The Rim of the Desert

great firs, clinging with exposed roots to the bluffs, leaned in menace, and above the timber belt granite pyramids and fingers shone amethyst against the sky; then a gi

s rang a continuous challenge from shoulder and crag. Then suddenly a mighty summit built like a pulpit of the gods closed behind, an

Snoqualmie was old, familiar ground. He had served his surveyor's apprenticeship on these western slopes of the Cascades. He had triangulated most of these peaks, named some of them, and he had carried a transit to these headwaters, following his axman often over a new trail. Now, far, far down between the columns of hemlock and fir, he caught glimpses of the State road on the opposite bank of the stream that, like a lost river, went forever seeki

upright, but it listed forward on a broken axle. A young woman who had kept her seat in the tonneau was nursing a painful wrist, while two girls, who evidently had come through the accident unscathed, were trying to help the only man of the party up from the ground. Tisdale bent to give him

rest. She was not like any one in the world he had seen before. From the hem of her light gray motoring coat to the crown of her big hat, she was a delight to the eyes. The veil that tied the hat down framed a face full of a piquant yet delicate charm. She was watching the man huddl

, smiled. "I'm all right," he said, "only I've wrenched this

eyes-"that it isn't worse. Would you like a glass of ice-water from the

ost just now is a glass of that port. Elizabeth," and his gla

side of the automobile to find the basket, and Tisdale moved a

nd focussed for a closer exposure, but no one noticed him. At that moment all interest centered on the man who w

aned and repeated aggressively: "A broken axle. With the worst of Snoqual

ought to be a hospital and a garage there. Or-the westbound passenger, due at this siding in s

filled, "you look up a telephone, or if there isn't a long distance, telegraph James. Tell him to have a couple of doctors, Hillis and Norton, to meet the eight-fifteen; and to bring the limousine down with plent

the cup and poured a draught of wine for the lady in the tonneau. "I am s

ed, looking at the injured wrist: "It's swelling frightfully, but it saved my face; I might have

eyes; it suffused her face, her whole charming personality. Then suddenly, at the moment the flow was

ted back to his train. She turned to take the empty cup, and as she cl

e of Alpine firs that, parklike, bordered the track. It was a long time since the sight of a pretty woman had so

ccountably his heart rose. The girl came on through the open door and stopped beside him, bracing herself with one hand on the railing, while she waved her handkerchief to the group she had left. He caught a faint, clea

to go with him sent back a sonorous "Au revoir." But Elizabeth, who was hurrying down from the station where she had accompl

ew her against him. It all happened very quickly; he steadied her with his arm, and she drew back in confusion; he raised his hand to his head and,

receding cliff. "Her eyes are hazel," he thought, "with turquoi

s side glance swept her slender, gray-clad figure to the toe of one trim shoe, braced lightly on her footstool, and returned to her face. In profile it was a new delight. One caught the upward curl of her black lashes; the su

through the Cascades. This Pass of Snoqualmie had always been his choice of a transcontinental line. And he was approaching new territory; he never had pushed down the eastern side from the divide. He had chosen this r

n the down-grade, then the man with a camera entered and came down the aisle as far as the new passenger's chair. "I hope you'll

comedy. He was quick enough to catch the sweeping look she gave the intruder, aloof yet fearless, as though she saw him across an i

ch he supported on his knee while he felt in his pocket for a pencil. "Of course I recognized young Morganstein; everybody knows him and that chocolate car; he's been run in

," she admitted, "but we expected to motor

urnalism at the State University; danced with her at the Junior Prom. And the other lady, whose wrist was sprained, must have been her sister, Mrs. Feversham. I was detailed to interview the new Alaska delegate when he passed through Seattle, and I understood his wife was to join him later. She was stopping over for a visit, and the society editor called my attention to a mighty g

honor of Mrs. Feversham. And she- the lady you were reminded of-won the prize. So you think I resemble that pho

vering doubt-"I guess I've been jumping at conclusions again. They call me the 'Novelist' at the office." He paused, la

lady. I suppose," she went on slowly, while the glamour grew in her eyes

e you, but this is the biggest scoop I ever fell into. The fellows detailed by the other papers to repo

s different with Mrs. Feversham. She is accustomed to newspaper notice; her husband and brother ar

you took it." He waited a moment, then said, smiling: "That was a picture worth snapping, but I was too batty to think of it in time. You see," he went on seriously, "the leading character in this story is you. And it means a lot to me. I was going to be fired; honest I was. The old man told me he wasn't looking for any Treasure Island genius; what his paper needed was plain fac

It was life and color to your setting and demonstrates the need of a better road. Th

knee and lifted his pencil. "Nothing sensational," he

, write Mis

Thank you. Mis

Franc

f course. But going on now alone to meet the friend

hair. "Where I am going now," she said, and looked at him

I'm awfully grateful. If ever I can be of service to you, I hope you'll let me know." He started up the car, then pau

ed up in dismay. "Oh, no.

amera swinging to his quick st

ve dawned on her, for suddenly the sparkles danced in her eyes. Her glance met Tisdale's briefly and, suppress

els;-here he frowned-those films should be destroyed. Still, the boy would hardly give them up peaceably and to take them otherwise would not spare her the publicity she so desired to avoid; such a scene must simply furnish fresh material, a new chapter to the s

ho had wrecked David Weatherbee; and his face hardened. A personal interview, he told himself presently, would be worse than useless. There was no way to reach a wo

. The forests of fir and hemlock were replaced by thinning groves of pine; then appeared the first bare, sage-mottled dune. The trucks rumbled over a bit of trestle, and for an instant he saw the intake of an irrigating canal, and finally, after a last tunnel, the eastbound steamed out of the canyon into a broad, mountain-locked plateau. Everywhere, watered by the brimming ditch, str

young newspaper man was to transfer to the Northern Pacific, and doubtless the girl too was changing trains. The Milwaukee, beyond Ellensburg, passed through new, unbroken country for many miles; the stations were all in emb

le and lighting a cigar. This pretty woman had happened in his path like a flower; she had pleased his

irls and scattered like ashes. Sometimes a whiter patch showed where alkali streaked through. It was like coming into an old, worn-out world. The sun burned pitilessly, and when finally the train had crossed this plain and began to wind through lofty dunes, the heat pent between the slopes became stifling. The rear platform was growing intolerable, and he knew

d ceiling reflected the glare, and he stopped to reach carefully and draw the blind. A moment later the whistle shrieked, and the conductor called his station. He hurried on up the aisle and, finding his satchel in the vestibule, stood waiting until the car jolted to a stop, then swung himself of

cab, no vehicle of any kind. The small building rose like an islet out of a gray sea. Far off through billowing s