(Copyright. A.
i,
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Again at the Cabin.
They were two weary days reach
ing Carson City, traveling along the
open trail yet meeting with no one,
not even a mall coach passing them.
Tflvldently the Indians were so trou
blesome as to interrupt all traffic with
Santa Fe and the more western forts.
The slowness of their progress was
on account of the General, whose con
dition became worse In spite of Falr
balu's assiduous attentions. With no
medicine the doctor could do but little
to relieve the sufferings of the older
man, although he declared that his
Illness was not a serious one, and
would yield quickly to proper medical
treatment. They constructed a rude
travols from limbs of the Cottonwood,
and securely strapped him thereon,
one can leaduur thp horse, while the
doctor tramped behind.
Keith, fretting more and more over
this necessary de'ay, and now ob
sessed with the thought that Hawley
must have rejoined his party on the
Arkansas and gone south with them,
finally broke away from the others
and rode ahead, to gather together the
necessary horses and supplies In ad
vance of their arrival. He could not i
drive from his mind the remembrance j
of the gambler's attempted familiarity
with Hope, when he had her, as he
then supposed, safe in his power once
before in that lonely cabin on the Salt
Fork. Now, angry with baffled ambi
tion, and a victim of her trickery,
there was no guessing to what ex
tremes the desperado might resort.
The possibilities of such a situation
made the slightest delay In rescue an
agony almost unbearable. Reaching
Carson City, and perfectly reckless as
to his own safety there from arrest,
the plainsman lost no time In perfect- j
lug arrangements for pushing Tor- ,
ward. Horses and provisions were pro- '
ired, and he very fortunately dlscov- j
ered in town two cowboys belonging
to the "Iter X" outfit, their work there
accomplished and about ready to re- i
turn to tho ranch on the Canadian, 1
who gladly allied themselves with his
party, looking forward to the possi
bilities of a fight with keen antlclpa- !
lion. Keith was more than ever de- I
lighted with adding these to his outfit,
when, on the final arrival of the oth-
ers, the extra man brought from Sher- j
ldan announced that he had had !
enough, and was going to remain I
there. No efforts made revealed any '
knowledge of Hawley's presence in
Carson City; either he had not been
there, or else his friends were very
carefully concealing the fact. The ut
ter absence of any trace, however, led
Keith to believe that the gambler bad
gone elsewhere probably to Fort
Larned for his new outfit, and this
belief left him more fully convinced
than ever of the fellow's efforts to
conceal his trail.
The party escorting Waite reached
the town in the evening, and In the
following gray dawn the adventurers
forded the river, and mounted on fresh
horses and fully equipped, headed
forth into the sand hills. The little
company now consisted of Keith, Fair
bain, who, in spite of his rotundity
of form had proven himself hard and
IK, Neb, having charge of the single
pack-horse, the scout Brlstoe, and the
two cowboys of the "Bnr X," rough,
wiry fellow, accustomed to expo
mire and peril. It was emphatically a
fighting outfit, and to be trusted In
emergency.
They followed the cattle trail south
toward the Salt Fork, as this course
would afford them a camp at the only
water-hole in all that wide desert ly
ing between. With this certainty of
water, they ventured to press their
animals to swifter pace, although the
sand made traveling heavy, and the
trail Itself was scarcely discernible.
It was a hard, wearisome ride, hour
after hour through iho same dull,
dreary landscape of desolation, the
hot, remorseless sun beating down
upon them, reflecting up Into their
blistered fares from the hot surface of
snnd. There was scarcely a breath of
nlr, and the bodies of mm and horses
were bathed In perspiration. Not a
cloud hung in the blue sky; no wing
of a bird broke the monotony of dis
tance, no living animal crept, across
the blazing surface of tho desert. Oc
casionally a dlstunt mirage attracts
the eye, making the dead reality ever,
.nore horrible by its semblance to wu
ter, yet never tempting them to stray ;
aside. After tho ilrst ml e convert
tlon ceused, the men riding grimly,
silently forward, Intent only on cov
ering all the distance possible. Late
that night they camped at the water
hole, sleeping as best they could,
scourged by the chill wind which
swept over them and lashed grit into
exposed faces. With the first gray of
dawn they swung stiffened forms Into
tho Baddies and rode on, straight as
the crow files, for the Salt Fork. They
attained that slream at sundown, gray
with sand duBt. their faces streaked
from perspiration, feeling as though
the sun rays had burned their brains,
with horses fairly reeling under thf m. j
mm
)OF)Tf3E )
01PEI
TALrOF THE PLAINS
uthopOf'My Lady Or TVic CouthT
Whem wilderness was Kino, EtcCtc
Illustratioms By Dearbrfi Nclviix
MoClurf Co.. 1tlli)
Accor3ihg""t6 Keith's "ca.culailon-this
cattle-ford must be fully ten miles be
low where the cabin sought was situ
ated; two hours' rest, with water and
food, would put both horses and men
again In condition, and the traveling
was easier along the bank of the
Fork. With this In mind, cinches were
loosened, trie animals turned out to
graze, and the men, snatching a hasty
bite, flung themKelves wearily on the
ground.
All but Falrbaln were asleep when
Keith aroused them once more, a little
before nine, unable In hla impatience
to brook longer delay. Within ten min
utes horses were saddled, weapons
looked to carefully, and the little party
began their advance through the dark
ness, moving cautiously over the un
even ground, assisted greatly by the
bright desert stars gleaming down up
on them from the cloudless sky over
head. The distance proved somewhat
less, Itsn bad been anticlDated. and
Keith's watch was not yet at eleven,
when his eyes revealed the fact that
they had reached the near vicinity ol
the-lonely island on whish the cabin
stood. Reining in his horse sharply,
he swung to the ground, the others In
stantly following his example, realiz
ing they had reached the end of the
route. Hands Instinctively loosened
revolvers in readiness for action, the
younger oi the "Bar X" men whistling
softly in an effort to appear uncon
cerned. Keith, with a gesture, gather
ed them more closely about him.
"If Hawley is here himself," he said
quietly, watching their faces In the
starlight, "he will certainly have a
guard set, and there may be one any
how. We can't afford to take chances,
for there will be five men, at least, on
the Island, and possibly several more.
If they are looking for trouble they
will naturally expect It to coma from
the north consequently we'll make
our attack from the opposite direction,
and creep In on them under the shad
ow of the corral. The first thing I
1
r, IK- . r
mm
The Four Crossed the Stream, Wad
ing to Their Waists In the Watsr.
want to do Is to locate Miss Waite so
she will be in no danger of getting
hurt in the melee. You boys hold your
fire until I let loose or give the word.
Now, Doctor, I want you and Neb to
creep up this bank until you are di
rectly opposite the cabin he'll know
the spot and lie there out of sight
until we begin the shooting. Then
both sail in as fast as you can. I'll
take BriBtoo and you two "Bar X" men
along with me, and when we turn
loose with our shooting irons you can
all reckon the fight Is on. Any of you
got questions to ask?"
No one said anything, the silence ac
cented by the desert wind howling
mournfully In the branches of near-by
cottonwood.
"All right then, boys, don't get ex
cited and go off half cocked; be easy
on your trigger fingers. Come along,
you fellows who are traveling with
me."
The four crossed the stream, wading
to their waists In the water, their
horses left bunched on the south bank,
and finally crawled out into a bunch
of mesqulte. As they crept along
through the darkness, whatever doubts
Keith might have previously felt re
garding the presence on the island of
the party sought w ere dissipated by the
unmistakable noise made by numer
ous horses in the corral. Slowly, test
ing each step as they advanced, so no
sound should betray them the four
men reached the shelter of the stock-
ade. The older of the "Bar X" men
lifted himself by his hands, and
peered cautiously over.
"Eight hosFes in thar," he an
nounced soberly; then turned to
Keith. "Say, Jack, what do you figure
this shebang to be, anyhow? You
don't reckon It's old Snnches's outlit.
do yer?"
"Likely as not, Joe, though I never
saw him around here."
Joe filled his cheek with tolacco,
stnrlng about through the darkness.
"Well, if that ol' cuss Is yere now
we'uns is sure In ter a fight," he com
mented positively.
They rounded the cornil fnce on
hands and knees, 'crawled Into a lunch
of bushes somewhat to the rear bi the
silent, desolate appearing cabin, ann
lay down flat behind a pile of smithes,
from which position they could p.ntn
ly discern the rear door. There whs
no movement, no evidence anywhere .
that a living soul was about the place. I
Keith could barely distinguish that it j
ws Brlstoe lying next to him. j
Had their camp over there In the .
cot ner of the corral w hen I w as here
before," he said In a whisper. "Where
do you suppose they can be now?"
The wary scout lifted his head,
sniffing Into the darkness like a point
er dog.
"West ' ther cabin thar, out o' ther
wind, most likely. I smell tobacco."
Even as the words left his Hps a
man came sauntering slowly around
the eastern corner, his outlines barely
visible, but the red glow of a pipe
bowl showing plainly. He stopped, di
rectly facing them, yawning sleepily,
and then turned the other corner.
Another moment and they distinctly
heard a voice:
."Hustle up thar now, Manuel, an'
turn out; it's your watch; wake up,
dam yer maybe that'll bring yet tel
life."
The remedy applied to the sleeper
must have been efficacious, as, an in
stant later, another figure slouched
into view, the new arrival rubbing
his eyes with one hand, the other
clutching a short-barrelled gun. From
the high peak of his hat it was evi
dent this new guard was a Mexican.
He walked to the corner, glanced
along the east side wall toward the
front of the cabin, and then, apparent
"'iified the coast was clear, start"
ed toward tne stream, shuffling along
within a foot of where Keith lay flat
on the ground. A moment later the men
heard him splashing softly in the wa
ter, and Keith rolled over, his lips
at Bristoe's ear.
"Slip down there, Ben," he whis
pered, "and quiet that fellow. I'll find
out how many are on the west side.
Do the job without any noise."
He waited until the scout had dis
appeared like a snake, not even a
rustling leaf telling of his passage,
and then silently crept forward him
self, yet with less caution, until he
was able to peer about the corner of
the cabin and dimly distinguish the
blanketed forms of several men lying
close In against the side wall. They
rested so nearly together It was dilll
cult to Eeparate them In that dark
ness, stars giving the only light, hut
he finally determined their number at
five. Five; the Mexican would make
six, and there would surely be another
guard posted out In the front seven.
But there were el;ht horses down
there In the corral. Then the eighth
man Hawley, without doubt must
be in the cabin. At the thought
Keith's teeth clinched, and he had tc
struggle to control his passion. But
no; that would never do; he must dis
cover first exactly where the girl was
located; after that they would attend
to the curs. Before creeping back to
the others, he made quick examine
tlon along the rear of the cabin, but
could find no visible point of weak
ness. Ho tried to recall from memory
the nature of the lock on that bark
door, but could remember nothing ex
'cept nn ordinary wooden latch. If
he could Insert a knife Into the crack
that might very easily be dislodged
He drew his hunting knife for the at
tempt, and, first glancing about, per
ceived a man creeping toward him. II
proved to be Brlstoe.
"Fixed the greaser all right, cap,
and I reckon he'll be quiet for an hour
or two. Look whar he slashed me;
struck a pack o' playln' keerds, er I'd
a got "my ticket." The front of hii
blouse was cut wide open, and Keltb
thought he perceived a stain of blood
"Pricked you as it was, didn't he?"
"Opened the Bkln. Thought the cusi
had given up, an' got careless. What'i
'round to the went?"
Keith's lips closed, his hand shut
ting hard on the knife.
. "Five, and another out in front;
that leaves the eighth man Inside
Bring our fellows up closer, and post
them where they can cover those fcl
Iowa asleep, while I mnke an effort at
breaking In here."
Brlstoe crawled back like a snail,
and confident the others would do their
part, Keith thrust his knife blade deep
Into the narrow crack and began prob
ing after the latch. In spite of all cau
tion this effort caused a slight noise
and suddenly he started back at th
sound of a woman's voice:
"What do you want? I am armed,
and will fire through the door if you
do not go away!"
His heart leaping with exultation,
Keith put his lips close to the crack.
"Hope," he exclaimed as loudly sj
he dared. "This Is Keith; open th
door."
He could bear a little smothered cry
break from her lips, and then th
sound of a bar being hastily removed.
An' Instant, and the door opened si
lently, Juat wide enough to permit her
slender figure to slip through. Hli
grasped him with her hands, turning
his far to the light of the stars, and
he could feel her form tremble.
"Oi L knew you .would come! I
knew you would cornel" she sobbed,
the words barely audible.
The man's llpa set firmly, yet ha
held her closn to him, begging her
not to break down now.
"It's all right, little girl," be said
pleadingly, "we're got you safe, but
there Is a fight to be attended to.
Come with me; I must ask you a ques
tion or two."
He drew her back Into the fringe of
bushes, placing her safely behind tin
stack of sadd'es. She was not crying
any more, Just c lnglng to b!m, ai
though Fhe could never again bear to
let him go.
"Oh, Jack, it is so good Just to tr
you near again."
"Yes, dear," soothingly, "ad it U
good to hear you ray Jack, but tell I
TVS a An a thlnn l.i niiit An a a1ia 4t th I
uju una i it 10 an j uiiu noo u iu
cabin? Is Hawley here?"
"No, no! He left us early the first
morning. I haven't either seen or
heard of him since. The men have
left me alone since we got here; have
had the cabin all to myself until to
night. I have not suffered, only
mentally from dread of what they
intended doing with me until to
night. Three men rodo in here Just
before sundown two Mexicans and an
Indian. One of them was an awful
looking old mnn, with a scar on his
cheek, and a face that made me shud
der. He didn't see ma, but I saw blm
through the window, and he had such
strange eyes. All the men acted as
though they were afraid of him, and
I heard him say he didn't care what
Hawley's orders were, he was going to
leep Inside; if the girl didn't like it
he could take the other room. 1
didn't know what to do oh, I was so
afraid of him; but what he said gave
me an idea, and I went Into the back
room, and put up a bar across the
door. When he came In he tried the
door; then he spoke through it, but 1
never answered; and finally he lay
down and went to sleep. I sat there
In the dark bo long, and when I heard
you I I thought it must be some ol
the others."
He stroked her hair, whlsperlug
words of encouragement.
"That Is all done with now, Hope,
and we'll have those fellows at our
mercy In another half-hour. But I
must go now to the boys; He here be
hind these saddles, and don't move
until 1 r.nme tor you. I can trust you
to remain right here?"
"Yes." Ho was bending over, and
her eyes were upon his face. Sudden
ly, obeying an irresistible Impulse, he
clasped her to him, and their lips met
"Sweetheart," he whispered softly.
He could not hear her answer, but
hr ariua wera about his neck.
(To Me (iOiil imii'il.)
E
I
C. E. Martin Experiences Sad
Sight on Return Trip From a
Sad Mi3slon in Ohio.
Charles Martin, t lit liailir, n
liininl from Minp, Ohio, last
cvi'iiiiiK, iiinl repoiis Ihi- Icm
IM'i'aliirc Id lielow zero last Sun
day and three feel of snow. His
falluT was hiirieil Sunday in a
ldimliii! blizzard; when t lit casket
was lowered into the pxave it
could not e seen for Ihe wliiii
itiH' snow ami Ihe storm was one
of I lie worst Mr. Martin has
been in.
On his return trip to Plalls
inoiilh, after Iravinir Chicauo, he
witnessed a si'uht which be does
not care lo see afrain. A well
dressed Swede, whose name he
learned afterward was Johnson,
sal opposite him in tin coach, and
appeared to be nervous and ill at,
eti.se. Mr. Martin and others in
quired if lie was sick, when the
man staled that be wns sick nt.
heart. In a short time, while on
his knees with head bowed, ns in
prayer, Ihe man suicided by stick
ing n dapper in his juplar vein. It,
was learned that Johnson was on
his way from the east to Ne
braska. A physician was sum
moned at the first station after
the incident, but I lie. wound was
fatal.
For Sale.
Thoroughbred Uarred Plymouth
Rock Cockerels. Prices reason
able. 'Phone No. 1-1. C. h. Wiles.
ll-29-4tw.
Subscribe for the Dally journal.
Lights the
us
SU C D
"- ,"S r r i
r if M &
JOHN
PLUMBING!
. f. .. . - - - .
jUs -T--i4g For Infants and Children.
m&Bm
'r.CCjr: Vl 'l
:toa, ii ' ------.- .
ALCOHOL 3 PER CENT.
AVcgelaUePrrparaflonfxAs
similaiinJihcFoofJaiilicMuia
linUieSioraadisaiulJof
Promotes Digestionflvtrtfur
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OpiimuMurplunc norJliucraL
NOT NARCOTIC.
Inyi 'a Stcd"
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Apci-farl Remedy forCmislipn
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FacSlr.i'lc Signature of
NEW YORK.
Red Men Elect Officers.
From Saturday's lally.
At the last regular meeting of
Ihe lied Men the following olllccrs
were elected for the coming year,
to be installed tho Ilrst meeting
night in January: I'd Kruger,
sachem; L. (i. Larson, senior
sagamore; 11. I). Dalton, junior
sagamore; Kmil Wallers, keeper
of records; Thomas Walling,
keeper of wampum; John Cory,
prophet; J. C. York, trustee for
eighteen months. The member
who will gel live new members be
tween this and December 21 will
receive a gold pin from the order
in recognition of his services. On
December 21 there will be one
heap big dogfest.
"'l M
Exact Copy of Wrapper. ri)t 0,HTAUB 0o-MNy Htw TC eiTt
December Travel Bulletin
TO THE PACIFIC COAST. Inquire about tho personally conducted through
tourist excursions to Lob Angeles, via Denver-Santa Fe Route a route ot
sunrhino and mild climate. From Omaha and Lincoln every Tuesday night;
fiom Denver Wednesdays.
WINTER TOURIRT TICKETS. The attractive southland is claiming its own
in Winter t unst patronnge. Frum the Missouri Valley the Winter excur
sion fares to southern resorts are extremely favorable and .nvslva but
modest outlay for a tour of the south.
HOMESEEKERS' EXCURSION TICKETS on the first and third Tuesdays ol
each month to the Big Horn Baun, the Northwast, West and the South.
AMERICAN LIVE STOCK MEETING, Denver, December 12th and 13th, 1911..
NATIONAL SHELP SHOW AND WOOL GROWERS' CONVENTION, Oma-
rrha, December 14ih
L. W. WAKELY,
Moment You
(Sy,'J,iit?,4V'mi"'
mm
mm
THE Pilot Acctclyne Gas Machine is entirely aut
matic in operation and requires no attention what
ever. Every lijjht is started with an electric spark,
which does away with the use of matches, and also
makes it impossible to open a gas jet without the gas being
ignited at the tip.
This machine makes gas just as it is needed and posi
tively no more. This item alone is a great saving over other
machines that have a different style of mixing, which leaves
a quantity of gas in the resivoir, which loses its burning qual
ities the longer it stands.
Gas from this machine can be run to any of our out
buildings. This is absolutely the only machine that is giving
perfect satisfaction at all times and under all conditions with
out any extra expense after installation. This machine can
be seen any time ut our store.
HEATING!
The Kind You Have
Always Bought
Bears tho
Signature
of
i Pnr fluor
I Ul W V U I
riirty Years
Came Near Losing an Eye.
II. J. Meisinger of near Murray
met wild an accident whilo ns
sisting his brother, John Meising
er, butcher, last Thursday, which
might have cost him Ihe sight of
his right eye. While attempting
to hang up a hog which had been
killed Ihe man who was assisting
II. J. at the time allowed the gam
mon slick In gel away from hirri
ami the sharp end rebounded,
striking Mr. Meisinger an inch
below his right eye. The blow
left an ugly wound under tho or
gan that it barely missed.
Highest price paid for
all kinds of poultry.
Hatt Produce Co,
to lGth, 1911.
R. W. CLEMENT, Ticket Agent
General Passenger Agent, Omaha, Neb.
Uant Them
HARDWARE!
v.r
r i
Use
