The Golden Woman

Cæsar suddenly seemed to sway drunkenly. He shook his head in the manner of a horse irritated, and alarm set his ears flat back in his head, and he stretched his neck, and, of his own accord, increased his pace. Buck saw nothing to cause this sudden disturbance other than that which had been with them all the time, and yet his horse's alarm was very evident.

A moment later occurred something still more unusual. Cæsar stumbled. He did not fall. It was a mere false step, and, as he recovered, Buck felt the poor beast trembling under him. Was it the end of his endurance? No. The horse was traveling even faster than before, and he found it necessary to check the faithful creature, an attention that quickly aroused its opposition.

Buck's puzzled eyes lifted from his horse to the rapidly nearing fire. It must be that Cæsar must have realized its proximity, and, in his effort to outstrip it, had brought about his own floundering. So he no longer checked the willing creature, and the race went on at the very limit of the horse's pace. Then, in a moment, again came that absurd reeling and uncertainty. And Buck's added puzzlement found expression in words, while his eyes watched closely for some definite cause.

"Ther's suthin' amiss with Cæsar," he said, with an unconcern of manner which his words belied.

"What do you mean?" Joan's eyes lifted to his in sudden alarm. Then she added, "I seemed to notice something."

"Seems like he's--drunk." Buck laughed.

"Perhaps--the earth's shaking. I shouldn't wonder, with this--this storm."

"Shaking?"

Buck echoed her word, but his mind had suddenly seized upon it with a different thought from hers. If the earth were shaking, it would not be with the storm above. His eyes peered ahead. Devil's Hill lay less than a mile away, and that was where he reckoned the fire would strike the trail. Devil's Hill. A sudden uncomfortable repulsion at the thought of its barren dome took hold of him. For some subtle reason it no longer became the haven to be yearned for that it had been. Rather was it a resting-place to be sought only in extremity--if the earth were shaking.

His attention now became divided between the fire and Cæsar. The horse was evidently laboring. He was moving without his accustomed freedom of gait, and yet he did not seem to be tiring.

Half the distance to the foot of the hill had been covered. The fire was nearing rapidly, so near indeed was it that the air was alive with a perfect hail of glowing sparks, swept ahead of it by the terrific wind. The scorching air was becoming unendurable, and the mental strain made the trail seem endless, and their efforts almost hopeless. Buck looked down at the girl's patient face.