The Winning of Barbara Worth

They were the advance force of a mighty army ordered ahead by Good Business-the master passion of the race. Their duty was to learn th

ion camps shone through the many colored veils of the desert. Tall, thin columns of dust lifted into the sky from the water wagons that crawled ceaselessly from water hole to camp and from camp to water hole-hung in long cloud

s returned, desert-stained and weary, to their rest under the lonesome stars. Every morning the sun broke fiercely up from the long level of the eastward plain to pour its hot strength down upon these pigmy creatures, who dared to invade the territo

mists of the distance; until the eyes ached and the soul cried out in wonder at it all. Always there were the same deep nights, with the lonely stars so far away in the velvet purple darkness; the soft breathing of the dese

n the silent menace, the still waiting, the subtle call, the pro

The columns, clouds and spirals of dust-save perhaps from a near supply wagon coming in or passing out-could not be distinguished from the whirling dust-devils that danced always over the hot plains. The toiling pigmy dots

nge sounds as the stakes were driven and man called to man figures and directions. Perhaps the scaly side-winder, springing his warning rattle at the approaching step, questioned what new enemy this was; or the lone buz

new that the stakes were there. They knew that some day that other, mightier company, the main army, would move along the way they had marked to meet the strength of the barren waste with the strength of the great river and take for the race the wealth of the

ore the hard days without flinching; cheerful optimism that laughed at the appalling immensity of the task; strength of spirit that made a jest of galling discomforts; courage that smiled in the face of dangers. These were the strength of the party. Some there were who grew sullen, quarrelsome, and vicious in a kind of mad rebellion. These must be held in check, controlled and governed by the Se

d to which he was born-all these were nothing in The Hollow of God's Hand. Slowly he learned that the power of such wealth is limited to certain fields. New York was very far away. He felt that he had been hopelessly banished to a strange world. M

in the strength of his dream, had looked at him from the still depth of his brown eyes without a word-looked until the younger man had turned away, his cheeks flushed with

philosophical musing, after a deep draught of the tepid, tainted water: "Hit ain't so bad as you might think, Mr. Holmes, onct your oilfactory nerves has become somewhat regulated to the aroma and your

as barely saved from a like fate by the prompt action and ready knowledge of Abe

d, when he would have sold his soul for a bath and actually began to get his things together in readiness for the next wagon out, it was Pat, who, with the devilish ingenuity of an Irish imp, mocked and jeered at him for a quitter, "fit to a

conquest; when he began to glory in the very greatness of the task; and the long dormant spirit of his ancestors stirred within him as he caught glimpses

dy for the final degree;

clamation or change the measured tones of his colorless voice. He seemed to accept everything as though he had foreseen, carefully considered and dismissed it from his mind before it came to pass. Day after day he rode in every direction over the land within easy reach of the many camps; familiarizing himself with every detail of the work, observing soil,

hushed, jests were unspoken. Silently they waited for him to speak first. When he conversed with them they answered thoughtfully in subdued tones, seeming to feel that their words were received by one who placed upon

rs camp that night when Pat appeared, hat in hand, before the comp

ishman, whose face and voice as well as his presence at that hour betrayed so

was shaken

t supper wid

er. "But it is nothing unusual for hi

p an' Tex seen that his horse wasn't wid the bunch, we got a bit unaisy li

t one of the other camps

is mornin'. Me an' Tex watched him go; an' there

return here or he would

careful he is. Wha

d Pat, turning, hauled him into the tent by

o the company, sombrero in hand. "Senor Worth's horse, he just come. I

h, he turned leisurely to follow, saying half aloud: "It is all in La Palma de la Mano de Dios, Senor Worth. Maybe so you come back, maybe

Worth's horse. No word was exchanged between them while the surveyor in turn looked carefully over

" asked the Seer when the lon

a cloud of smoke: "He is left afoot too far out to

mes, but no one heeded as the surveyor turne

ert to leave it on the horse. He likely tied the pony to a bush and went to climb a hill or something. Mr. Hawss breaks loose and pulls for home. It happened a good way out, 'cause the pony's pretty well tired, which he wouldn't a-been, travelin' light, if Mr. Worth

d Abe, don't

ned toward the tents while T

Chief. "Do I understand, sir, that yo

re is nothing to do, Mr.

the men and send them in every direction to search? Why man, don't you realize the situation? Mr. Worth may be

d. Abe Lee, standing beside his Chief, rolled a

trail, Abe and Tex will ride to him as fast as their horses can go. Granting that the worst you suggest may be true, our plan is the only sane way." "But I protest, sir. You should make the attempt. I will not submit to idly doing noth

when you were a sucking babe. These men were learning the desert when you were attending a fashionable dancing school. Why, you damned lily-fingered tenderfoot, you couldn't find your way five hundred yards in this country without a guide or a compass. Now, sir, I'm running this outfit and if you have any pro

rge corporations was expected to make him peculiarly valuable to the capi

in' tongue lashin' wud scorch the hide av the owld divil himsilf." He looked admiringly after the Seer. "D'ye think, now, th

returned Abe slowly, "and we'd be

nor the bitter humiliation that he had brought upon himself could turn his thoughts from Mr. Worth alone on the desert. To sleep was impossible.

ater when Pat touched A

or, fully awake and in possession

off into nowhere an' the

within three feet of Willard Holme

r, who walked with the step of an Indian. "I couldn't sleep," he explained. "I thought I

e to make his cigarette

th rode

lantern tartly. "I saw him go this morning an

s. It is Manuel Ramirez's mule. See, he has a broken shoe on the off fore-foot. I noticed it yesterda