r
CHAPTER VL
At the Foot of the Rimrocks.
It is the second night of Bertha's
captivity, barring the night of her cap
ture. After securing her ou the horse
at the time of that fearful event, the
Indians kept moving at a rapid rate
until about 10 o'clock the following
morning, when they stopped and
butchered a mule for dinner. To
them the mule meat was a dainty dish
of which they partook with a raven
our appetite, but to the girl from Edtu
burg mule meat was not tempting,
when in fact she had tio appetite at
all. The gluttonous feast of these
savages added to the disgust and hor
ror tkat surrounded the captive. The
whole had seemed like fiction, a hor
rible nightmare to her.
The first night out had been spent
In a small basin, surrounded by rim
rocks with narrow outlets and these
had been carefully guarded by the
dusky sentinels. No fires were kin
dled during the night and a stillness
and quietude pervaded the camp, and I
mis, witn the demeanor of the In
dians, showed that they were not
only uneasy but strictly on their
guard.
A vigilant watch had been kept over
Bertha the whole night long, though
she had been made as comfortable as
Indians' Ingenuity could provide.
Early the following morning an
other mule was butchered, a hasty
breakfast prepared, and the band
moved on to the south.
The course during the day lay over
a rough country. It was taken as if
the Indians had Intended to obscure
their trail. To the right and left
stood the towering rimrocks and their
trail led through the lava beds. Only
those who have attempted to pass
through this section of country can
comprehend what is meant in speak
ing of the lava beds. Huge boulders
and smaller ones of every description
ruuna rocKs. nai rocits, standing upon
edge, square rooks and diamond
6haped rocks, sinks and crevices, all
so rough and ragged and uneven that
it was difficult for the party to keep
together without even Its own mem
bers becoming lost from one another.
Up and down the steep declivities.
around the hisrh ridges of boulders
and over the beds of shattered rock
made the travel difficult and monot
onous, but no trail was left behind.
To track the red men to this vast sec
tion of the lava beds was to lose them.
Here, only courses are followed, and
not trails, for It is properly called,
"the trailless section of the desert."
On this morning Bertha had been
relieved from the cramped position
on the animal which had conveyed
her, by being freed from the ropes
which bound her. but she had been
the more closely guarded. Without
food for two days and nights and the
hardships of a day on the desert, and
a day in the lava beds, it would have
told on most women, but with the
slightest indication of fatigue Bertha
looked as firm and defiant as ever.
She was a I,yle!
In the middle of the afternoon a halt
had been made and a consultation
held by the Indians. The main body
with most of the animals proceeded -o
the southeast, while Chief Egan, with
a few of the animals in charge of a
dozen of his chosen warriors, took a
westerly course and the wily chief
took with him his fair captive. The
main band proceeded on its way to a
designated meeting point, while the
chief made this detour to consummate
the last eb.lect of his trip.
The chief and his small band were
more guarded than ever. Realizing
that his mission was a secret one, and
to avoid falling into traps, he traveled
through a more obscure country than
ever, and was still more cautious
about not leaving any trail behind.
That night he camped at the foot of
a high wall in the shadow of the pro
jecting rimrocks. No eye could see
him in the immediate vicinity for the
boulders that lay about him. and the
smoke from his camp was silhouted
against the rock walls and mingled
with the clouds above.
At the camp the scarred-faced old
warrior chief took more interest in
his white captive. He had her quar
ters prepared some distance from the
main camp and while he, himself,
looked after her wants two of his
most trusted warriors were placed on
guard. At sunner time Egan. by ges
tures, plead with the young woman to
eat. While the terrible experience
through which she had pone would
have taken the anpetite of most wo
men of her age, she was too common
sense and mattr-of-fact to loe her's
permanently. She was really hungry,
but had not reached that state of
starvation at which she felt as if she
could partake of mule meat. But a
lucky incident occurred. Even while
old Egan was tendering her a slice of
mule prepared In the most dainty
manner from the Indians' standpoint,
a warrior close at hand, in attending
to the animals, flushed a sage hen.
Bertha, although unacquainted with
this bird knew that it must be palat
able. She pointed to the bird in Its
flight with a sign to old Egan that if
she had one of these she would pre
pare It herself and eat of it. No soon
er than she had made her wishes
known, the chief went to the aulver
of his hunting arrows, drew forth the
choicest ones, and in a few moments
was speeding among the rocks In
search of the sage hen. In a short
time he returned and gallantly drop
ped the tender bird at her feet, and
with an expression of pride pointed to
a scar in its neck through which his
arrow had passed.
But of this gallantry Bertha took
no notice. Soon a fire was kindled
and with woman's culinary knowledge
she soon prepared and ate a meal of
which she was In much need.
Long after nightfall, when all the
clouds had passed away and the moon
bad risen above the distant rimrocks
on the east and its light had fallen
upon the camp beneath the rimrocks,
old Egan appeared, at Bertha's quar-
T7i fTN
; K Ui
ters. It was such a nlcht as lovers
would walk in civilization. It was
such a night as would thrill the
hearts of all people. It was such
a night as the Indian warrior
would venture upon a deed of daring.
It was such a night as aroused the
deepest passions in the bosom of the
marauding chief.
He motioned his warriors, who were
on guard, to take their leave, and
then attempted a conversation by
signs and nods with Bertha, Hoping
that It might mean her escape she
tried to understand him. With this
encouragement he grew more bold
and approached her more closely. Wo
man's Intuition told her at once of
this awful meaning and she rose up
in her woman's weakness to defend
herself against this giant chief, who
had long been the terror of the desert
Fortunately for humanity a lithe ath
letic form had glided down the steep
walls of the rimrocks In tho darkness
long before the moon rose, and had
been waiting in hiding for an onpor
tune time. Rushing forward like a
wildcat he seized the wicked old war
rior by the throat, and there was at
once a grapple between giants.
But in spite of the silent prayers of
Bertha for the success of her unknown
rescuer and his determined grip on
the old chief's throat, the latter gave
a cry that called to their feet the en
tire detachment of warriors, and they
came like a storm to the aid of their
chief.
CHAPTER VII.
A Woman's Scalp.
It Is at another point in the lava
beds from that described in tho last
chapter. While many walls Join to
gether here from different directions,
yet one point on the rimrocks com
manded a view in all directions. Up
on this point stands an Indian. His
arrow-like form silhoutted against the
horizon gave him the appearance of
an inanimate rather than an animate
body. The afternoon sun was not far
above the distant rimrocks. It was a
picture for an artist to draw. The
ragged rocks along the earth's sur
face, the walls which converged from
many directions toward the pedestal
formed center, at the ton of which
projected the fiat rimrocks, and these
crowned by the statue-like form of the
Indian, whose gaudy war bonnet indi
cated that he was a chief, made the
view a romantic one indeed.
"If they disappoint me," rriurmured
the Indian in his own tongue, "it will
take many more white scalps to pay
the penalty," and at the same time he
toyed with a scalp of long hair, that
or a woman, tossed by the wind at his
belt.
But his mind was soon relieved on
this point. From the shadow of the
Hammersley.
rimrocks in the distance, a little
north of west, he saw a lone horse
man coming in a swift trot. He be
gan to descend to the same side upon
which the horseman was approaching,
taking care to examine his bow and
quiver, tomahawk, and scalping knife
to see that all were intact. Seating
himself upon a boulder that Jetted
from the wall many feet above
tho level plain, he watted the
approach of his visitor. When the
latter came within hailing distance a
familiar salute from each showed the
mutual recognition.
The two men on the top of the rim
rocks. conversed familiarly. While
the reader already knows that one was
Chief Egan he has also surmised that
the other was Dan Follett, which is
true. To look upon the countenances of
these two men was an Interesting
study. The old Indian chief, a ma
rauding bandit, bore scars showing the
terrible episodes of his life, while the
Canadian Frenchman bore marks
placed there by time which showed
the villianous character of the man.
The one, robbed of his country,
forced to the barren rocks and lava
beds for existence, had become an
outlaw from necessity. The other,
containing a mixture of blood of the
exiled criminals of a superior race
mixed with that of the most blood
thirsty and treacherous of an inferior
race, was a villain from choice and by
nature.
There were bluffing looks and grim
smiles from each, but the arrival of
the band of horses caused them to rise
to their feet, and with a shout from
old Egan's lips his warriors appeared
from a recess in the rocks below,
heretofore unobserved, and took
charge of the band of animals repre
senting the prize money for the mur
der of Bertha Lylo.
Taking the woman's scalp, Dan Fol
lett climbed down the rocks and join
ing his men they saluted the Indians
and rode away. The Indians drove
the horses Into a deep canyon pene
trating the rimrocks. and the stillness
of approaching night closed the scene,
CHAPTER VIII.
The Trapper of The Rimrocks.
He was known from one end of the
desert to the other, as well by the red
men as the white. His life was spent
In solitude. When tho snows of win
ter began to fly and others fled to
shelter he worked the more persist
ent. For eight months In the year his
solitude was complete, sr ?" n the
7 k
rest ot the world uw tor ft wu In
the winter time that the wild
anlmaU of the desert widened
their range In search of 'food,
owing to Us scarcity at this season,
and many of all kinds were tempted to
partake of the fresh morsels of antl
lope, deer, rabbit and sage hen, go
attractively prepared and placed in
their trail and many of these same an
imals found these nice "baits" sur
rounded by a jagged iron circle that
closed with a merciless clasp about
their legs or noses and held them as
prisoners. The traps of the Trapper
of tho Rimrocks always held their
prey.
The Trapper of the Desert was a
young man of eight and twenty veara
For ten years he had been known upon
the desert. While he was a man of
peaee, yet his keen grey eyes and
firm set chin told those who saw him
that he would face the worst of the
human race In any kind of an encoun
ter as. readily as he would battle
alone with the fiercest animals of the
desert, If the necessity arose. His
hair was also light and he wore a
gleam of friendliness upon his face.
But the cloud that drove this gleam of
sunshine away when he become an
gered was an immediate warning not
to trespass against the will of this
man of firmness, and his well propor
tioned form was able to carry out the
desire of the mind. He was five feet,
ten. weighed 180 pounds, and with all
this possessed well proportioned mus
cles, as lithe as rubber and strong as
gutta percha.
He was known simply by the name
of William Hammersley, but his an
cestry and place of birth were as
mysterious as the man himself. When
first known he was on the desert en
paged in trapping, and as he had no
competitors, he had no enemies. His
abode, a crude affair, partly a cave
and partly a house in the rimrocks.
wa3 always welcome to the weary
traveler or stockman, who happened
to pass his way, but this did not hap
pen often, as few people traveled that
way. He was a friendly host and
looked to the comfort of his guest, but
he had little to say and asked but few
questions. A guest after leaving his
Place knew no more of him than when
he came, and there was always a fuel
ing on the part of the visitor that no
extended conversation was desired,
And the wishes of William Hammers
ley were usually resnerted.
nut rue re,..ier snail Know more
about this trapper of the desert and
his abode than the visitors of those
days knew. He was not alone, and
the compartments which the visitors
saw were not all that wtere possessed
and occupied by this man. The small
corral made rock in front of the nrem-
Ises and the few traps and skins that
nung ahout the rooms onenod to vis.
Itors were only small and inslpniflrint
in Interest compared with what was
concealed In the background.
A subterranean passage lead to a
larger cave beyond that occupied as
the open home of the trapner. A crev
asse let In the light from the side and
the finest pelts supplied a bed with
warm covering and a soft place to lie
while others lay upon the floor as
rugs and hung from the walls to keep
out the cold of winter. A perfectly
constructed fireplace, connected with
the crevasse in the rocks which was
utilized as a chimney, supplied the
room with warmth in cold weather.
Upon the bed lay an invalid. Oico
a gigantic form with powerful phy
sique and muscle, he was now emac
iated to almost a skeleton. His limbs
had been frozen and bis hands and
feet were mere crisps, though he still
retained his intelligence and was a
great comfort to the trapper who
brought him the tenderest and best
prepared morsels from the table and
fed him with his own hands, and at
tended him as carefully as a mother
tends her own child.
"I sometimes fear that I worry you,
and that my monotonous life may ef
fect yours," said the invalid one day
to tho trapner, "In carrying out my de
sire to strike for vengeance and wait
until I can strike the most killin'g
V-
..V m
The Homo of Ilammersley.
blow, I fear that I impose upon jour
good nature, my preserver, and tax
your patience."
"Oh, no, no!" replied the trapper, as
he stroked the pale forehead of the
invalid tenderly, "without you life
would be truly monotonous to me, be
sides, your counsel and compan are
worth all the trouble, if your condi
tion could be construed to cause me
trouble; and outside of all this, your
cause has become my cause from an
interest in humanity and justice. You
have been grossly outraged, and 1
look as anxiously to the day of reck
oning as yourself."
On the second night after the at
tack of the Indians on the pack tiafn
and the capture of Bertha Lyle, the
t apper brought In a large supply of
prepared provisions and placed them
on a tnble beside the Invalid's bed
The latter knew what this meant.
"So you are off for n trip, my friend,"
said the Invalid. "How long will it
he before you return?" he continued.
He was Interested, for the difficult
In hohbllncr about and waiting upon
Mmtself with his stubby hands and
feet In the trapper's absence was
great, and the lack of his companion
shin was greater.
"I vMll only be gone for a few days,"
replied the trapper. "I am going to
visit the traps near.the picture rocks
a I am trying to catch a mountain
Hon that frequents the place, and have
some hopes of getting a grizzly."
Ann it nappened that at this time
Chief Epan and his warriors with
their captive were making for the
same viclnty. j
(To be Continued.)
CABLES IN
New line Just completed between Vancouver, B. C, and Brisbane, Austra
lia. Dotted line shows the projected American cable from San Francisco to
the Philippines.
RICE FARMING IN THE SOUTH.
That Beet Ion on the Kve of a Great De
velopment of the Buninesa.
Electricity, the king of power which
has revolutionized Industries without
end In this progressive country, is
about to work a new series of wonders
In tho rice fields of Louisiana and
Texas. The plantations ore to be equlp-
PLAA'TINO IIICH FIELD U.NDEIt WATEB.
ped with electric pumps, and the ques
tion of Irrigation the ouly one which
causes any trouble to rice growers
will be solved.
Experts say that the present rice ter
ritory of a half miyion acres will bo
doubled within a year, and the new
plan, which, by the way, has passed
the experimental stage, means that
Hiin I'lVf "" i nn, m,
" p v
HARVESTING KICK NEAR ABBEVILLE, LA,
nearly all of the 12.000 square miles in
the coast rlee belt will be available. A
new 10,000-aere rice farm in Harris the show window In the month of Au
County, Texas, on the line of the South- f gust, when the sun Is hentlug the tuor
eni Pacific Railroad, Is being equipped j niometer up to a good degree in the
mm eiui-irii: pumps, iiuu oilier w 111
follow as soon as power stations can
be erected.
What the success of this new Indus
try means to the United States most
northerners do not, realize. No lonsrer
will the country be dependent on the
KLL'MIi FOB BICE IHIUOATIO.N.
crops of Japan, China, Siaui and India
for this important foodstuff. In ten
years more American rice will force Its
way Into the markets of Europe, side
by side with American wheat from
the vast farms of .the northern plains.
The remarkable progress of textile
manufactories In the Orient ceans that
their production of rlee will decrease,
for every acre turned to the cultiva
tion of liber means one less for rice.
Last year the United States produced
300.000,000 pounds of denned rice and
imported 20o,000,000 pounds. To our
market has been added Porto Rico,
with an annual demand for 73,000,000
pounds; Cuba, for 100,000,000, and the
Philippines for 135,000,000. This gives
a total present and prospective market
of 725,000,000 pounds. It is thought to
be time that steps were taken to satis
fy this market If the United States Is
going to remain commercially indepen
dent. If It means all this for the country at
large, It means even more for the
South. The paramount demand In this
region, writes a Texas correspondent,
has been for some small grain crop
which would furnish food for the peo
ple, a generous surplus for export, and
leave the plantation with abunditit
and nutritious bl-products for the
maintenance of stock. Cotton will JJOt
do this, the sole by-product being too
valuable to keep on the farm. Corn
stalks lose too much of their value be
fore they are fit for fodder, and this
is not a wheat country.
And so it Is up to rice, and here Is
THE PACIFIC.
what one can do with 100 acres, the
amount one man con cultivate with
out assistance. It costs from $3 to $12
an acre to raise nn average crop, which
can be sold at a profit of from $20 to
?30 an acre. There Is a by-product of
at least 100 tons of straw, superior to
native prairie hay, and 25 tons of bran.
On this 100 head of stock can bo win
tered comfortably.
SHOW WINDOWS WARM PLACES.
Artist Who Dreaaes Them Fays They
lieat Anything in Torrid lty.
"One of the hottest places I know
anything about," said the dry goods
clerk, ns lie wiped the sweat from his
brow, "Is in the show window of a
building facing toward the east, after
the early morning's sun has been pour
ing over tho tops of the buildings across
the street for some time. Talk about
bake ovens and other warm places.
Well, they are not so warm. The engl
neer In the sugar refinery thinks he
has a hard time of It, and the fellow
who loads grain on the ship down at
tho elevator Is Inclined to quarrel be
cause of the heat he Is forced to en
(luse. The pointer on the outside of
the building may grumble, too. But
these fellows do not know uiiythlng
: about hot places. If they want the
really warm thing, let them crnwl Into
, sliauo.
"In the first place, we have to close
ourselves up In these places while ar
ranging displays for the merchants. If
we did not keep the windows behind us
closed the place would fill up with Hies,
and the tiles would speck the front
glass. We cannot afford to let even one
tly In, for one fly will do enough dam
age, and, so far as the general effect Is
concerned, we might as well let In a
perfect swarm. You have no Idea what
the effect of u dozen fly specks will be
oil u clean, glossy, well -polished show
window. The result of It all Is that the
man who arranges the things In the
show window on hot days must close
himself In so he can't get a breath of
air. The case Is practically airtight,
and really It Is sometimes hard to
breathe. In the meantime the sun Is
beating down on the awning and the
glass is taking up the glare from the
street, and there you are.
"Hot!" exclaimed the window dresser,
according to the New Orleans Times
Democrat. "The man who complains
of the biting chaff while loading a ship
with grain no doubt suffers a great
deal, but he does not really know what
it Is to be warm. Same way with the
engineer, ne -painter and others. Hades
may surprise these fellows, but tin.
place will be no surprise to the man
who has spent his life arranging show
window displays In the summer time."
New Use for Bees.
Down on Long Island the farmers
have discovered that persons suffering
from rheumatism and sciatica can ob
tain relief by allowing honey bees to
sting the affected parts. This Is n very
unpleasant process and entirely unnec
essary. The poison of the bee sting Is
chiefly formic acid. This acid Is also
found In stinging nettles, in ants and
some varieties of the caterpillars
There Is no difflulty In preparing for
mic acid, and It would seem that phy
slclans might And It advantageous to
experiment with It as a remedy for
rheumatic troubIes-ither In acid 'form
or In formates. Certainly some means
can be devised of Introducing It Into the
circulation less painful than allowing
w a lucuuiuuc sunerer by
Qnlte an Influential Feature
Fuddy Money Isn't the only thing
Duddy No, but It is the only thine
that will buy most of the other things?
Boston Transcript.
CO-OPERATIVE PIANO CLUBsT"
A New .nd Popular Mov. by th. Flans
Ellers Piano House. ;
This house, whose progressive metk.
ods are coming to be known and rwvL
uized throughout the Northwest h"
recently inaugurated a system of 'DiT
t lub felling which exceeds anvthin?
ever attempted in this country 'in th!
way of providing the people mhk
standard pianos at low prices.
By this method members joinine K.
clubs ifcure their pianos at strict!
wholesale prices by paying down,!
MceedinRlr sma sum. The piano i,
Immediately delivered and they .
gien a wide limit of time in Wnich ?
finish their purchase.
The principle is merely that applied
to wholesale purchasers tk. .. .
standing in the light oi the wholeal.
buyr. High grade as well as medium
grade pianos are included in then
clubs. The world famed Kimball
Chickerings and Webens can be eecured
by this method at a swing of from om
hundred to one hundred -and fifty dU
Jars. All the pianos included in tM
uiuu urn un uie iioors 01 we Pales roomi
at Eiiers Piano House in Portland, and
prospective cluh joiners may thorough,
ly impect their instruments below
making their retention. AH the in.
struments in the clubs are standard"
makes and are brand new. In addition
to those above mentioned, there are
the famous Decker, Dol, HobartM.
Cable, VVeser, I.eeter and .man) othera!
Pianos are delivered to club memberi
upon their making their first payment
and a written guarantee for five yeara
comes with each piano, signed by it)
manufacturer and also by Eiiers Piano
House. The clubs are four and each
numbers 100. Members of Club A pay
but 5. CO and finish their purchase
with weekly installments of $1.25.
Club B mombers pav but $7.50 upon
delivery of the Dinno and finish nori
at the rate of $1. 00 weekly. ClubC
make an initial payment of 12.00, and
balance in 1J2.00 weekly. Club D
members pay $20 down and the re
mainder oi the purchase price in $2.00
weekly payments. Those desiring to
pay all cash will save the additional
interest.
Pianos that sell regularly for $225.00
go to club members for $137.00;
H'75.00 instruments for $168.00;
t iltO 00 ones for 187.00: and thevurv
best medium grade pianos that cannot
be told under the regular retail condi
tions for lens than $350.00 will goto
club members for $218.00. The saving
throughout is equally great and tbese
rnntemnlntttiff the mirrhuflA nf an In.
ptrunmet will do well to investigate
this proposition.
Getting the Drop on Him.
Bpensor Spaser (presenting a sonnet)
ion see, I drop into poetry occasion
ally. Editor Gadgrind (grimly) Yon
soem to have dropped clear through.
C3TtS Permanfnnr Ouna flo fits tx nenoMMS
J i II 0 alter tint !' lof lr Kllna'sOrfUIiem
1 I. I, II 17 ,..1 .... L.w-. Ok.tl. .l-l.M. D.
His Florida Trip.
Cnggs Jones is going to Florida for
the winter.
Noggs What for?
Pogs Because he laid in eighty tons
of coal last May
Noggs Then why doesn't he stay
home?
Buirus Bcaue he has just made
the price of his southern trip out of
the diamond dealer across the way by
soiling him coal.
Good Cakes and Biscuits.
The fininhing touches which the good
housewife gives to a cake or pie or pan
of biscuits or other dish is what makes
it either delicious and healthy or in
sipid and unhealthy. If Monopol6
Spices and Baking Powder are nsed no
Wr need hn had about the result.
Monopole Spices are stronger and more
fragrant and Monopole flaking ru'
better in every way than any other
brand. You'll thank ns for calling
your attention to it after you try then
Get them from your grocer. Wadhsms
fc Kerr Bros., MIgrs., Poriiana, vi
Both Smoked Bad Ones.
Hewitt How do vou like the cigw
I gave you'
Jewett Oh, I have Bmoxaw.
n,wt v if vnn Bver smow
. . ... lnilM.
any ol the kind you gave nw. -
The Brlirht Little Boy.
"Whnt dn vnn xnect to fie when yM
. . . -oil abMI
become of age, my little ran
iuo vjBivur. .... ,
"Twentv-one. sir." was the on.-
one's reply. Yonkers Statesman
" Mvwlfe had sdeeD-seatedcoui
for three years. I purchased r
bottles of Ayer's Cherry Pectorsl,
large size, and it cured her com
pletely." -
J. H. Burge, Macon, w
' Probably you know of
ai aMAliAifiac ffl!lt r6"
lieve little coughs, f
sougns, vxcepi uecp w"-
The iwedicine that has
been curing the worst of
deep coughs for sixty
years is Ayer's Cherry
Pectoral. .
Three alien ife., nough for k"tfJ2lJ
old; No.. Juit riahi Zor WnchH".
Ben. li.rd ooldS, .10.1 f 1. mot Jg?""
Iui oiuunla earn and to keep ""Sg,,
I Coughs
B .....,,, cough