The Desire of the Moth; and the Come On

ube root with a stump puller, and it is sad to reflect how little call life has made for duodecimals. Sometimes it seems that all our struggle with moody verbs and insubordinate conjunctions

esert is a boot too; a

xico, the toe is in Ar

e Jornado is i

n! From what dim old legend has the name come do

leys of his childhood. We have a glimpse of him, small in the mighty silence; his faithful few about him, with fearful backward glances; a gra

nd Navajo; there are grave-cairns on lone dim ridges, whereon each passer casts a stone. Young moth

e here; the Texans journeyed north along

-by. The history of th

s with six Americans,

Frenchman; Fest, a Ger

ss; and Teagard

her opinion were plenty; lava flow, saccaton flats, rolling sand hills sage-brush, mesquite and yucca, bunch grass and shallow lakes, b

of his home-state vote in any grand old national convention. He gave largely to charities and campa

, our candidate saw, among other things, that New M

ovided the money and a manager, also ambidextrous with instructions to get those

but our candidate ne

ons could not bring hi

nted man, in the obscur

na

od the devastating march of progress. It was still a mark of distinction to be a Bar Cross man. The good old customs-and certain bad old customs, too-still

noon. The V H. Ranch was in sight now, huddled low before them; beyond, a cluster of

parapets gleaming up through the golden air; she was one who found dear and b

Wesley? Do you know what i

ements, openi

as, in fa?ry l

n't changed a bit since the da

d, too, getting himself named Christopher. Otherwise you might have said, 't

s narrowed r

ading! You never used to kno

wiped it from a magazine. I don't know much abou

those pardners of yours. Your talk shows it. You're change

r!" said Pringle in his

myself, always, Stella

heard Christopher Foy,

rating! It'

o be flustered. She

n talking about him. I

Wes

ly the way he smashed those thugs-taken by surprise and all-but that he had judgment enough not

ow

e he was-to tell such a story as that his own way and hog all the credit for himself? That Las Uvas push is a four-flush-he needn't stir a peg for them

menace this Las Uvas gang is. It isn't what Chris may do or may not do. All they want is a pretext. Why, John, there are men down there who are really quite truthful-as men go-till they get on the witness stand. But the minute they're under oath they b

" grumbled Pringle. "Mi

Does the Fo

ed me, John. Chris must not know. He would kill him. But I wanted you to know in case anything happened to Chris. There is nothing they will stick at, these men. Lisner is the vilest; he hates

"let me point out how shrewd and sensible a plan it would be for yo

so. Up to last night I ha

t that push had in mind was plain murder. I would dearly like," sa

*

Major met them, with

ried out

What is i

as killed at midnight-and the

Wesley was

, that he said he was coming up here, and that he made a war-talk about Marr. But not a word abou

ugly," obser

's cut and dried. You are to be canceled. Marr was found this morning at the first crossroad above town. His watch was stopped at ten minutes to twelve-mashed, it seemed, where it hit on a stone when he fell.

is?" demanded St

emember that. You won't have to lie, Stella-

e," said Pringle. "But hadn't we better fix up the same history t

-up, and I'm just as well pleased. I'm not sure he can be trusted. We are to know not the first word of what has happened. We haven't seen Chris and haven't heard of the murder. Come in-we'll start dinner and be taken by surprise.

. Stella set abou

t the news?

the word on to Goldenburg's and Cowan came here. At every ranch they drove all the fresh saddle horses out of the way, so a posse

drifted w

, leaving a man at every waterhole. The sheriff wired for a special train, took a carload of saddle horses and dropped a couple of men off at every station. At Upham the rest of them were to unload and string out across the Jornado,

to get a

out he'll turn Foy's horse loose; he'll carry the extra saddle on a ways and drop it in a washout. They'll find Foy's horse and think he's roped a fresh one. Then Cowan will sta

d F

t on. I rounded up this bunch of saddle horses and brought them back. He went up on Little Thumb Butte. It's all bluffs and bowlders t

'll hunt out the hil

ere four shod horses came up the road. I'll claim one of them was a horse I was lead

horses," objected Pringle. "The

left on the road. They'll reason that we're trying to keep them from following that track. So

ctively, "that friend Cowan may have

ermitted hi

ith a bunch of wild mares he'll be all right. They may think, but they can't pro

y'll split up. Some of them will hunt out

dea of it,"

t to the Bar Cross they'll see him through, once they hear his story. Not t

f Foy slippin

hill. There's just one thing against him. There wasn't even a canteen here. He took some jerky and canned stuff-but only one measly beer bottle of water. When that's used up it's going to be a dull time for him. We can't get water to him very handy without leaving some

hat know me-and three of them are police. Maybe

ed, of course. Maybe they won't be in the first batch though. Your p

d his strikers aren't along they've given my description. Somebod

's so, too. I'm afraid

said Pringle lightly

a trifle sheepishly. "I'll say this though: I wo

ed Pringle. "And that Si

stion of surrender and standing trial; understand that. He'd be lynched, probably, if they ever got him in Las Uvas. A tri

ant the job,"

them coming. Talk about somet

picked u

United States building a big

otsteps rus

t all. When we make the navy appropriations we ought to set by about fifty-some-odd million and build a big multipl

your k

ntly. "I never was twice as serious in my w

u idiot! I w

then! I'll gri

kly, with a merry clatter of tinware; her face was cheerful and unclouded. The Major leaned back in one chair, his feet on another;

little mice, pla

nky, doo

ey were doing what

nky, doo

f the owls, it

loser crept the t

came and go

ell across

sheriff of Dona Ana