Roy Norton

“ And it was the woman who expressed surprise when Sandy advised her, with many apologies, to "go a leetle mite slow on that water." The half-empty canteen came away from her lips as she said, "Is that all we have?"
"Oh, we got plenty," came the cheerful reply, "if we only go slow. Jest a leetle slow."
To show his freedom from worry Sandy chirped up a tune, but somehow it was a failure, as his lips were too parched for artistic success.
Two days more! Two days more! And she and the pony must have it all, though men died thirst-stricken in a day in this terrible heat. ”

“ So it was that while the moon shifted the shadows of the night from side to side in its stately passing, a woman slept the undisturbed sleep of security beneath a pack cover, while outside an ungainly figure turned and tossed in an agony of apprehension, forgetful always of himself, but filled with pity for her and for the trusting animals who had been his servants, companions, friends. ”

“ Then he would grip his wandering senses back to partial sanity, with the underlying knowledge that to dream of lakes where was naught but desert sands was only the beginning of the end. And in those sane moments he would mutter, "O God! don't let us git off the trail. Keep us on the trail, God, 'cause if I cain't hold 'em on the trail she ain't agoin' to git there. You shore ain't agoin' to let her die out here on the sand, God; You what looks after the wolves and coyotes and sparrers—You shore ain't goin' back on a woman! ”

“ So it was that the big desolate hills, their grayness tinted with warmth in the night light, looked down on a rough man who led a weary little gray burro into an isolated gully, blindfolded the wondering eyes, threw an arm over the shaggy neck, and talked to and caressed the animal before he fired a shot at such close range that the sound was muffled. ”

“ Why, only for the Indians behind him he would have turned back, because of that accident to the water cask which robbed him of nearly all his precious store and left him with less than half ration for himself and animals, and with many miles of desert, dry, cruel, and alkaline, ahead of him, where the sand floated up and bit into the nostrils, eyes, and mouth, and brought an insistent demand for water, more water. Death had a hundred chances to one if he attempted to return, and there had been no alternative but to go ahead. ”

“ Now there were no assumptions of cheerfulness—only silence and caution, and the urging forward of jaded beasts. Once they lost hours of time in concealment, while a small party of Apaches, hideously gaudy in war paint and carrying grewsome trophies of their savagery, rode past them on the trail below. The woman cowered in her rocky refuge, fearing a repetition of the former horror and unrelieved by Sandy's plausible assurances of their safety. These, he said, were probably the last they would see. As they took the trail again he made a carefully prepared speech. ”

“ Sandy voiced huskily, "but I ain't got no water for you and none for myself. We've got to get this little girl back to Bob. He wants her an' she wants him. You an' me ain't no good nohow except to pack things, an' women like that kin make lots of folks happy. I ain't never done nothin' to hurt you before, an' I reckon it won't hurt now as much as it would to leave you away out here to suffer. Good-by, Jack—"
The woman vaguely understood in her fevered mind why Sandy shot and the burro lay so quietly. ”

“ He foresaw the necessity for keeping to the by-trails—the slow progress, the constant watch, the sleepless nights, and frequent hours of hot imprisonment, should they be driven to hiding, in sage-clad hollows. ”