she was but the shadow of herself Not a word uf complaint did she utter but it was that her vitality was low After a few mouthfuls' of fonfl Lau rens hustled to start and on going to the water skin to lash it on tho pack horse he made a discovery nearly bowled him over or tire water bag was gone had filled the inUvidual tie and his own th night before and had given a little to the ant mals then placed it on top of the packz But It was no longer there He thought that perhaps the Mexi cans had stolen his supply and ho quietly searched the ramp for It but could not even find the empty skin He went back Jo the girl sick at hrart but he dared not tell her Tragedy seemed to lay close ahead And into it they drove Thera was nothing else to do and all that day vpaa like a horrible dream to Laurens The night had brought its usuhl cold but by noon the heat was at least 130 degrees and the excessively dry Irot air sapped all moisturar No one spoke without necessity wM the floor hl Mack queua 'munlty and a rouch country and BV' 3KMJL UwinS Yonr he the deep salutation hta Bat the xeiiow nAvmnt fo obev American passci out without rixa of tne rvpeaivu kvhu lexloa mate by tha Celestial nor ho aware of mo rlltwr of the narrow eyes Not frratly to his surprise Laur the girl leaning on the lee of her low bed one band play I aA knidAap a nrer ner vwav lired look In her fine eyes 9 1 an con coniuaeo ana must hare fainted" Tou did" returned the young iin smiling? I don't understand how It is not necessary that you loull present out you wer kot through the shoulder" rou did thisT she asked her isle face suddenly flsmlng as she Hichei the bandsge 1 did was the blunt report 'And I learned you were not a boy i no aoology to make under he circumstances but you need not 1 mv knowledge trouble you idvlse you to continue being a boy lone as you are here Discussion reasons Is not so Important a nAsS00 A a a a as What a must leu you sour inn uau a Lther just died I was witn aim If Laurens looked for an outburst if surprised sorrow or tears he llsanpolnted The girl did Hart she did not even show ret to say nothing or grier "He wes not my latber he father's half brother" she said fl bad no affection or even regard him nor he for see We both mderstood or the time each was lecessary to the other" Tes! I can surmise that from a letr words of at the end when i tried to speak But It camesud lenly when he was trying to tell i suincthlng regaratng mis mrens held out the box containing the Ivory ball and the girl's eyes ipened wide at sight of IL Before ihe could speak could question tho nan went on: "He told me to give it to yon ind Intimated he had something to unless He gasped something ibout a secret connected with It and I am ihe confession was on Ihe tip of hisMongue when he was Ized with the final hemorrhage rhlch took him off" The dilated pupils of the girl's even a farewell and for three days 'yes as she had first looked at laurens and the box he held nar to pinpoints of questioning Iiad Ijiis?" she asked had under his "No I do not" mow little more Mther obtained it while we were In hina shortly after the Boxer trou bles I was very young then too tiling to he taken Into any con idence of his 'nele vas know some konnection with ihout to tell me iuddonly from joplexy I know i drunken German from whom my lather purchased this for a small 'jtn was killed soon after parting ith It ung Wahg who has been 'Itlr us ten years and remembered ll the circumstances ot our Chinese Irlp told me that Thera is some thing strange about it My father hinted that some day it wouhtmake piy fortune but how broke off with a mirthless a shrug declared tha man "If a secret that would ro come up to what fletion Chinese ojimls and such your fortune I'm afraid A ivory ball 1 I 3 3 8 3 4 8 i 1 i 3.