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12 THE fUNDAY CALL. T - A By /ARNA L. BRIGG ... HE morning sanlight was creeping up the distant mountain sides. The dark shadows contrasted and linked together into the narrow valleys as if ashamed of being caught in so @esolate a place. The bare sand glistened and shone like a carpet of gold for miles &nd miles around. This broad expanse of sand resembles in its mystery and weird- ness a migh death, the death of some unknown force before which we are op- pressed and subdued; a secret so great that it seems as if God himself had for- gotten the solution. The air is asleep, filled with a languorous inertia. A solitary figure stood beside the iron rafls that marked the invasion of science into this lonely spot. She had deposited her parcels beside her trunk, where it had been thrown from the train. To her there was poetry in the gray-blue of the sky, the golden page of the sand, and a pathos in this quiet nat who had folded her hands nding rest. The Master seemed more wonderful as she gazed toward the vast sweep of the horizon. Norma Day was nusually bright spot &s_she stood In the golden light. Her dress was dark biue and of a clinging material that revealed a well-rounded form. Her hair, & golden brown, was crowned by a @dark blue hat of velvet with a bright red rose nestling beneath the brim. Her eyes were blue, with a reposeful, quiet ex- pression, the expression found only in the young, hopeful life before the riddles of passion and love come into it. The bark- ing of a dog startled her, and she began gathering up her belongings as a man opened the door of the red section house that stood on the opposite side of the track. He shaded his eves with his hand end then gave a vigorous pull to his vest as he ne towerd her. “Wall, I never! Be you Miss Day? We figered you'd cum on the Speshal Limited noon, an’ here ye cum on the a never et erbo Overland She went to meet him and held out her hand with a smile. It seemed good to see & human face in this wilderness, even if the face was rugged a the hair un- kempt expression that lurked in his eyes, h were overhung by scrag- gy brows, redeemed Ben Moore's face from being repulsive in its homeliness. He lived here on the desert alone with Mage, the dog (the three Chinese laborers aid mot human beings), and superintended the repairs on the railroad, made 1 v by shifting sands. “Yes < Day: but where are the Mokis I came to teach? “Oh, they're over yonde pointing to a @ark streak in the mountains “How do I get there? Oh, isn't this sand perfectly awful to walk in!” “I epect ye do’ find it sorter heavy, but Give me that truck an’ better.” e halted and a touch of red shone the tan. “Ye must excuse the looks ¢ things, as we wa'nt Jookin’ fer ver so early; ap’' at best we dy trim.” 1 can't see how any one ouse iIn this sandy place. ave a time keeping it we're used t could even keep Your wife m out,” said Nor wife! Ha, ha! That is one on me, I ain’t got no wife. Never one ter hev me when I war how—jist think of it! Who'd think would want sich a rough cuss I am?” e tered a low room furnishe store and sleeping room combined. Ranged against one wail, like Steasmer bunks, were six untidy beds. Opposite stood & long counter, on which were piles ian blankets, made by the ks of fleur, boxes of canned £00ds, red peppers, calico of many hues, &nd guantities of colored beads in baskets, ndise with the all exchangea Indians. The & ng consisted of two Tooms o where the Chinese er of the double roof, x th the beat. “Joel Hurris cum fer ye this mornin’, an’ as ar all night ter git nere he’'s sleepin’ now over thar. But we won't wake him as ye must rest, too, S0 ve can kecp yer eyes open ter might,” her host co ued “Why must 1 keep awske to-night? I could sicep on the floor if you haven't a bed for e, you know.” A new embar- rassment F come over her when she ®aw the man asleep in the bunk. She had 1 before, entered the sleeping- room « n except her father's. Her father was the Dominie of a little church the Albany turnpike, and when Norma had come to the manse, “like a streak of yellow sunshine,” he had ded- fcated to the service of the Lord. Years 1 2 revivalist came to the kirk trying cure “‘helpers in the field,” end Norma responded to the “call” and entered g school for mission- aries in » y. After graduation &nd whil g amgng the home loves, & letter come from the board of lady missionaries saying that she was delegated to go to Arizona and take up the work ; and so she started at “Why, child, ye hev a ride of eighty ore ye, an’ Joel always makes the most of it at night, so he can stan’ the heat. Then he sez the hosses last longer if they ain’t druv through the : - + | In to-day’s issue of The | Sunday Call appears the first installment of “The Gospel of | | Judas Iscariot” by Aaron Dwight Baldwin—a novel that i is proving the sensation of two continents. This book will be published complete in three issues of The Sunday Call’s Magazine Section — December 14, 21 and 28. BE SURE TO READ IT. IT IS THE NOVEL OF THE HOUR. ! A complete short story by l one of the leading writers of fiction of the day is published every week in The Sunday Call. DON'T MISS IT. desert sunshine.. Ye jist take off thet purty bunnit an’ sit down while I git yer somethin’ ter eat.” After he had left the room she leaned her head against the counter apd cricd just a little, but the man in the bunk moved uneasily and her attention was at- tracted to him. He had turned over with hif" tace toward her. His head thrown back exposed a white neck and chest where the shirt lay open. One arm had rolled off the bed and hung limply. The face was a good one, although deeply scarred on one cheek and tanned to a rich brown. A reddish mustache drooped over a sensitive mouth, and the hair lay in damp curls along the strip of white on his forehead. Strong and compactly mas- sive was his body. Norma fell to wonder- ing what his life could be. Was he rude and uneducated? Was he a safe com- panion for the eighty-mile ride? A shud- der crept over her, but remembering what her host had said about his care of the horses she felt partially reassured, and went gayly into the kitchen to Ben when he called her to “cum an’ eat.” “Now, little girl, I wan' ter tell ye somethin’. I seed ye was cryin’ when I went past the winder; but ye needn’t do thet or be afeerd o’ Joel. I knowed how ve hated the idear o’ the ride, an’ it's a d—— shame ter send sich a young thing as ye out here ter teach these bloody In- juns. But as yer here, ye must make the best of it. Joel is a queer un, I'll allow. He cum out here ’long ’bout Lwo years ergo, as dandy a chap as ye ever laid eyes on. But the fust thing he did was ter git a pair of overhalls on an’ throws his fine duds in the corner. He was sent by some consarn in the East to ‘git infor- mation erbout the Injuns,’ so he sez. At fust we give him the laugh (Jim Brown was with me then), as we couldn’t see what anybody wanted to know erbout sich scum fer; but he stald until sum In- Jjuns cum erlong, an’ then he ups an’ goes back with 'em. Now he cums back an’' ferth fer mail bout once er month, an’ we're used ter him. He's as true as steel. See thet cut on his cheek He got thet fer slappin’ an Injun fer whippin’ his squaw. So don't yer fret, he'll take good care of ye.” About sunset Joel drove to the front of the ‘?Ise with a buckboard drawn by two~Bronchos. Norma's trunk was fast- ened on behind the seat, her little satchel and lunch basket were tled to its-top, while underneath the seat was the grub box, into which Ben had put a side of bacon, some coffee and several loaves of bis sour-dough bread. The coff¢e pot and frying pan dangled from the axle. *‘Miss Day, this 'ere chap is Mr. Joel,” had been Ben's Introduction. “Pleased to know you, Miss Day.” And Norma opened Ler eyes very wide. The voice was cul- tured and refined. At first the road was very rough, there bemg rocks underneath the sand; but they soon struck deeper sand, 'through which the horses struggled wearily. The moon came up bright and radiant, show- iL.g the far-off cut in the mountain side where Joel said the river came through. Norma’'s companion was very silent, only answering her questions in as few words as possible, until, giving up the useless effort toward conversation, she settled hersélf to a minute review of her past as compared with her present. Overcome at last by the monotony, she fell asleep, only to awaken when the vehicle came to a sudden stop. It was daylight, and where was her head? Surely not pil- lowed upon the lap of a stranger! He hud folded a blanket and placed it under her head on his lap. A merry twinkle ir his eyes met her blush. ‘“‘Where are we?"” “At the Fields, a trading post, where we will stay and rest for most of the @éay. 1 want to reach the river at about sundown, as then there is a possibility of some of the Navajoes crossing, and they will assist me in making the ford. Come, DONT vop PARE Toycs TE OR WE wrry OTH Go DO A usT HANG ONI;I B J let me help you out. Stift and dizzy, she stood up, and before she realized what he was doing he had taken her up and had carried her to the cabin door. “Hello, there! Is anybody up?’ ““What yer want?” growled a voice. “Let us in, Mac, and I will tell you. I have the teacher with me. “Loré save us! Come in.” And the door opened. “Mac, this is Miss Day, and she is just about dead tired out, so spread a blanket down—a clean one, mind you—and let her rest while I fix the team and you get scme breakfast.” “Miss, I am powerful glad to' see youl But my! Ain't you awful little to be way out here alone? It does my old eyes good to see such a dainty lady. Ain't seen one like you since I left the East, nigh onto twenty years ago.” A trading station is typlcal of the far West. Built of rough pine boards with dirt floors, one room a store and the other a living room. The men are shrewd, good-natured and brave to a fault; shooting comes easy. Norma, while doz- ing in one of the bunks, overheagd Joel and the host talking in the next room. ou really had better not try to cross to-night, as Loti was here yesterday and sald the river was raising might fast.” “But, Mac, I must! You see I have got to get across before the flood comes, for you know it often lasts a month at this time of the year, and what could we do with the girl all that time? It won't do to wait! I must get to the mesa to- night. Darn fool missionaries to send a little thing like that out here! Don't suppose she can call her name her own in & rumpus! To think I came away from the East to escape women, one in particular, and here is one fairly thrown into my arms. In fact, she slept on my Tap last night” “Good for you! To- night she will be in your arms, but not asleep, most likely. Oh, to be & young man! I'd show you how to win a Wwoman,” laughed his companion. “Shut up your mouth! Don't talk dis- respectfully of the little woman or I'll show you a thing or two. She fsn't your kind, and—well you know me by this time; I will take no foolishness!"” “Yes, I do know you for being the biggest fool I ever come across, or you ‘would kidnap the pretty Miss Missionary. ‘Who'd know? I promise I won't peach.” _ A slam of the outside door was his an- swer. “Not call her name her own in a Tow?” Well, he would see! And with a Jow laugh she rolled out of the bunk. In the shade of the house stood the team eating, and Joel lay beside them. “Are you ready, sir?” she asked. ‘T want to reach Oraibi as soon as possible and relieve you of my burdensome selt.” “Yes, nearly so. I also am in a hurry, but not for the same reason. I will get the team ready now.” A few straggling bushes outlined the banks of the Little Colorado River, and to Norma they seemed the handsomest trees she had ever seen, contrasted with the awful sand around her. When they reached the banks of the stream not an Indian was to be seen. The rope that formerly was stretched from bank to bank to mark the ford had entire- ly disappeared. The yellow water was rolling and tossing frantically, and no one would have taken its rough surface for the placidly treacherous stream that us- ually wended its passage between the sandy slopes. Joel's face grew grave, and it was with a very serious air that he halted, and getting out examined the harness, tightened the trunk straps and made all knots and buckles more secure. As he climbed back into the rig. Norma asked in a very shaky voice, “Do we drive into that stream? It looks so fierce I am afraid!” and with that she grasped his arm. “It is flerce! The storms of the mountains have caused a flood, but we will get through all right. The horses know the ford, as I crossed here only a day or so ago. Now don’'t be afraid! Here we go!” “I want to get out! Stop! I will not go into that water!” screamed the girl. “Now look here, this won’t do at all. You must stop that yelling and hold on to the seat! Don’'t you dare touch me or we will both go down. Just hang on!"” His tone had been rough, and as the horses plunged forward she heard him mutter, “Damn coward of a woman.” Gripping the seat firmly and shutting her teeth tightly together to prevent scream- ing, she saw the horses step carefully from shallow Into deeper and deeper water. Closing her eyes she prayed, “God protect us,” as the water reached her knees. Then all was black. Upon regain- ing consciousness she found herself lying on the bank of the stream, a tall Indian standing beside her. “Where is Mr. Joel?” was her frightened cry. *‘He gone there, see. He come get you by-m-by.” Struggling to her feet she could see acrosg the water a tiny moving light. ‘“What am I to do? He has deserted me!" The Indian stood passively watching her emotions. She could see quite distinctly in the moonlight his dusky skin lit up here and there by strands of bright beads. A loin cloth was his only garment, a blanket hung over his arm. “Him gone Wampl get horse. Me stay here, watch you he say.” “But where are the horses and rig?” “Gone big water.” A weird howl close by chilled her blood, and with a bound she had grasped the In- dian. *“What is 1t?" “Him coyote; him no hurt” Taking the girl by the hand he led her beneath a clump of straggling trees and motioned for her to sit. “You sleep; I watch.” Spreading his blanket over her; he took Lis stand with folded arms aFainst a tree and remained motionless the whole night through. Afraid of the Indian, the first she had ever seen; afrald of the dreadful silence, and still' more afrald when the dismal howl of the lone coyote would re- peat and repeat until it seemed that the whole desert was full of the animals. With the first streak of dawn came Joel, followed by a score-of Navajoes. So glad was the girl to see him that as he rcde up the bank to her side she fainted; the strain had been too great. “Poor lit- tle girl,” said Joel tenderly, bending over the bedraggled form.. He recalled walk- ing the street in New York and seeing a lily in the gutter, its calyx all mud- smeared; but when he had picked it up it still bore 8 beauty that appealed to him. Now he thought of it as he pushed the hair from the white forehead of the girl. Upon opening her eyes she real- ized that the river had been crossed and that she was being held, wrapped in a blanket, in front of Mr. Joel upon an In- dian pony. A wonderfully gentle smile met her look of bewllderment. “Don’t worry any more, Miss Day, as we are upon terra firma, and all you need ~ do is to try and rest so you can climb when we reach the mesa.” “Thank you; I am not worrying,, as I am too glad to get away from that awful Indian and to have ed that fearful stream! I will never dare to return!" ““And you expect to live among these In- dians and attempt to teach them, and yet yecu are afraid of one of them, and one of the best, let me tell you. Isn’t that the inconsistency of a woman?” “Maybe it does seem so, but they can't all look so terrifying as 1 “Can’t? Well, I won't disc fllusion, except to ask you out to me when you run a looking one. Juan is a chief an Navajoes and quite an Importa through here. I found him from Wampi, where he had atte feast, and he gave me his horse to go for help.” “Can’t I walk? I must be a load for you.” ““Well, you might for a rod or two, but desert sand isn’t.conducive to rapld loco- motion, so I advise you to rest where you are.” After hours of torture from heat and weariness they reached the foot of the mesa. Oraibi could be seen above their heads hundreds of feet. It seemed to be | a part of and emerge from the rock upon which it stood. The trall appeared im- possible of ascent; but just at sundown they mounted the last slope of rugged steps and stood in the plaza of the pueblo. All the houses were built of stone and adobe. Some of the more pretentious were coated with a white stucco, gro- tesquely marked by the weather with brown stains. Entirely without doors or windows an entrance was effected only by ladders to the roofs and then down into the interiors through a hele by othes ladders. Strange looking heads peered curfously over the walls as Norma and her companion stopped to rest upon a rock. With a long breath of reliet the girl quoted: The goal 1s gained, the journey done. And naught 1s here but sterile s But whirling sand and burning su And hot winds blowing in my “I find a simile of life in this place, Miss Day. All dead sea apples of am- bitions and hopes for those of us upon whom Fate has cast her bond. I hope it | will not prove your Gethsemane, as it has mine,” sald her companion. She noted the sadness of his tone and the intense thoughtfulness of his face, and a new idea took possession of her mind. Until now she had simply accepted him as a Western representative of uncouth civill- zation necessary to her transportati “No,* it shall not! I will not allow myself to be submerged by the diff iculties! I came here for 'a purpose and 1 mean to accomplish it!” declared the gi springing to her feet., “But let us return to the mundane and find something to eat and a place to sleep. I'm gritty in more than one way just at sent. Dee fying Fate like Prometheus when I am hungry enough to eat—you and dirty enough to be an aborigine.” “You will need all your grit to live here. Simply a visit is enough for most of us, he answered. “Come, let me take you to Sajiu, the mother priestess, and she will care for the inner man, after Mokl style. It's a good thing you are so hungry or you might rebel when you see the menu.” “Oh, that isn't worrying me nearly so much as these clothes. When I can change them for cleaner ones I will be comfortable.” “I will make an effort to secure others for you, but am afraid they will be ver" primitive. Your trunk Is in the Colorado, you know.” *“No! I had forgotten! Whatever can I ative dress for the present until you can manufacture some for yourself. I'll