Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 - October 23, 1939) was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the American frontier, including the novel Riders of the Purple Sage, his bes selling book. This is one of his stories.

Prospecting was a lonely business for Tappan, but his burro Jenet was good company, and more. She knew the trails and waterholes better than Tappan, from the scorching heat and poison air of Death Valley to the blinding blizzards of Arizona's mountains. Jenet tracked with him, faithful, his only friend. And he repaid her loyalty with a final, supreme effort of heart, will, and spirit.

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Prospecting was a lonely business for Tappan, but his burro Jenet was good company, and more. She knew the trails and waterholes better than Tappan, from the scorching heat and poison air of Death Valley to the blinding blizzards of Arizona's mountains. Jenet tracked with him, faithful, his only friend. And he repaid her loyalty with a final, supreme effort of heart, will, and spirit.

TAPPAN had a weakness common to all prospectors: Any tale of a lost gold mine would excitehis interest; and well-known legends of lost mines always obsessed him.Peg-leg Smith's lost gold mine had lured Tappan to no less than half a dozen trips into the terribleshifting-sand country of southern California. There was no water near the region said to hide thismine of fabulous wealth. Many prospectors had left their bones to bleach white in the sun, finally tobe buried by the ever blowing sands. Upon the occasion of Tappan's last escape from this desolateand forbidding desert, he had promised Jenet never to undertake it again. It seemed Tappanpromised the faithful burro a good many things. It had been a habit.When Tappan had a particularly hard experience or perilous adventure, he always took a dislike tothe immediate country where it had befallen him. Jenet had dragged him across Death Valley, through incredible heat and the midnight furnace winds of that strange place; and he had promisedher he would never forget how she had saved his life. Nor would he ever go back to Death Valley!He made his way over the Funeral Mountains, worked down through Nevada, and crossed the RioColorado above Needles, and entered Arizona. He traveled leisurely, but he kept going, and headedsoutheast towards Globe. There he cashed one of his six bags of gold, and indulged in the luxury ofa complete new outfit. Even Jenet appreciated this fact, for the old outfit would scarcely holdtogether.Tappan had the other five bags of gold in his pack; and after hours of hesitation he decided hewould not cash them and entrust the money to a bank. He would take care of them. For him thevalue of this gold amounted to a small fortune. Many plans suggested themselves to Tappan. But inthe end he grew weary of them. What did he want with a ranch, or cattle, or an outfitting store, orany of the businesses he now had the means to buy? Towns soon palled on Tappan. People did notlong please him. Selfish interest and greed seemed paramount everywhere. Besides, if he acquired aplace to take up his time, what would become of Jenet? That question decided him. He packed theburro and once more took to the trails

Grey (1872-1939) was an American author and dentist best known for his popular adventure novels and western stories. In his best-selling book Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) he idealised the American frontier, and many of his novels and stories have been adapted for film and television. In addition to the title story, this collection published in 1923 includes The Great Slave, Yaqui, Tigre, and The Rubber Hunter. With illustrations, reproduced in black and white, by Charles S. Chapman and Frank Street.