tride he left the door of his prison
behind him. His fame had spread through the village. On every corner
stood the citizens to see him pass.

As I opened the door to the barn I said to him:--

"Enter! Your days of thirst, of hunger, of cruel exposure to rain and
snow are over. Here is food that shall not fail," and he seemed to
understand.

It might seem absurd if I were to give expression to the relief and
deep pleasure it gave me to put that horse into that familiar stall.
He had been with me more than four thousand miles. He had carried me
through hundreds of icy streams and over snow fields. He had
responded to every word and obeyed every command. He had suffered
from cold and hunger and poison. He had walked logs and wallowed
through quicksands. He had helped me up enormous mountains and I had
guided him down dangerous declivities. His faithful heart had never
failed even in days of direst need, and now he shall live amid plenty
and have no care so long as he lives. It does not pay,--that is
sure,--but after all what does pay?

THE LURE OF THE DESERT

I lie in my blanket, alone, alone!
Hearing the voice of the roaring rain,
And my heart is moved by the wind's low moan
To wander the wastes of the wind-worn plain,
Searching for something--I cannot tell--
The face of a woman, the love of a child--
Or only the rain-wet prairie swell
Or the savage woodland wide and wild.

I must go away--I know not where!
Lured by voices that cry and cry,
Drawn by fingers that clutch my hair,
Called to the mountains bleak and high,
Led to the mesas hot and bare.
O God! How my heart's blood wakes and thrills
To the cry of the wind, the lure of the hills.
I'll follow you, follow you far;
Ye voices of winds, and rain and sky,
To the peaks that shatter the evening star.
Wealth, honor, wife, child--all
I have in the city's keep,
I loose and forget when ye call and call
And the desert winds around me sweep.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE GOLDSEEKERS REACH THE GOLDEN RIVER

The goldseekers are still seeking. I withdrew, but they went on. In
the warmth and security of my study, surrounded by the peace and
comfort of my native Coolly, I thought of them as they went toiling
over the trail, still toward the north. It was easy for me to imagine
their daily life. The Manchester boys and Burton, my partner, left
Glenora with ten horses and