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About Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 1909)
0vr"MABB > N CBAWTH JLLUJTfiAWMJW & .WE/Lj 6Y SYNOPSIS. BnrnUn , n Tartar ulrl , became enamored of a golden bearded KtruiiKor who was prospectlnK and studying herbs. In the vicinity ot her homo In central Asia , and rovcnlcd to him the location oC a mine or rubles hoping that the stranucr would love her In return for her disclosure. They were followed to the cave by tlio ' blocked the entrance Rlrl's relatives , who up trance , and drew off the water supply , 'saving the couple to die. CHAPTER I. Continued. The traveler fished up the Hack and waded out upon the tiny beach. He looked up rather anxiously , though he could not have seen a head looking down from above If there had been any one there. There was not light enough. He understood also that If the men were going to shoot at him from the height they would wait till It was daylight. Baraka stood still In the water , which was up to her waist , and he paid no attention to her , but eat down to think what ho should do. Tlfo night was warm , and his clothes would dry on him by degrees. He would have taken them off and spread them out , for ho thought no more of Baraka's presence than If she had been a harmless young animal stand ing there in the pool , but he could not tell what might happen at any iuo- jnent , and so long as he was dressed and had all his few belongings about him , ho felt ready to meet fate. Baraka saw that he did not heed her , and was thinking. She came up out of the water very slowly , and she modestly loosened her wet garment from her , so that it hung straight when she stood at the end of the beach , as far from the traveler as pos sible. She , also , sat down to dry her self ; and there was silence for a long time. After half an hour the traveler rose and began to examine the rock , fool ing it with his hands wherever there was the least shadow , as high as ho could reach , to find if there was any foothold , though he was already sure that there was not. "There is no way out , " Baraka said at last. "I have been here by day. I have seen. " "They will let themselves down from above with ropes' , till they are near enough to shoot , " the traveler answered. "No , " replied Baraka. "They know that you have a good weapon , and they will not risk their lives. They will leave us here to starve. That is what they will do. It in our portion , and we shall die. It will be easy , for there is water , and when we are him- cry we can drink our nil. You will die first. You arc not as we are , you cannot live so long without food. " The traveler wondered if she was right , but ho said nothing. "If we had got out with the treas ure , " continued Baraka , "you would have loved me for it , because you would have been the greatest man in the world through me. But now , be cause we must die , you hate me. I understand. If you do not kill mo you will die first ; and when you are dead I shall kiss you many times , till I die also. It will be very easy. I am not afraid. " The man sat quite still and looked at the dark streak by the edge of the pool where the water had wet it when the falling boulder outside had sent in little waves. He could see it dis tinctly. Again there was silence fern n long time. Now and then Baraka loosened her only garment about her as she sat , so that it might dry more quickly ; and she quietly wrung out her thick black hair and shook it over her shoulders to dry it , too , and stuck her two silver pins into the sand beside her. Still the traveler sat wiMi bent head , gazing at the edge of tUu pool. His hands were quite dry now , and ho slowly rubbed the clinging moist.iro from his revolver. Some men would have been thinking , in such a plight , that if starving were too hard to bear , n bullet would shorten their sufferings in the end ; but this man was very full of life , and the love of life , and while ho lived ho would hope. Ho still watched the same dark streak where the sand was wet ; he had not realized that he had been so far from It till then , but by looking at It a long time in the starlight his sight had probably grown tired , so that he no longer saw It distinctly. Ho raised himself a little on his hands and pushed himself down till it was quite clearly visible again , and he looked at the rock opposite and up to the stars again , to rest his eyes. Ho was not more than a yard from the water no\ > . The place was very quiet. From far above a slight draught of air descended , warm from the rocks that had been heated all day In the sun. But there was no sound except when Baraka moved a little. Presently she did not wove anymore moro , and when the traveler looked ho saw that she was curled up on the sand , as eastern women llo when they sleep , and her head rested on her . .s hand ; for her garment wan dry now , and she was drowsy after .ho wmk \ nnd the effort she had made. Bo- Rides , since there was no escape from death , and as the man did not love her , she might as well sleep If she could. Ho had boon certain of tlio distance between his feet and the water's edfic as ho sat ; It had been a yard at the most. But now It was more ; he was sure that it was a yard and a half at the least. Ho rubbed his eyes and looked hard at the dark belt of wet sand , and it was twice ns wide as it had been. The water was still run ning out somewhere , but it was no longer running in , and In an hour or two the pool would ho dry. The trav eler was something of an engineer , and understood sooner than an or dinary man could have done , that his enemies had intentionally stopped up the narrow entrance through which ho had to como , both to make his es cape impossible , and to hasten his end by depriving him of water. The fallen boulder alone could not have kept out the overflow of the spring effectually. They must have shoveled down mass es ot earth , with the plants that grew in it abundantly and filled it with twining threadlike roots , and they must have skillfully forced quantities of the stuff into the openings all round the big stone , making a regular dam against the spring , which would soon run down In the opposite direction. They knew , of course , that Barnku had led him to the place and had gone in with him , for she had left all her outer garments outside , and they meant that she should die also , with her secret. In a week , or a fortnight , or a month , they would como and dig away the dam and pry the boulder aside , and would got in and find the white bones of the two on the sand , after the vultures had picked them clean ; and they would take the trav eler's good revolver , and his money , He thought of all these tilings as ho sat there in the dim light , and watched the slow receding of tlio water-lino , and listened to the girl's soft and reg ular breathing. There was no death in her dream , as she slepts away the last hours of the night , though there might not be many more nights for her. Ho heard her breath , but ho did not hood her , for the water was sink ing before him , sinking away into the sand , now that it was 110 longer fed from the opening. He sat motionless , and his thoughts ran madly from hope to despair and hack again to hope. The water was going down , beyond question ; if it was merely draining itself through the sand to some subterranean channel , he .was lost , but if it was flowing away through any passage like the one by which he had entered , there was still a chance of escape a very small chance. When death is at the gate the tiniest loophole looks wide enough to crawl through. Tlio surface of the pool subsided , but there was no loophole ; and as the traveler watched , hope sank in his heart , like the water in the hollow of the sand ; but Baralca slept on peace fully , curled up on her side like a lit tle wild animal. When the pool was almost dry the traveler crept down to tie edge and drank his fill , that he might not begin to thirst sooner than need be ; and just then day dawned suddenly and the warm darkness gave way to a cool light In a few moments. Immediately , because It was day , Baraka stretched herself on the sand and then sat up ; and when she saw what the traveler was doing she also went and drank as much as she could swallow , for she had understood why he was drinking as soon as she saw that the pool was nearly dry. When she could drink no moro she looked up at the roclcs high overhead , and they wore already white and rod and yellow in the light of the risen sun ; for in that country there is no very long time between dark night and broad day. , Baraka sat down again , on tlio spot where she had slept , but she said nothing. The man was trying to dig a little hole in the wet sand with his hands , beyond the water that was still left , for perhaps ho thought that ir he could make a pit on one side , some \vi\t9v would stay in it ; but the sand ran vOgether as soon as ho moved it ; and presently , as ho bent over , he felt that 1m was sinking Into it himself , and understood that it was a sort of quicksand that would suck him down. He therefore threw himself flat on his back , stretching out his arms and legs , and , making move ments as if he were swimming , he worked his way from the dangerous place till he was safe on the firm white beach again. Ho sat up then , and bent his head till his forehead pressed on his hands , and ho shut his eyes to keep out the light of day. He had not slept , as Baraka had , but he was not sleepy ; perhaps ho would not bo able to sleep again before the end como. Baraka watched him quietly , for she understood that ho despaired of life , and she wondered what lie would do ; and , besides , ho scorned to her the most beautiful man in the world , and she loved him , and she was going to die with him. It comforted her to think that no other woman could got him now. It was almost worth while to die for that alone ; for she could not have borne that another woman should have him since ho despised her , and If it had com-j to pass she would have tried to kill that other. But there was no danger of such a thing now ; and he would die first , and she would kiss him many times when ho was dead , and then she would dlo also. , Tlio pool was all gone by this time , Leaving a Funnel-Shaped Hollow In the Sand. leaving a funnel-shapped hollow - in the sand where it had been. If any water still leaked through from with out it lost Itself under the sand , and the man and the girl were at the bottom tom of a great natural well that was quite dry. Baraka looked up , and she saw a vulture sitting in the sun on a pinnacle , 300 feet above her head. lie would sit there till she was dead , for he knew what was coming ; then he would spread his wings a little and let himself down awkwardly , half-flying and half-scrambling. When he had finished , ho would sit and look at her bones and doze , till he was able to lly away. The hours passed , and the sun rose higher in the sky and struck deeper into the shady well , till he was almost overhead , and there was scarcely any shadow left. It became very hot and stifling , because the passage through which the air had entered with the water was shut up. Then the traveler took off his loose jacket , and opened his flannel shirt at the neck , and turned up his sleeves for coolness , andhe crept backwards Into the hol low where the ruby mine was , to shel ter himself from the sun. But Baraka edged away to the very foot ot the cliff , where there remained a belt of shade , even at noon ; and as she sat there she took the hem of her one garment in her hands and slowly fanned her little feet. Neither he nor she had spoken for many hours , and she could see that in the recess of the rock he was sitting as before , with his forehead against his hands that wore clasped on his knees , in the at titude and bearing of despair. lie began to be athlrst now , in the heat. If he had not known that there was no water he could easily have done without it through a long day , but knowledge that there was none , and Unit he was never to drink again , parched his life and his throat and his tongue till it foil like a dried fig in his mouth. He did not fool hunger , and indeed he had a little food in a wallet lie carried ; but he could not have eat en without water , and it did not occur to him that Baraka might bo hungry. Perhaps , even if he had known that she was , ho would not have given her of what ho had ; he would have kept it for himself. What was the life of a wild Mil-girl compared with his ? But the vulture was watching him , as well as Baraka , and would not move from its pinnacle till the end , though days might pass. Baraka was not thirsty yet , because she had drunk her fill in the mornIng - Ing , and was not used to drink often ; It was enough that she could look at the man she loved , for the end would come soon enough without thinking about It. All day long the traveler crouched in the hollow of the ruby cave , and Baraka watched him Irom her place ; when it grew dark the vul ture on the pinnacle of rock thrust Us ugly head under its wing. As soon as Baraka could not sco any moro she curled herself up on the white sand like a little wild animal and Avent to sleep , though she was thirsty. It was dawn when she awoke , and her linen garment was damp with the dow , so that the touch of It refreshed her. The traveler had coino out and was lying prone on the sand , his face burled against his arm , as soldiers sleep In a bivouac. She could not tell whether ho .was asleep or not , but she knew that ho could not see her , and she cautiously sucked the dew from her garment , drawing it up to her mouth and squeezing it between her" lips. lips.It It was little enough refreshment , but it was something , and she was not afraid , which made a difference. Just as she had drawn the edge of. her shift down and round her ankles again , the man turned on his side suddenly , and then , rose to his feet. For an inslanl he glared at her , and she saw thai his blue eyes were bloodshot and burning ; then he picked up the hcav > camel bag , and began to nmko his way round what had been tlie beach ol the pool , towards the passage through which they had entered , and which was now a dry cave , wide below , nar row at the top , and between six 01 seven feet high. Ho trod carefully and tried his way , for he feared the quicksand , but he know that there was none in the passage , since ho had walked through the water and kad felt the way hard under his foot. In a few moments lie disappeared under the rock. Baraka knew what he meant to do ; lie was going to try to dig through the dam at the entrance to let the water in , even If ho could not get out ; bul she did not move , for in that narrow place and In the dark she could noi have helped him. She sat and wailed By and by ho would como out , drcnchoi' with sweat and yet parching will thirst , and he would glare at her horribly ribly again ; perhaps ho would bo mad when ! fro came out and would kill her because she had brought him there. After some time she hoard a very faint sound overhead , and when nlie looked up the vulture was gone from his pinnacle. She wondered at this , and her eyes searched every point and crevice of the rock as far as tine could see , for she know that the evil bird could only liavo been frightened awny ; and though it fears neither bird nor beast , but only man , she could not believe that any human be ing could find a foothold near to whore it luia perched. For some seconds , perhaps for a whole minute , she saw nothing.though , . she gazed up steadily , then s'lio saw that n small patch of snowy white was moving slowly on the face of the cliff , at some distance above the place where the vulture had been. She bent her brows In the effort to see moro by straining her sight , and meanwhile the patch descended faster than it seemed possible that a man could climb down that perilous steep. Yet it was a man , she knew from the first , and soon she saw him plainly , In his loose shirt and while turban , and with a long gun slung across his back. Nearer still , and ho was down to the jutting pinnacle whore the vulture had sat , and she saw his black board ; still nearer by a few feet and nho know him , and then her glance darted to thti mouth of the cave , at the other end of which the man aho loved was tolling desperately nlono in the dark to pierce the dam of earth and stones. It was only a glance , In a second of time , but when she looked up the black-beared man had already niado another stop downwards. Baraka measured the distance. If ho spoke loud now she could understand him. She know him well , and she know why ho had como , with hi long gun. Ho was her father's brother's son , to whom Hho was betrothed ; ho was Saad , and ho was risking his life to come down and kill her and the man whom she had led to the ruby mines for love's sake. Ho would come down till ho was within easy range , and then ho would wait till ho had a fair chance nt them , whi'ii they wore standing still , and she knew that he was n dead shot. The traveler's revolver could never carry as far as the long gun , Baraka was sure , and Saad could como quite near with safety , since ho seamed able to climb down the face of a Hat rock where there was not foothold for a cat. Ho was still descending , he was getting very near ; If the traveler were nut \\nrncd ho might como out of the cave unsuspiciously and Saad would shoot him. Saad would wish to shoot him first , because of his revolver , and then ho would kill Hnrakn at his leisure. If he fired at her first the traveler would have a chance at him \\hilo. ho was reloading his old gun. She understood why ho had not killed her yet , If Indeed ho wanted to , for It was barely possible that ho loved her enough to take her alive. Alter hesitating for a few moments , not from fear but in doubt , she gath ered herself to spring , and made a dash like an antelope along the sand for the mouth of the cave , for she knew that Saad would not risk wast ing his shot on her while she was run ning. She stopped just under the shelter of the rock and called Inward : "S/tnd is coming down the rock with his gun ! " she cried. "Load your weapon ! " " \Vhon she had given this warning she went out again and stood before the mouth of tlio cave with her back to It. Saad was on tlio rock , not fill foot above the ground , at the other side of the natural wall , but loolved as if even he could get no farther down. He- was standing with both his heels on a ledge so narrow that moro than half the length of his brown feet stood over it ; he was loaning back , fiat against the sloping cliff , and he had his gun before him , for lie was just able to use both his hands with out falling. Ho pointed the gun at her and spoke : "Where is the man ? " "Heis dead , " Baraka answered without hesitation. "Dead ? Already ? " " 1 killed him in Ills sleep , " she said , "and I dragged his body Into the cave for fear of the vulture , and buried it In the sand. He not angry , Saad , though he was my father's guest. Como down hither and I will lull all. Then you shall shoot mo or take mo home to bo your wife , ns you will , for I am quite innocent. " She meant to entice him within range of the stranger's weapon. "There is no foothold whereby to get lower , " he answered , but ho rested the stock of his gun on tlio nar row lodge behind him. "Drag out the man's body , that I may see it. " "I tell you I hurled it. I killed him the night before last ; 1 cannot dig him up now. " "Why did you run to the mouth of the cave when you saw mo , if the man Is dead ? " "Because at first I was afraid you would shoot mo from above , therefore I took nheltcr. " "Why did you como out again , if you wore In fear ? " "After I had run in I was ashamed , for I felt sure that you would not kill mo without hearing tlio truth. So I came out to speak with you. Got down , and I will show you tlio man's grave. " "Have I wings ? 1 cannot como down. It is impossible. " , , Baraka felt a puff of hot air pass her , just above her right ankle , and at the Eiimo Instant she heard a sharp report , not very loud , and moro like the snapping of a strong but very dry- stick than the explosion of firearms. She Instinctively sprang to the loft , keeping her eyes on Saad. For a moment he did not move. But ho svas already dead as ho slowly bent forward from the rock , making a deep obeisance with both arms gaug ing down before him , so that his body shot down perpendicularly to the Look Well to the Kitchen i V/rlter In Houston Post Comes For ward with Variations on Old Theme of "Feeding the Brute. " There Is a great deal In the old sayIng - Ing that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. If ho isn't well fed ho Is going to glvo trouble. Feed the old brute well and lot him smoke In the hoiiKO and ho will bo as tame as the family horse , hut bo careless about his food and ho is apt to swear and cut up Ilko a balky tsuo. There fore , it is wlso for overr eirl to look well to her kitchen education. It Is true that man is hooked In the par lor , but it is the kitchen that enables you to hold him. A kitchen is to.tho homo what the engine-room Is to a power plant or a sand , where It struck head first , rolled over and lay motionless In a heap. The traveler's was n Mauser pistol that would have killed as surely at 500 yards as GO ; and the bullet had gone through the Tartar's brain. Baraka sprang up the sandy slope and ran along the narrow beach to tlio body. In an Instant she had detached the largo brown water-gourd from the thong by which ho It had hung over Saad's shoulder , and she felt that It was full. Without a thought for her self she hastened back to the mouth of the cave where the traveler was now standing. His face was dripping with porspiratlon that ran down Into his matted golden beard , his eyes were wild , his hands were bleeding. "Drink ! " cried Baraka joyfully , and she gave him the gourd. Ho gripped it as a greedy dog snnpa at a bit of meat , and pulling out the wooden plug ho sot the gourd to his lips , with an expression of beatitude. But ho was an old traveler and only drank a little , knowing that his llfo might depend on making the muall supply last. A gourd of water was worth moro than many rubles just then. "Aro you very thirsty yet ? " ho asked In a harsh voice. "No , " answered Baraka bravely ; "keep it for yourself. " Ills hand closed round the nock ot the gourd and ho looked up towards the rocks above. Tlio vulture had como back and was circling , slowly down. "You had hotter bury the body , while I go on working , " said the trav eler , turning back into tlio cave and taking tlio gourd with him. Baraka had marked the place where ho had tried to dig fo water and had almost disappeared In the quicksand. She took from tlio body the wallet , in which were dates and some half-dry bread , and then dragged and pushed and rolled the dead man from the place whore he had fallen. The vul ture sat on the lowest leilgo where his clawn could find a hold , and though ho watched her with horrible red eyes while she robbed him of his prey , ho did not dare go nearer. The body sank Into the moving , sand , and Baraka had to roll herself back to firmer ground in haste to 'es cape being swallowed up with the dead man. Tlio last she raw of him was ono brown foot sticking up. It sank slowly out of sight , and then she wont to the hollow where tlio ruby mlno was and took up a piece of tlio broken crust , full of precious stones , and throw it at the vulture as hard an she could. It did not hit him , hut heat at once tumbled off the ledge into the air , opened his queer , bedraggled wings and struck upwards. Then Barakn sat down in the slmdo and slowly brushed away the dry sand that had got into the folds of her lin en garment , and looked steadily at the mouth of tlio cave and tried not to realize that her throat was parched and her lips almost cracking with thirst , and that the traveler had a- gourd almost full of water with him. For she loved him , and was willing to die that he might live a little longer ; besides , if ho succeeded in digging bin way out , there would bo plenty to drink , and when he was free she was sure that ho would love her because she had made him so rich. Tlio sun rose higher and at last shone down to the bottom of the chasm , and she sat in the narrow strip of shade , where she had passed most of the previous day. She was very thirsty and feverish , and felt tired , and wished she could sleep , but could not. Still the traveler toiled in the darkness , and from time to time she heard sounds from far away as oC stones and loose earth falling. Ho wan still working hard , for ho was very strong and ho was desperate. Baraka thought that if he was able to dig through the dam the water would run In again , and she watched the sand for hours , but it was drier than over. Tlio shadow broadened again , and crept up the rock quickly as the afternoon passed. ( TO UK CONTINUED. ) locomotive to a train. If things go wrong in the engine-room , there's the dovll to pay. If the locomotive is out of fix , the train must bo switched to the siding. If the kitchen is not coin- potently and efficiently conducted the old man will fiy off at a tangent and possibly swear where the children can near him. Moreover , ho IB apt to find excuses to cat down town where pret ty girls with white , Huffy-fringed aprons , dimples , ribbons and things do the ha&h-sllnslng. Houston Post Would Cut a Splurge. "If. " says the Alfalfa Siigo , "I over become wealthy the first thine I will do will be to purchase the biggest touring car in town , and the second thing will be to purchase two more. "