The evening world. Newspaper, July 29, 1915, Page 13

SO oe a BobHamp ton of Placer A Western Romance ,By RANDAL (Coperight, 1008, by A. ©. McClurg Company.) SYNOPSIS oF FRBOEDING ci Lg SLES SLB OISELOIOIENIEELES ape Se SER BED sewer,” Me SERA LLL SS of the Big Outdoors L PARRISH} La ETT @ newspaper. He had passed through two eventful weeks of unremitting service, being on duty both night and day, and now, the final despatches forwarded, he felt entitled to enjoy a period of well-earned repose. “Could you inform me where I might find Silent Murphy, a Govern- ment scout?” Ps) voice had the unmistakable for rite. of military authority, and the soldt one are you Chis obetacle CHAPTER Xil. * Mr. Hampton Resolves. R. BOB HAMPTON stood itn a! M the bright sunshine on the steps of the hotel, his appre- Clative gaze wandering up the long, dusty, unoccupied and finally rising to the sweet of soll Liste irl who occupied step ete ie is vnothiny juite equal oe well, little girl,” he eaid ge hand where it ested Do you know I believe I'm per- feotly fit to undertake that little * phd operation een ly mentioned that awful Murphy, isn’t it?” jaida. the one I'm starting after Gret, and one sight at his right hand ‘will decide whether he is to be the i as well.” “I never supposed you would seek revenge, like a savage,” she remarked, ~ Quietly, “You never used to be that way.” “Good Lord, Naida, do you think T'm low down enough to go out hunt ing that poor cuss merely to get even with him for trying to stick me with a@ knife?’ Why, there are twenty others who have done as much, and we have been tho best of friends af- terward. Ob, no, lassie, it means more than that, and harks back many a long year. I told youl sawa mark on his hand I would never for- ut L saw that mark first fifteen Years ago. I'm not taking my life in 4 hands to revenge the killing of win, or in any memory of that Mttle misunderstanding betweeh the Sitizens of Giencaid and myself. 1 oay not, “I have been slashed at and shot at somewhat promiscuously during the last five years, but I never per- mitted such little affairs to interfere . with either business, pleasure or friend@hip. If this fellow Murphy, or whoever the man I am after may prove to be, had contented himself with endeavoring playfuly to carve me, the account would be considered closed. But this is a duty I owe a friend, a dead friend, to run to earth }this murderer, Do you understand jaow? The fellow who did that shoot- ing up at Bethune fifteen years ago had the same sort of a mark on his t hand as this one who killed vin, That's why I'm after him, when I catch up he'll either @queal or die. He won't be very Mkely to look on the matter as a joke,” “But how do you know?" “I never told you the whole story, and I don't mean to now until I back and can make everything fectly clear. It wouldn't do you any good the way things stand now, and would only make you uneasy, But if you do any praying over it, my girl, Pray good and hard that I may dis- cover some means for making that fellow squeal Sho held up her lips and he touchod them softly with his own, Her eyes . “Oh, Bob, TI. hate Cs she sobbed, clinging to him. ‘No one could have been more to me than you have been, OH ou are all T have left in the w verything I care for goes a bs m™m Life is so hard, so hard! ‘Yes, little girl, I know,” and the man stroked her hair tend rly. his owa voice faltering. It's all I Jearned that sad lesson long eh but T've tried to make it a little bit easier for you since we first came together. Brill, 1 don't see how I can possibly help this. T've been hunting af: that fellow a long while now, ar permit him to get sides, if this affair only manages to turn out right, I can promise to make ou the hanpiest girl in America. bu, don’t cling to me 90; it {s not at all like you to break down in this fashion,” and he gently unclasped her hands, holding her away from him, while he continued to gaze hungrtly into her troubled fa ‘It only weakens me at a time when I require all_my strength of will. He watched her slender, white- pened figure as it passed slowly down deserted street. Once only she ‘bsed and waved back to him, and peteed and instant response, although scarcely realizing the act. “Poor little, lonely girl! Perhaps I ought to have told her the whole in- fernal story, but I simply haven't got ee ed er way jt reads now. If I {t straightened out it'll be senafrerent” He went to the telegraph office, There an answer had just been re- ceived to a telegram he had sent that morning, The answer read: “Fort A. Lincoln, June 17, 1876, “Hampton, Glencaid: “Seventh gone west; probably Yellowstone, Brant with them. Murphy, Government scout, at eres wating orde: ITTON, Commandin Murphy to cover re- al hope for retrieving those 4 ark years. Ay, and there was Naida! ‘Her Prat carcely less than his own, hung trembling in the Dalance. He went toward the hotel. Ten min- fates later be was in the saddle, gal- loping down the dusty stage road to- > ward Cheyenne. CHAPTER Xill, The Trail of Silent Murphy. MBHE young infantryman who had been detailed for the fmportant service of tele- nal p00 Fey ae the pote ler operator instinotively dropped his feet to the floor. “Weill, my lad, you are not dumb, The telegrapher’s momentary hi tation vanished; come @ martyr to the strict laws of service secrecy was not sufficiently strong to cause him to take the doubt- ful chances of a lia, “He was here, “The devil knows. Ho rode north carrying despatches for Cust “When ‘Oh, three or four hours ago.” Hampton swore softly but fervently behind his clenched teeth. Where is Custer?” “Don’t know exactly. Supposed to bo with Terry and Gibbons somewhere near the mouth of the Powder, al though he may have left there by th! time, moving down the Yellowston That was the plan mapped out. Mu phy's orders were to intercept his col- ‘umn somewhere between the Rosebud and the Big Horn, and I peste there is about one chance out of a hundred 8 let Lat wet that tar long this bor- and the soldier's eyes sparkled. that old dovil of sony it enjoys such a trip. Ho started off as happy as ever I see hi “How far will he have to ride?” “Oh, "bout three hundred miles as the crow flies, a little west of north, and the better of the distance, they tell me, it's almighty rough country for night work. But then Murphy he knows the way all right.” Hampton turned toward the door, feeling fairly sick from disappoint- ment. The operator stood regarding him curiously, a question on his lips. “Sorry you didn't come along & lit- tle earlier,” he gaid genially. “Do you know Murphy?” “I'm not quite certain, Did you hap- pen to noticé a peculiar black scar on the back of his right band?" “Sure; looks like the half of a pear, He said it was powder under the skin.” A new look of reviving determina- tion swept into Hampton's gloomy eyes—beyond doubt this must be bis man. ‘How many horses did he have?” “Two.” “Did you overhear bim say any- qeing. definite about his plans for the trip?" “What, him? He never talks, that fellow. He can't do nothing but sput- ter if he tries. But I wrote out his orders, and they give him to the 25th to make the Big Horn. That's maybe something like fifty miles a day, and he's most likely to keep his horses fresh just as long as possible, so as to be good for the last spurt through the hostile country. That's how T figure it, and I know something about scouting. You.wasn't planning to strike out after him, was you?” “TY might risk tt if I only thought 1 could overtake him within two days; my business is of some Importance.” “Well, stranger, I should reckon you might do that with a doggone good ovtfit. Murphy's sure to take things pretty easy to-day, and he's almost certain to follow the old min- ing trail as far as the ford over the Belle Fourche, and that's plain enough to travel. Beyond that point the devil only knows where he will go, for then {s when his hard ridin’ begins.” The moment the operator men- tioned that odd scar on Murphy's “hand, every vestige of hesitation van- ished, Beyond any possibility of doubt he was on the right scent this time, Murphy was riding north upon a mis- sion as desperate as ever man was calied upon to perform. The chance of his coming forth alive from th Indian-haunted land was, as the op: erator truthfully said, barely one out of @ hundred, Hampton thought of this. He durst not venture all he was so earnestly striving after—love, repu- tatlon, honor—to the chance of astray Sioux bullet. No! And he remem- bered Naida again, her dark, plead- ing eyes searching his face, To the end, to the death if noed were, he would follow! ‘The memory of his old plains craft would not permit any neglect of the few necessaries for the trip, He bought without haggling over prices, but insisted om the best. So it was 4 in the afternoon when he finally struck into the trail leading north- ward, This proved at first a broad, plainly marked path, across the al- kali plain. He rode a mettiesome, half-broken bronco, a wicked-eyed brute, which required to be conquered twice within the first hour of travel; @ second and more quiet animal ed behind at the end of a lariat, bearing the necessary equipment. Hampton forced the two into a raptd lope, striving to make the most possi- ble out of the narrow margin of day- light remaining. He had, by persistent questioning, acquired ¢ongsiderable information, during that busy hour spent in Chey- enne, regarding the untracked re- gions lying before him, as well as the character and disposition of the man he pursued, Both by instinct and training he was able to comprehend those brief hints that must prove of vast benefit in the pathless wilder- ness. But the time had not yet arrived for him to dwell on such matters, His thoughts were concentrated on Murphy. He knew that the fellow was a stubborn, silent, sullen savage, devoid of physical fear, yet cunning, wary, malignant and treacherous. That was what they said of him back in Cheyenn ‘What, then, would ever induce such a man to open his mouth in confession of a long-hidden crime? To be sure, he might easily kill the fellow, but he would probably die, like a wild beast, without utter- ing a word, There was one chance, a faint hop that behind his gruff, uncouth ex! rior this Murphy possessed a con ecience not all er dead, Over $ic2 me natures, and not infrequently to Debind those Walch seem oulwardly the ta Is Life! # xm. # THEY HANE CHOLERA ALL MY. PIGS ne | DYING WORM Vecerakues HAVE € DESIR coarsest, superstition wields a power » normal mind can scarcely com- y might be splritu- ally as cringing a coward as he was Physically a fearless desperado. Hampton had known before; hoe had seen men laugh scorn- fully before the muzzle of a levelled gun, and yet tremble when pointed at by the finger of accusation. had ‘lived sufilciently frontier to know that men may be- come inured to that special form of danger to which they have grown ac- customed through repetition, and yet fail to front the unknown and mys- Perhaps here might be dis- covered Murphy's weak point. With- the man was guilty of crime; that its memory continued to haunt him was rendered evident by his hiding in Glencaid, and by his desperate attempt to kill Hampton. That knife-thrust must given with the hope of thus stopping it alone was sufficient proof that Murphy's soul was haunted by fear. “Conscience doth make cowards of These familiar words floated in Hampton's memory, seeming to ate tune themselves to the steady gallop ‘They appealed to him as a direct message of guidance, The night was already were gleaming brilliantly overhead, and the trail remained easily trace- became terribly that wilderness stretching away for unknown leagugs in every direction, yet Hampton scarcely noted this, 80 he lest he miss the . To his judgment, Murphy would not be likely to ride during the night until after he had crossed the Fourche. ‘There was no reason to suspect that any hostile Indians south of that stream, and probably there- old scout would endeavor to e his own strength and that for the more perilous Hampton hastened on, hia eyes peering anxiously ahead Into the steadily Increasing gloom. About midnight, the trail becoming * obscure, the rider made camp, confi- dent he must have already gained heavily on the man he pursued, lariated his horses, and flinging him- self down on some soft turf, almost immediately dropped asleep, He was up again before daylight, and, after a hasty meal, pressed on. of the country had changed consider- ably, becoming more broken, the view circumseribed by towering cliffs and Hampton swung for- ward his field glasses, and, from the summit of every eminence, studied the topography of the country lying He must see before being seen, and he believed he could not now be many miles in the rear of into the midst of the willows, and for hour the patient scanned the surface of the stream be- yond, but there was no sign of at- The sun sank lower and finally disappeared behind those t the westward. on's knowledge of plains craft rendered Murphy's actions suff was the Fourche; beyond uy the terrible peril of Indian raiders. Further advance must be made by swift, secret night riding, lance, This pipe bowl, the other grasping the heavy revolver at his hip. like @ startled tiger, with not a mus- cle moving, he peered anxiously into rm half extended, hastily after him, There “Oh! My God! gn! Look there!” guised rustling in “What ia it, man?” prowling ovyote, ‘There! there! The picture! ; I don't see nuthin’. Yeo ain’t tempted passage, the darkness, hii scarcely venturi; came a plain, un 0 breathe, then his tense muscles im- mediately relaxed and ‘he curt self for being so startled, yet Unued to grasp the “45" in his right ture?” “I's perel-—0 Lordi—it's there! n't ye see? —An’ it's his gleamin’ with green black night, Samos: stholy Stary-an’ 1 ain't soon startled him more than would a vol- it—afore in—fifteen year!” He seemed suddenly to collapse, and then as swiftly crouched behind a the stranger permitted him to rd. willow, utterly unable to articulate, limp to the earth. God's name, what human could be =“ out there to call? wworn that there was not another white man within a radius of @ hun- gskeer u| For the instant hia very was what Murphy ha himseif and his horses for, conjecture, he was resting now with- the shadows of Thee single word, hurled thus un- expeciediy out of th those ae He sprang half erect, Hampton believed he would linger thus for some time after dark to see if Indian fires would afford any guid- Confident of this, back to his horses, rubbed them down with grass, and supper, not ventui certain that Murphy's oy: ning every inch of aky-li) He would he investigation; ate his lonely to light a fire, Hampton sat planning a talls of hie night's work. The man’ spirits became depressed by the gloom Evil fancies haunted His mind dwelt upon the upon that wrol wrecked his life, he had left praying for bis safe upon that miserable creature skulking yonder in the black ni Hampton could not remember when he had ever performed such an act before, nor could he have explained why he did go then, yet he prayed— prayed for the far-off Nalida, and for personal guidance in the stern work lying before him. And when he rose to his feet and groped bis way to the horses, there remained no spirit of vengeance in his heart, no hatred, merely a cool resolve to succeed in hie strange quest. So, the two ant- mals tratiing cautiously behind, he pL his slow way on foot down the A} ate the denser blackness Howey, the anew, came to be there, it was assuredly a man who spoke. With a gurgling oath at his own folly, Te one Pe ectaa tas Murphy's anger flared violently forth om into disjointed speech, the deadly gun fTipPed the others rere yet clasped ready for instant action. “Who-—the hell—are ye?" he blurted The visitor laughed, if bis horse. Z ise t and the ailence. sound of the volos. \rat—who ye be.” of his horses, ys travel beyond. ir voice—afore,”” Likely 'nough. the Seventh.” Murphy was atill a trifle suspicious. “How'd ye git yere? ter know-whar I was?” The man laughed ggain. ‘Sorter them stretched a broad plain, the sur- face rocky and uneven, the northern etars obscured by ridges of higher But it was land. Murphy promptly gave his horse the spur, never onoe glancing behind, while the other imitated his animal well in CHAPTER XIiil. The Haunting of a Crime. URPHY rested on his back in the midst of a thicket of willows, wide awake, not quite ready to ford the Fourche and plunge dense shadows shrouding the northern shore, Crouched behind a log, he had so far yielded unto tempta- tion to light his ntpe. Murphy had been amid just euch unpleasant environments many times before, and the experience had grown somewhat prosaic. He realized fully the imminent peril haunting the next 200 miles, but such danger was not wholly unwelcome to his peculiar ‘amont; rather it was an in- centive to him, and, without doubt, he would manage somehow, as he had done a hundred times before. Even Indian scouting emohorates into a commonplace at uffed contentedly tever may have been his thoughts, they did not burst through his taciturnity, and hi clined there motionless, no sound breaking the eilence, save the rippling Fourche, and the occa- sional stamping of his horses as they succulent valley gri Ms left, and forward ene head instantly elosed ade How'd ye come hurts yer perfessional feelins, don't it, old feller, to be dropped in on in this unceremonious way? dead easy, old man. pened thro’ Cheyenne only a couple o' hours behind ye, with a bunch o' example, holding hi Pp the Yellowstone. The check, beng apparently the better trall’s plain enough out this far, and mounted, ‘long at a pretty fair hickory, ‘They rode silently. The unshod hoofs made little noise, but a loosened is! fo into camp yere Just canteen tinkied on Murphy's led rol ‘OW Wus a-keepin’ yer horse, and he halted to fix it, uttering a curse, The way became more brok- deep ravines. ‘6 see, I hap- #o thet I was up on the bluff yonder Late In the afternoon he retned up his horse and gazed forward into a road valley, bounded with precipi- , now acarcely perceptible, led directly down, wind- ing about like some huge enake, across the lower level toward where a considerable stream of water shone silvery in the gun, half concealed be- hind a fringe of willows. doubt thie was the Belle Fourche. close in against those distant willows, some black dots were Hampton glued his anxious eye to the glass. The levelled tubes clearly revealed a man on horseback, leading another horse. were walking. There could be little doubt that this was Silent Murphy. Hampton lariated hie tired horses behind the bluff and returned to the summit, lying flat upon the ground, with the fleld glass at his eyes. eyes skinned across the Fourche, and naturally didn't expect no callers en and rough as they advanced, caus- ing them to exercise greater caution. It's a darn Murphy clung to the hollows, ap- perseny guided by some primitive Now kin tinct to choose the right path, of else able, like a cat, to see the way through the gloom, bis beacon a huge rock to the northward, Silently, hour “I reckon. But I'd—a damn after hour, galloping, trotting, walk- fatmsernes risk it—alone.” ing, according to the under tranger came forward without foot, the two pressed grimly forward, with the unerring skill of the border, into the untracked wilderness, Flying from them hills behind, , an’ here I am, sight pleasanter ter hey company ter my notion, ‘The rest wus to pull through Murphy reluctantly lowered hin Colt, every movement betraying annoy- And yonder, at his ha Pipe. further hesitation. The night was far too dark to reveal features, but to Murphy's strained vision the new- clouds obscured the stars, yet through comer appeared somewhat slender in the rifts they caught fleeting glimpses sufficient to hold them to their course, “Whar'd—ye say ye—wus bound? and the encroaching hilla swept in We kin ride Seoer upon either hand, leaving grering their way between asin The animals dulld and of good height. waters of the “Mouth o' the Powder, night or two.” yeplease, but—T on Mg ROPES. huntin’—no company,—an’ I'm nal } Choy stained attained to the ieaee eaaee ' ‘areas new." By Maurice Ketten POTATO .BuGs HAVE EATEN ¥, Your POTATOES Jos BACK FARMING. 1S NO CINCH Crouching his horses. Then suddenly him- con- gone cracked, hev ye? Who rn if} kin see anythin’, but I'll scout ‘round thar a bi “Don't-don't go @ ‘jl creepy—an’ ghosts an’ go ter saddlin’ nervously, It was he who jowly aplashing throu: water to the northern shore. yet advancin; bank of e conaiderabie . an peary tem ee 019% Nemec atre see RD the water of Lg ies depth to com- crept up the op- posite shore dripping ai “4 miserable, yet with ammunition urp stood swearing ‘dinjointediy, wiping the blood from a wound in f i fi 8 a 4 ii the skin, but sw only H ped with a quick intake of breata lett him pestes The other man h crept Wnat'ts it io it how?" a It was « bright atari member, and ? im, leadin, he Teen gruffly, old scout seared, directly across the other’ his arm shaking desperate! it's his facet know it—fifteen year, man glanced back wa. piteh darkness, but without movin ov that flash I had seen ing the revolver, scar On the back of tt, a @car, It chanced I had o1 previous Ws a $8i% iy; “There's nuthin’ out there, "1 a firefly,” he insisted, in a t “You're plum’ crasy, ig it ye thin! 8 face, I tell ye It's all green and ghastly, with snaky flames playin’ about it! 1 ain't forgot.” He sank down feebly—-sank until ‘on his knees, his head craned The man watching touched ee -up figure sh be- a8 while Slavin and one was not you—gave some manufactured testimony Y As @ result I waa held guilty der in the second degree, the army in disgrace to ten years’ | nee, it was not exactly you been hunting, Murphy—it was e ecar.” Murphy's face waa distorted into a “I notice you bear exactly kind of a scar, ny man and you apake iat had some bese ii thet you? I Mmceent reachin’ fer me, let eS take yer han Ob, Iva just there beyond j them horses—all green, orawii a) ita hi 0 “Brant! Brant—fifteen year' Fifteen years? mean eee Brant, See one Nelan The mocking grin the husky voice hynny flance, for now Murphy's co come oe ae was fronting Drench’ "an ahoot an’ be acaines am not out for reve ing at me down In joncaid basn't #0 much as @ sting behind. bes | completely blotted out, forgotten. haven't tho slightest desire to you, man; but I do want to clear my name of the stain of that Ug. want you to tell oon whole about that nigh’ The old man heaved forward, ie suddenly he toppled over on bi gasping for breath. him and rip heavy flannel shir savagely across in front of his ing horse, tore down the flaring ture and -bastily thru phos it had been drawn being joment on his fea~ His companion d open the ‘hen he strode Yet I've go to do it for the I'd be Pn ft fled in wuuise you,” exclaimed cunning ‘of ntnrod at him stumbled back inaanity ie Wa ‘bout spooks; they don't hang eyes. long at @ time. tor taal ie part) “They'd nab me—likely.” here, possible for them to cause the ease is you do not care vi opinion cy tiers, other mt mufe. ve crime, Murphy, ears, ten of them Walls; and there are ot! suffered with me. that urphy gtas) drew himself Tiowiy ne ne utbin’ now, do yer" Whore's my—horse?” iiently reached him the King ae he did so the peering this way dnd the starting at the slightest eit j quick, nervor i s = fi Did you say, Murphy, as how it after al) who plugged HI He advanced a few strides toward he a2 H rf aE me i gave vent to a smothered cry, so startling as to cause the stranger to spring i it Why, I dunno, Sorter blamed odd, Fi 1 satisfaction of thé law, loast you can do in o1 is to spéak the truth now, part 7m but it wilh lite 4 Darned if it ain't creepy make a feller believe most j l : a8 ting under t) ‘oat Dis heavy brows; he was like for any hole of “Unbuckle your belt, and that over first.” “I'm cursed—if I will, Not—ia Tnjun—country.” “I know it's tough,” retorted exasperating cool muzzle held Fog my) just the same, it’s got to know you far too well to take on your gun. So hooper y a é They moved forward at a walk and fans a higher lev abt wind swept, toner of cold in tts breath as though Semaine. igs oe snow-capped moun- was renewed lite f ta “ae invigorating air, and Mur- phy spurred forward, his reasing ateadily after, ut two flitting shadows amid that vast desolation of plain and motn- ’ hoofs barely audi- What imaginings of evil, what visions of the past, ma; the half-orazed brain of o horseman is unknowable, steadily againat the black night wall, as though unconscious of his actions, across which i ter ease yer mind, an’ see what I kin DP.’ He had hardly taken a half-dozen blood ran cold; he appeared to shrivel steps before Murphy calted after hi up. “Oh, come, Mui I know you're in That terror of st stantly vanished. “This was the fi miliar language of the world, and, epooks. Do ye take these yere turns often? Fer if ye do, I reckon as bow te yoann? Ye dare—fer I'm no good ter are perfectly right. Ri) philosopher in your would be no good to me 4 pny. but you might pore: Me as valuable matmed. Now, this game to the limit, ‘saat ie juat it reached. You Mnlimber unt uu murderer, Tl wpoil both your bende!" , The mocking, sardonic grin sullen obd- stinacy, not doubt of Bg other's pure y Ro It's the "jast eal.” + | With @ enari the scout Dis army belt, droj ground and wullenly you or ed devil, et I—elt Lad va 8 gray-oy in it The other nodded. He bad! drown the gangs of the La ge leave me—it's By: Speak UP, Man; not there now—thot’s queer?” ‘Tho other returned and stood gaz- unknown !n- ing down upon his huddled figure. “You're a fine scout! afeared yet forgetting no trick, no skill of t But the equally silent ind him clung to him like a shadow of doom, watching Ba slight- est motion—a Nemesis oss} Murphy struggled ta his feet and = i nuthin’ like it—afore, But—but thar— en thet face—in fifteen year.” the bushes «,- rusting as he peaked toward ton nesamdee™ + ew esem Mem “It's all right, old t] da! % Boy. Gave yo quite a eeare, izeckom.” «qane jeer, emumted Gledalafully. Murphy could now dimly perceive volunteered, solemnly, “Blame the other advancing through tha in’ it warn't me es see it, an’ I tervening willows, and his Colt shot ‘op!—ye take an- ‘When the first wigns of peared in the cast the two let orses In a natrow canyon and crept to the aummit of a ridge. B \ the broad Valle; wiy the misty 1! grea into gray, eee Ss i Ddecame faintly brown tints deepened beneat advancing light, which ever realed new clefts in the distant hilla Amid those more northern bluffs « oie lal: ral of blue smoke was ndoubtedly it was some distant Indian signal, and th jaineman watched it as if fascinated. rounger man lay quietly re- acrose im, @ drawn revolver in his Then Murphy turned hts head and looked back into the other’s face CHAPTER XIV. The Verge of Confession. URPHY uttered one ing ory of surpriee, his hip, but instr weapon Was thrusting its astounded sane, ont aming along thé pol- bastel 1 pela the fellow motion- “Hands up! Not @ move, Murphy! it h ‘The voice was iow, ‘the old frontiersinan to mechanically, although his face was fairly distorted with “Tout 1 thought I knew the 'voton* “You, I am bere all right, odd piace for us tage all these fear I keer ae fess “a “7 an 0 compan: th ye fer v other—step an’ I’ll—let drive. Ye tell jong. yg erery, reckon’ if ither of mo—fi ‘us calculates on doin’ much ridin’ ter ern, invader paused, but he realiged night we better stop foo Nervous finger pressing the trig. made haste to answer. all right, I tell ye. I'm one o' perry Bos ther away before alip) gun into ite sheath. neither apoke, up. They mi rapid work of % the t '@ newoomer proving somewhat loqua- ‘2 @lous, yet holding his vojoe to a jue re? Jist the same—t've hoard dicious whisper, while Murphy fre- lapsed into his customary eullea I saw service tm eilence, but continued peerin, seal and swore, but hi nelther spoke nor There were several distant northward now, ‘ing signals of bands of savages, while far neath the shadow of the low ag th dots i i eed aa! ay down the bank, the four horses the shallow Se i js, bd that fase or y wearing eld “s viesse Cog Cag A diane, right tet “Here, take a Fogle oars anest nyussle tell i pi) older man nis to meet, tan't it? had the advan- you knew whom you were running away from, while to plod aleng in the But I've caught up just the same, if it has been a long “What do ye—want me fer?" look in the face was cunning, “Hold your hands q ‘That's it. Now, don't play with me. _I honestly di: certain I did want you, I firat started gut i was compelled