II H a . .iiBiiiiaiiiaiiiBiiiinijiii River When the Colorado Burst Its Banks and Flooded the Imperial Valley 9" California EDNAH AIKEN (CcrillU ItobW-Mt lllll CumpHj. ) CHAPTER XXVIII. A DItcovery. TI10 tntinlor of Mnltlmmtlo shook the camp xwxt morning. Tlm'pYunilos, In Ifrllllunt tratiliiKK. rodu tip to Hick iirtl'H mmnilti. Tho IpihIit, ontorhtK 1lu ollln', mmounivil tlmt Uioy wmi dm the track of 11 crlmlmil, tho mur derer of 11 riinih, Muldoimrio, Ho vh im Intllim iiiiiiu'tl I'Vllpc. Ho ropi'ittwl tho utory Itlcknrd hml hciml hi-foro. Would tlio Hi'iior glvo IiIh respected pinnlHMloii for notice to ho poNtcd nliout ttio ciiiup? A description of thr liulliin, 11 reward for Mh rapturo; tlic favor would tiu Ineatlmnhlo. Illckurd wiw tho notlct; Inter tlmt day. It wiim nulled to the Imck plat form of the. Palmyra. He wiih on Mar mIiiiII'h trail, IiIh chief having fulled to keep an npiKilntment with him. They were to test the gate that afternoon; Mnnthnll wan returning noon to Tuo Hon. Itlcknrd tnrned baek townnl enmp, d-ep In thought I xo Intent thnt Hharp cry had lost Ua echo before the Import came to him. He mopped, hearing run Ming KtepH behind him. inncH Hardin Nvas loping tip the bank like a young leer, with terror In her cyrii. "Mr. Itlcknrd !" Rlio cried. -Mr. Jtlekiml I" She was trembling. Her fright bnd flushed her; chwk to brow wan glow ing with Mnrtlod blootl. He nw nn odd ttanh of Htartllng beauty, tho veil of tan torn off by her emotion, Tim wave of hrr terror canght him. Ho pnt out IiIh hand to Meady her. She utood recovering herelf, regaining her vpent breath. Ulcknnl rememhereil thnt thlH wah the flrxt time he had neen her Klncc the murder of Mnldonadn, lnce tho meeting with the Mexican -woman nt hU tent. "What wiin It 'frightened youT The Indlnn, tho munlerer. Junt na they dcucrihc him nn thonc notices. I must hnvo fallen nsleep. I'd been rrudlng. I hoard 11 iioIm la the brush and there wna his face atarlng at mc.' Her breath was still uaevca. MI ncreAtned and ran. Silly to feo ao aenrcd." He started toward the willow, but h grabbed his sWve. "Oh. don't." Who flushed, thinking to meet the aU tlcul amllo, but his eye vwrw crave, ftp, too, hnd had his fright They stood idnrlng at each other. Tm afraid" shn rompleteil. How he would despise tier cowardice I Hut she could not let him know that her fear luid been for him I He wns looking nt her. Suppose Any thing had biipHned to her! He had a minute of nausea. If that brute bad hurt her and then he knew how It was with him I He looked nt her grnvely. Of enurse. He had known It n long time. It wiw true. She was going to belong to him. If that brulo hnd hart her I She shrank under his gravity; this was Komething she did not understand, They were silent, walking toward the eiieampnient. Itlcknrd did not enre to talk. It was not the lime; and he had been badly shaken. Iiines was treinu lously conscious of tho palpitating ! leui-e. Sue Muttered toward giddy speech. Her walk thnt day, Mr. Itlck nrd I She hail henrd thnt water had started to How down the old river bed ; hn had wanted In see It, and there was no one to go with her. Her sen I once broke off, The look he had turned on her was so dominant, sn lou der. Amused at bur giddiness, and yet loving her! I.ovlng her! They were silent again. "Vou won't go ofl alone, ngnlu." He Jim) not asked II, at parting. Ills lie llecllnn demanding It of her, was of ownership, She did not meet his eyes. Later, when she wns lying on her lied, fnce downward, routed, she tried to nnnlyzu that possessive challenge of his gnr.e, but It eluded words. She yummnncd her pride, but the meaning railed her, sense and mind and soul of her. It cried to her: "I, Casey Itlcknrd, whom your brother hntes, once the lover of Oerty Holmes, I am the mate for you. And I'm going to come and take you soma day. Home day, when I bnve time!" Oh, yea, she was angry with bin; the had aowo pride. "Why didn't he tell me thrnV ahe cried In a warn? tu mult to her pillow. "Ker 1 would nave given him his asawer. 11 hid tine, ample time, to t r II hlw that It was not trne." For aha wasted a different wort of lover, not a second-hand dis card; but one who belonged all to her uelf ; one who wonld woo, not take her with thnt strnnge uure look of his, "Vou'll ho waiting when I come." Ah, she would not, Indeed I Shu would show him I And then she lay quite sllll with her hnnd over her henrt. Sho would hu -waiting when he ennm for her! Ho cause, though Ufn hnd brought thorn muddled things, yet she knew. Shu would lie waiting for hlinl llefore he had left tier, Itlcknrd hml tollnw cil 11 MWlfl Impulse. Those bronze latitpH averted still? Wiih she roniotn boring Inst night? No mistake like that should rest between them. Ho must set tlmt straight. That much ho allowed himself. Until his wort; wiih done. Hut she knew slut had neon how It was wllh I1I111 1 "1 wonder If you would help me, MIsh HiirdlnT Would you do some thing for that poor mixed wommtV 1 wanted to ask Mrs. Hardin, but for some reason I've got into her blnel books. Just the little kindness one woman can give another. A man tltiits It dllllcult. And these Mexican wom en don't understand 11 man's friend' .H.'lp." Her eyes met his siiunrely, IHh 'trttt tall.ltik hiiiIIo had puio. He wns mak ing n demand if her to believe Hlni. h's request IiIh defense. The glances, of el'ow eyes and gray, met wit li a shock, uud the world was changed for both. Life, villi Ms many glnd vnlee-i, was cnlllitg to sensei. uud spirit, tho girl's still rebellious, the innns sure. Itlcknrd put out his iiaiid. "(lood night I" To both, It carried tho sound of "I love youl" She put her hand lu his, then tore her lingers away, lurl oiih wltl them for clinging. Where was her pride? When hu hud time! She tied Into her tent. Neither of them had seen Oerty Hardin watching them from her tent door. CHAPTER XXIX. A Qllmpie of Freedom. The siding was deserted. Tho Pal myra had run out to Tuseon. Miirshall had gone without apprehension. They did not expect now to nnvo setbacks, to have to extend the tluio set for tho ultlmnte diversion. Tho dnyH were flowing like oil. The encninpuienl was tilling tip with visitors, newspaper men who mine to report tho spcctnculur niptnre of the river. Hlcl.-nrd's day bndly begun, (died up wltti vrxnthiitM. Hy sundown, he win wet to the skin, nud mud as a nick Art xoun rnl. In this Jntindlced Juncture, Mne I.enn, Jr., brought down his dispatches to the river. He read of the burning of a tralnload uf railroad ties. Ulcknnl awore. "Anything else plcnsnnt?" "A letter from the governor from dad." MneiLonu rend thnt his father begged a email favor of Itlcknrd. "Ondfrey, tho celebrated Kngllsh tenor, Is on my bunds. His doctors hnvo been ndvlslug outdoor occupa tion. ! am sending him to you, nuk ing ymi to give hlni .miy Job yon may have. Ho Is witling to do anything. Tut him ut something to kuep hliu oc cupied." Maclenn snw Ttlckard's fnco turn red. HnrferJng cntal A worn-out opera singer I Wbat sort of nn operu doea he think we're giving down hero? Why doesn't he send me 11 1 ur cout. or a. pair of girl twlnaf Olve tho teaor n role I Aay thing 4i? J'.llo It all on." "Oh, ami r from Godfrey himself. He's In ls Angeles. He says he'll be here tomorrow." He Aid sot wait for his rhlefa rrply. At tho mipper tnbU Jtlckurd, dry nnd In restored humor, nllnded to tho Invuslon of high note. "I'ity the parts nre nil iisslgn-d! The only irncuncy In In the kitchen. I wonder how ho would like to be understudy to I.lngl" Tho next dny when the Incident hud been forgotten, uud while Itlrkard was up at the (.'rowing on the oucrct gate, Oodfrcy htww into cuuip. Ho Godfrey Blew Into Camp. was like a boy out on a Inrk, His brown eye were dancing over tho ad venture. He explored the cutup and came hack bubbling, "It's the biggest I ever aaw. Rat aay, Junior, that'a what they call yon, Isn't it? I'm the only Idle man here. Wr yea give aie something to do? I'll do anything, I'd like the boat to find me busy when he cornea la;" Mac l.eatn aaftened the offer. Perhaps until Mr, Godfrey learned tho ropea ho could be of general use. They were whort-hauricd tho prevent moment there waa another hesitation In tho kitchen I Ling, the Chinese cook, wns orerurowded so many vlaltors ' "Orent," crowed (Jodfrey, slapping 1 him 011 the thoulder. "I don't want to feel In tho wny, I want to earn my hoard. Lead mo to tho cook!" That oycnlpg, tho dinner waa helped on lis way by tlio"hes pnld singer "of Knglnnd. In nil apron, lio;i'owed of Ling, he was "having Mm tlmiMir IiIh life." Ling, protending In scold, had been won Immediately. !llckird, hear ing of III" Jolly advent, forgot IiIh Me ntion, and Immediately nn IiIh return made Iiih way to the mosqult Inclosuro to greet tho friend of Ucorgo Mac Lean. , ' After dinner, MacLean carried oh his prlro to the Deltii, where (lodfrey earned IiIh welcome. Oerty Hnrdlh for got to llli'l with the engineers; sho tnul discovered a new Hensallon. The .oiideriul voice twisted nor heart Mt'lngs; It told her that the henrt that iiiih truly loved nuvcr forgets, and sho j knew thnt she could never have reall" I loved, yet, heeause the you'tn In Iter , voIiih was whispering to nor that iiho eouiti sun rorgoi. tioiiuoy saw a mo bile plaintive face turned up to the gibbous moon; he nvepl it with thrllln Mid Hushes, She was a wonderful au dience; she was nln bis oreheMrn, the woman with the tiltilnHvo eyes. Ho li'i'M'M on nor expiessioiiH an though sho were a mil p. Liner, no was nresen'od to Ar. llaidlll. Hie mid tilin Hint tho camp would no inm.'cr lie dull; (leit she nail tea every aliei uo:p Ir n. r i n.iiiinii. She oeiivlot.'d nllii archly 01 Mrltlsli hood. "She knew ho niiisl have ids tea 1" "Vou American women ale the won ders ot tho world! Nothing dun :h you. In the doNort, nnd you g'te iiuornoou teas. I'll ,10 there every day' Ho gave her open Mlmlrallon s rhe looked jiiitng and wlstlill In Her sort (lowing mulls, the moonlight helping her. She fell Into ti delicious llitiry of nerves and ei itemout. L.iier, she wandered with him from 11 rude gaping world Into a heaven of silvered docks uud gloaming waters, lie told tier ot blmsitf, ff his loneliness; his music Had jlmppcd him to self.plty. Oerty llardln heard her bars drop behind I" r. She snatched her llr.it glimpse n( freedom, CHAPTER XXX. The Dragon dcores. The Ti i'iiyrn was once again on ll ' siding. Marshall was at the front ngaln; I lng made another ot his swift dnf'ii's from Tucson. This time he expel led olllclnlly to close the gate. Claudia utiM with hllit. She never left tho rar, unless It were to stop out to the platform to see what alio could from there of the river work. llardln nud Itlcknrd hud boon devot ing nnxlous weeks. A heavy rainfall uud cloudburst lu tho mountains of northern Arlinn bad swollen the feed ers of the (Jlla river which roared down to the Colorado above Vuinit. The eroding streams carried moun tains In solution which settled ngnlust the gate, a scour starting above, nud below It Itellef hnd to lie given on the Jump. A spur track wan rushed across the by-puss nbovo the gale, as the closing of the Ill-fated gate with tho flANhlHiarda was no longer possible. A rock-fill wns tho only menna. of closure. In tho dlstnnt qunrrlrs men were digging out rock to fill tho cull from the river, Marshnll rutno down to see tho com pleted spur, llefore he reached tho Intake, the first rock train hnd moved onto the spur trnck. The trestle had settled, the train hud been thrown from the rall.t nivt wrecked, Mnrshntl came In from the damnged trestle, bringing hickanl uud Crot tiers. Mrs. Marshall hnd Invited Innes llar dln to dine wllh them. Innes fell to flushing, nud chilling, ns a llthc-mtis-clcd figure caiao directly to her. Ills eyes where was tho iook sho hail feared, of possessive tendernesH? Tho qulxr.lcal, gleam was gone, On guard t A solemn huslnos, loving, when you know tlmt It mentis life! On guard, though, to her I Sho pulled her tin- 1 gem from his strong lingering clasp, i uud Joined Mrs Murshall. Itlcknrd bnd his soldier look 011. She was watching him covertly iim he : tallied with his host nud Crolhcrs, nn 1 (hough she were not there; as though . iKimelhliig were not waiting for him to claim. How could he be talking, oh-1 llvloiis of evervthlni- else In the world ! except the rlver7 Wiih that loving? Could she think of nnythlug else when lie wiih In the sumo room wllh her? He tvnH u soldier of the modern army. It came to her, a sort of tender divi nation, (hut he would not divide his thoughts, even with her, with love, un til his buttle wns won. Well, couldn't she understand thnt? What her neon satloti against Oerty? Sex honor keep off the track! Wnsu't that her own notion? Oughtn't she to he proud of hint? Sho had brought n nest of waspish thoughts tumbling about her ears. Oerty! Ho hnd loved Oerty. Ho couldn't love her, if his thoughts had ever lingered, with thnt same nerlniiH ly solemn look 6n tho fnlso little face of her sister-in-law. After dinner they were standing la the ahade of lint I'almyra, It waa a aoft atlll afternoon. The fierceness of (be savage desert had melted to her daya of lure. Beyond, 'the turbid wa ter of the Colorado bore a amlllng air fare. There waa nothing to hint of treachery. It waa a adnata of pleaaaat la eat tade, matched frnat the turmoil. Kick ard had auccutnbH to tho softneaa of tho day and his wood. He waa enjoy Ing tho thought of Innea' nearness, though aha kept her faoo turned from him. He knew hy tho persistence of thnso averted eyes that she was m acutely conscious of his presence us he wns, restfully, of hers. Deliberately, ho was prolonging the Instant. A stir on tho river hnd caught the nlert eye of Tod Marshall. He swore n airing of picturesque Mnrshalllnn jaH ,1.l.'V:krl! W JlWUed toward th" hyping, Tim ptnclil iilnrn imTi inulilUlly li'ioUed. Majestically ll 0 gate i'omo uud went out, MoiiiIih ol uot'l; Huctit away I Tho gttto drifted a hundred feet or more, Sntno unseen nhsl ruction cailghl It there, to nloclc at the liilmru ol' man. InncH, aghast, turned toward Hick ard. UN lacq wan expressionless. There was 11 liabel of excited volenti behind them, Kodefeldt, MacLean, Tony, C'rother.i, HiitigH, nil lallilng nl nice. Her eyes demanded something of Itlcknrd. A llerco resentment rose against IiIh calmness. "II n, knew it," she rebelled. "IIc'h been expect lug thin to happen. It's no tragedy to hlni!" Thorn wan n stab iih of physi cal pain; hIio wiih visualizing tho blow to Tom. Sho henrd MiirshiiU'H voice, speak ing to Itlcknrd. "Well, you're ready for this." Sho did not hear the an swer, for nlroaily Itlcknrd wiih heading Ftlckard WnaHeudlna tor the By-Paw. for the by-pnss. Mnrshntl nnd tho young engineers followed him. To Innes that wreck down yonder was worse than failure; ll was ruin. It Involved Tom's life. It wns his life. This would be the final crushing or his superb courage her thoughts released from their paralysis were whipped by sudden fear. She must llud hltn, bo with him. The next Instant she wan speeding toward thu encampment. Kslrndu met Iter on the run. Had Oerty heard? The pity thnt rhe must know! She would not be ten der to Tom; her pride would lie wounded. Sho must nsk her to be ten der, generous. Her footsteps slack ened ns she came In sight of tho tents. She henrd voices In the rotunda, n mini's cU'Hr mites mingling with Oer ty 's childish treble. "Oodfreyr Her mind Jumped to other tete-a-tete. Of course I 80 that waa what waa going on. And alio not aeelngl If not one man, then another I Horrid little clnn destine affairs 1 The meeting wan nwkwnrd. Rpeud ily Innes got rid of the news. Mrs. Hnrdln shrugged. "I believe I'll go nut." Plaintively, she made the an nouncement, na though it went Just evolved. "Now, tho camp will he hor rid. Kvcryhody will be cross nnd everybody will bo working." Ah sho left the tent beyond, Innea could hear tho vlbrnut voice of Oml frey pentiudlng Mrs. Hnrdln to stny there 11 few weeks longer. She could Jiear hint y, 'Tule will delay the turn- 4TI I a 1 A Mansion or a Cottage It makes no difl'erence which you want to build, we are out for a bid to furnish the Lumber We have it plenty of it as fine as ever was cut from frets. We have every piece you will need. We specialize in No.l interior and exterior finishing. Eyery piece is accurately cut from straightgrained lofe, and is warrant ed to give perfect satisfaction. See u for bids it matters not the size. Attatt five special rderi. Prico quoted m appKcwtUsn H. THEIS Emigrant Creek Saw Mill ' Ing in toe ilver al UiiMiioHtliut 11 fw weekH. illckurd told mo ho 11 wcok ago. And think what it would bo hero with out yodi" "They were nil expecting It I" roniHt ed InnoH Hardin. Him turned back to ward tho river. Hint must find Tom. (To bo contlntind aoxt week.J Htntosnion differ. At tho banquet recently glvon nt "urls to tho pro llont of Hrasill, YtvA&mi Wlltton Knvo tho tonst nnd tho Uranlllnti ropllfd, Hut wo could doteel in their rpoix-'hes no esnmblnnco whatever to tho well-known oxchango of opinion between tho Oovernor of North Car olina nnd tho Oovernor of South Car nllnu, The Plumber Onr Specialty Plumbing, Sheet Metal Work, Repairing Agents for the De Laval Dairy Supplies Paint, Oil Limited Supply Ammunition Economy Fruit Jars at Right Prices THE BURNS HARDWARE COMPANY In our new building opposite Lampshirc's garage CALL AND V 20,000 Acres SAGEBRUSH LANDS -with water rights for sale on Blitzen River in tracts of 80 Acres or more. Reasonable prices one-fifth cash balance easy terms, six per cent in terest. Eastern Oregon Live Stock CRANE Gom&J fo Build? ))uy 11 Wnr Biiviiik titnmp. SEE O'Connor & Carter For fresh fruits and vegetable's. Famous Delicious Appfci Special prices on ton lfs, Wc can ale mappl? ymm -Willi Fresh Meats Coal and Wood Grain and Baled Hay Phone 04P Uwrrn Hotel UHlldlng; is a Robber! Only when the man in side the PLUMBER is crooked. Our aim is to give honest service, and install honest goods AL WAYS. If .you want any such goods and such service in your repairs or in new work, it's easy to get it. Just call us INSPECT IT Company oregon 1