The small hoof tracks were not difficult to find. Beyond the confines of the camp, the sand lay like untracked snow. When they picked up the trail, it led directly to the Coyote Range.
Ernest suddenly spoke cheerfully. "We"ll have to go up and ask Charley for some breakfast. It"s an ill wind that blows n.o.body any good!"
"We"ll have to shave if we"re going up there and that takes time,"
protested Roger.
"What are you going to eat? No sugar, no flour, no coffee!"
"Let"s be quick about it, then," said Roger, hurrying into the living tent.
The Prebles laughed, but they were very sympathetic and blamed themselves for not warning the boys that stray burros and coyotes were a menace to any stores left unprotected.
"String some wire about six inches apart around your four poles and weave yucca stalks in and out. It makes a bully cool wall and keeps the varmints out," said d.i.c.k.
"My heavens, man! I haven"t time to do raffia work," cried Roger, half laughing, half serious.
"I"ll do it for you," said Felicia. "I can weave like I did in school.
And if I do that, Charley won"t make me have lessons with her every day."
"Oh, won"t I!" returned Charley. "Roger, you get the wires up. That won"t take but a few minutes and when old f.a.n.n.y Squaw comes along in a week or so to sell ollas I"ll send her down to cut and weave yucca for you. It can"t cost you more than four bits. In the meantime, I can let you have some supplies to tide you over till some one goes to town."
"You see what it means to have brains in the family," said d.i.c.k.
"It"s lucky some one in this bunch possesses them," laughed Roger. "By the way, how do there come to be stray burros in the mountains?"
"Miners die or desert them and they go wild," replied d.i.c.k. "I must try to catch and tame one for Felicia, after the alfalfa is in. Which reminds me that I must get on the job. I"ve got your barrel of water ready in the wagon, so come along."
The start was late that day and they had not gone down a foot when they struck rock. Another trip had to be made to the Prebles to procure some sticks of dynamite from d.i.c.k"s little store at the neglected turquoise mine. And still no sign of water.
The evenings were lonely. At first the two went frequently to the ranch house, as d.i.c.k, sweating in his barren alfalfa fields, insisted that the house be called. But everybody was too tired for social effort. d.i.c.k was grading and plowing all day long and Charley, after her housework was finished, often drove for him in the field. The mid-day heat and the unwonted labor made Ernest and Roger glad to go to bed early. After they had eaten supper and cleared up the dishes, they would build a little fire in the sand outside the living tent and for an hour sit before it.
Even on chilly evenings the fire had to be small, for the firewood was bought from d.i.c.k"s none too great supply. He in turn bought from an Indian who cut mesquite far up in the ranges and toted it by burro pack to the corral.
Ernest, sitting thus, would pluck at his banjo and sing to the stars, finding ease thus for his homesick heart. Roger sat in silent contemplation, now of the fire, now of the stars. In spite of his impatience over petty details, he was happier than he had been since his undergraduate days. The marvelous low-lying stars, the little glow of fire on Ernest"s pleasant face, the sweet tenor voice and the mellow plunking of the banjo were a wonderful background for his happy dreams.
Roger still believed that a man"s work could fill every desire of his mind and soul.
"I have so loved thee,"
(sang Ernest one evening),
"But cannot, cannot hold thee.
Fading like a dream the shadows fold thee, Slowly thy perfect beauty fades away, Good-by, sweet day! Good-by, sweet day!"
There was the soft thud of a footstep in the sand and an Indian appeared in the soft glow of the fire. Ernest broke off his song, abruptly. The newcomer was of indeterminate age, with black hair falling nearly to his waist over a bright red flannel shirt. He wore black trousers girdled at the waist by a broad twist of blue silk. His feet were bare.
"How!" he said, nodding and smiling. "I hear music way out. Come see maybe white medicine man."
"Good evening," returned Ernest. "Sit down by the fire."
"How"d you like a job?" asked Roger. "Did Mr. Preble send you?"
"No job!" The Indian shook his head. "Sick!"
"Is that so?" Roger"s voice was sympathetic. "My friend"s a good medicine man. Where are you sick?"
"In my tooth!" The visitor opened a capacious mouth, displaying a badly ulcerated gum.
"That"s easy! Get the peroxide bottle and a teaspoon, Ern. We"ll fix him up, poor duck. What"s your name, old man?"
"Qui-tha," replied the Indian.
"All right, Qui-tha. Now you take a teaspoonful of this and hold it in the front of your mouth, see!"
Qui-tha looked closely into the faces of the two men, then with touching docility he did as Roger bade him. In a moment he was blowing foam violently into the fire. The two men looked at each other a little aghast.
"You should have held it in your mouth, Qui-tha!" cried Ernest.
The Indian reached for the teaspoon and poured himself another dose.
This he held in his mouth for a moment, gazing at his physicians solemnly the while. Then he again blew foam into the fire.
"Heap strong medicine," he said. "Fine, strong medicine. Never saw such strong medicine. You good medicine men. Qui-tha stay work for you. You let keep bottle."
"Sure," replied Ernest, "only be very careful of it. Don"t use it up too fast."
Qui-tha nodded. "You give blanket. Qui-tha sleep here by fire."
And sleep he did, rolled up even as to his head, his feet to the dying embers, while his hosts, undressing by candle light, grinned at each other in silent amus.e.m.e.nt. When d.i.c.k came down with the triweekly barrel of water he was astonished to see Qui-tha slowly weaving yucca stalks into the wire that now bound the poles of the cook tent.
"For heaven"s sake, Qui-tha, you old b.u.m, you"ve always refused to work for me!" he shouted.
The Indian grinned, then explained very seriously. "These white men heap smart. Make strong medicine. Qui-tha work one week, pay white medicine men."
Ernest called d.i.c.k into the living tent and made him an explanation while Qui-tha looked inquiringly at Roger at the sound of d.i.c.k"s laughter.
"Do, for the love of all of us, keep feeding him peroxide until he"s cajoled into giving me a hand in the field. Won"t Charley be amused by this?"
But Qui-tha was not to be cajoled. He prolonged his promised week to two, but would serve only his two medicine men. He was a most erratic workman, but what he did, he did exceedingly well. The cook tent with its woven sides of faded green was a structure of real beauty. Qui-tha consumed a week in the doing of this job, and ate all of three dozen cans of tomatoes, for which he displayed what Ernest called an abandoned pa.s.sion. After he had finished with the cook tent, he sat for a day at the edge of the well, watching the two white men at their back breaking toil, then he silently undertook to man the bucket hoist for them. At frequent intervals he would refuse to hoist for a time and would urge Roger and Ernest to rest with him.
"Why work all time, uh? Wind no blow all time. Sun no shine all time.
You no dig all time, uh? Sit with Qui-tha and smoke and think."
"He"s got a lot of horse sense, Roger, after all, hasn"t he?" said Ernest one day after the Indian had laughed at them for their mad driving at the waterless well.
Roger straightened his tired back. "Fine, for an Indian! I like to hear him laugh. On things that don"t demand our white sophistication, do you notice what a good sense of humor he has?"
"By Jove, I wish he"d go up and help the Prebles. I think it"s a fright for Charley to be working in the fields," exclaimed Ernest.
Roger nodded. "Guess I"ll try him on that angle." He clambered out of the well and squatted by Qui-tha on the ever-increasing pile of sand and stone by the well edge.
"Do you see that white girl up there in the field, driving the horse?"