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Good Things
In The House
dont count unless you Include the pantry
Wife knows when husband is tired and
hungry she must reach his heart through
his stomach.
THEBESTOF GROCERIES
is what you get from us. Price is as
as cheap, too, as most others charge for
what's inferior. Buy of us and get
what's good.
HENRY
18th St.
GehHnbns
MB HAMPTON
T PLACER
syMANMti Pa fsn AUTHOR Gfj
.Htmcmw.nL
capnucrfrmaYM.GJKaJMic sea
Continued from lsst week.
ne ota not in the least covet But
bow, miracle of all miracles, just as
the end seemed actually, attained,
seemed beyond any possibility of be
ing turned aside, he began to experi
ence a desire to live he wanted to
save this girl.
His keenly observant eyes, trained
by the exigencies of his trade to take
note of small things, and rendered
eager by this newly awakened ambi
tion, scanned the cliff towering above
them. He perceived the extreme ir
regularity of its front, and numerous
peculiarities of formation which had
escaped him hitherto. Suddenly his
puzzled face brightened to the birth of
an idea. By heavens! it might be
done! Surely it might be done! Inch
by inch he traced the obscure passage
seeking to impress each faint detail
upon his memory that narrow ledge
within easy reach of an upstretched
arm. the sharp outcropping of rock
edges here and there, the deep gash
as though some giant ax had cleaved
the stone, those sturdy cedars growing
straight out over the chasm like the
bowsprits of ships, while all along the
way. irregular and ragged, varied rifts
not entirely unlike the steps of a crazy
staircase.
The very conception of such an ex
ploit caused his flesh to creep. But he
was not of that class of men who fall
back dazed before the face of danger.
Again and again, led by an impulse
he was unable to resist, he studied
that precipitous rock, every nerve
tingling to the newborn hope. God
helping them, even so desperate a
deed might be accomplished, although
it would test the foot and nerve of a
Swiss mountaineer. He glanced again
uneasily toward his companion, and
saw the same motionless figure, the
same somber face turned deliberately
away. Hampton did not smile, but his
square jaw set, and he clinched his
hands. He had no fear that she might
fail him, but for the first time in all
hiii life he miestioned his own cnurara. J
Jmly Bargains ..
Hemck
at
Both Phones
11111
Everybody Gets a Prize
RAGATZ & CO.
V
CHAPTER III.
Between Life and Death.
The remainder of that day, as well
as much of the gloomy night follow
ing, composed a silent, lingering hor
ror. The fierce pangs of hunger no
longer gnawed, but a dull apathy now
held the helpless defenders. One of
the wounded died, a mere lad, sobbing
pitifully for his mother; an infantry
man, peering forth from his covert,
had been shot In the face, and his
scream echoed among the rocks in
multiplied accents of agony; while
Wyman lay tossing and moaning, mer
cifully unconscious. The others rested
in their places, scarcely venturing to
stir a limb, their roving, wolfish eyes
the only visible evidence of remaining
life, every hope vanished, yet each
man clinging to his assigned post of
duty In desperation. There was but
little firing the defenders nursing
their slender stock, the savages bi
ding their" time. When night shut down
the latter became bolder, and taunted
cruelly those destined to become so
soon their hapless victims. Twice the
maddened men fired recklessly at
those dancing devils, and one pitched
forward, emitting a howl of pain that
caused his comrades to cower once
again behind their covers. Oae and
all these frontiersmen recognized the
inevitable before dawn the end must
come. No useless words were spoken;
the men merely clinched their teeth
and waited.
Hampton crept closer in beside the
girl while the shadows deepened, and
ventured to touch her hand. Perhaps
the severe strain of their situation,
the intense loneliness of that Indian
haunted twilight, had somewhat soft
ened her resentment, for she made no
effort now to repulse him.
"Kid," he said at last, "are you game
for a try at getting out of this?"
Shfr appeared to hesitate over her
answer, and he could feel ber tumultu
ous breathing. Some portion of her
aversion had vanished.
s
firm
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"Come. Kid' he ventured tally,
yet with new 'assurance vibrating in.
his low voice; "this is surely a poor
time and place for any indulgence in
tantrums, and you've got more sense.
I'm going to try to climb up the face
of. that cliff jonder. it's the only pos
sible way out from here, and I pro
pose to take you along with me."
She snatched her hand roughly
away, yet remained facing him. "Who
gave you, any right to decide what I
should do?-"'
The man clasped his. fingers tightly
about her slender arm, advancing his
face until he could look squarely .Into
hers. She reatt in the lines of that de
termined countenance -a inflexible re
solve which overmastered her.
"The right given by : Almighty God
to protect any one of your sex in
peril," he replied. "Before dawn those
savage fiends wiU be upon us. We are
utterly helpless. There remains only
one possible path for escape, and I be
lieve I have discovered it. Now, my
girl, you either climb those rocks with
me, or I shall kill you where you are.
It is that, or the Sioux torture. I have
two shots left in this gun, one for
you, the other for myself. The time
LwwiP AfalVBSSCVsSSMSSSSSSSBSSSSSSSBSSslssfSsBSSB
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Never .Once Did the Man Loosen His
Grasping Grip of His Companion.
has come for deciding which of these
alternatives you prefer."
"If I select your bullet rather than
the rocks, what then?"
"You will get it, but in that case you
will die like a fool."
"You have believed me to be one,
all this afternoon."
"Possibly," he admitted; "your words
and actions certainly justified some
such conclusion, but the opportunity
has arrived for causing me to revise
that suspicion."
"I don't care to have you revise it,
Mr. Bob Hampton. If I go, I shall hate
you just the same."
Hampton's teeth clicked like those
of an angry dog. "Hate and be
damned." he exclaimed roughly. "All
I care about now is to drag you out of
here alive."
"Well, If you put It that way," she
said, "I'll go."
"Come on, then," he whispered, his
fingers grasping her sleeve.
She shook off the restraining touch
of his hand as if it were contamination
and sank down upon her knees beside
the inert body. He could barely per
ceive the dim Outlines of her bowed
figure, yet never moved, his breath
perceptibly quickening, while he
watched and waited. Without word or
moan she bent'yet lower and pressed
her lips upon the cold, white face.
The man caught no more than the
faintest echo of a murmured "Good
by, old dad; I wish I could take you
with me." Then she stood stiffly up
right, facing him. "I'm ready now," she
announced calmly. "You can go on
ahead."
They crept among low shrubs and
around the bowlders, carefully guard
ing every slightest movement lest
some rustle of disturbed foliage, or
sound of loosened stone, might draw
the fire of those keen watchers. Every
inch of their progress was attained
through tedious groping, yet the dis
tance to be traversed was short, and
Hampton soon found himself pressing
against the uprising precipice. Againsi
that background of dark cliff they
might venture to stand erect, the faint
glimmer of reflected light barely suffi
cient te reveal to each the shadowy
outline of the other.
"Don't move an inch from this spot,"
he whispered. "It wouldn't be a square
deal, Kid, to leave those poor fellows
to their death without even telling
them there's a chance to get out"
She attempted no reply, as he glided
noiselessly away, but her face, could
he have seen it, was not devoid of ex
pression. This was an act of gener
osity and deliberate courage of the
very kind most apt to appeal to her
nature, and within her secret heart
there was 'rapidly developing a re
spect for this--man, who with such
calm assurance won his own way.
Then, suddenly, that black' curtain was
rent by jagged spurts of .red and yel
low flame. Dazed for .an instant, her
heart throbbing wildly to the sharp
reports of the rifles, she shrank cower
ing back, her fascinated gaze fixed
on those imp-like' figures leaping for
ward from rock to rock. Almost with
the flash and sound Hampton sprang
hastily back and gathered her in his
arms.
"Catch hold, Kid, 'anywhere; only go
up, and quick!"
She retained no longer any mem-'
ory of Hampton; her brain was com
pletely terrorized. Inch by inch, foot
by foot, clinging to a fragment of rock
here, grasping a slippery branch there,
occasionally helped by encountering a
deeper gash in the face of the preci
pice, her movements concealed by the
scattered cedars, she toiled feverishly
up. The first time she became aware ,
that Hampton was closely following
was when her feet slipped along a
naked .root, and she would have
plunged headlong'into unknown depths
had she not come In sudden contact t
with his supporting shoulder. Faint
and dizzy, and trembling like a leaf of
an aspen, she crept forward onto a
somewhat wider ledge of thin rock,
and lay there QverJag-painfully from
head to foot A moment of suspense,
and he. was outstretched. beside her,
resting atfull length along the very
outer edge, his hand closing tightly
over her "own.
"Remain perfectly unlet," he whis
pered, panting heavily. "We can lie
oinna ana jcum, ins aui craaa ut
blows, the shouts of men engaged in
a death grapple, the sharp crackling
of innumerable rifles, the inarticulate
moans of pain, the piercing scream of
sudden torture, were borne upward
to them from oat the blackness. All
at once the hideous uproar ceased with
a final yelping of triumph, seemingly
reechoed the entire lengthy of 'the
chasm, In the midst of which 'one sin
gle voice pleaded pitifully, only to
die away fn a shriek:- The two agon
ized fugitives lay listening, their ears
strained to catch the slightest sound
from below. Hampton's ears could dis-.
cern evidences of movement, and he
heard guttural voices calling at a dis-
tance, but to the vision all was black.'
These uncertain sounds ceased, the
strained ears of the fugitives heard
the crashing of bodies through the
thick shrubbery, and then even this'
noise died 'away in the distance. Yet
neither ventured to stir or speak. It
may be that the girl slept fitfully,
worn out by long, vigil and intense
strain; but the man proved less for
tunate, his eyes staringout continual
ly into the black void, his thoughts
upon other days. His features were
drawn and haggard when the first
gray dawn found ghasUy reflection
along the opposite rock summit, and
with blurred eyes he watched the faint
tinge of returning light steal down
ward into the canyon. At last it
swept aside thase lower clinging mists.
as though some invisible hand had
drawn back the night curtains, and
he peered over the edge of his narrow
resting place, gazing .directly down
upon the scene of massacre. With a
quick gasp of unspeakable horror he
shrank se sharply back as to cause
the suddenly awakened girl to start
and glance into his face".
"What is it?'" she questioned, with
quick catching of breath, reading that
which she could not clearly Interpret
in his shocked expression.
."Nothing of consequence," and he
faintly endeavored to smile. "I sup
pose 1 must have been dreaming also,
and most unpleasantly. No; please do
not look down; it would only cause
'your head to reel, and our upward
climb is not yet completed. Do you
feel strong enough now to make an
other attempt to reach the top?"
"Can we?" she questioned helplessly.
"We can, simply because we must,"
and his white teeth shut together firm
ly. "There is no possibility of retrac
ing our steps downward, but with the
help of this daylight we surely ought
to be able to discover some path lead
ing up."
He rose cautiously to his feet, press
ing her more closely against the face
of the cliff, thus holding her In com
parative safety while preventing her
from glancing back into the dizzy
chasm. The most difficult portion of
their journey was apparently just be
fore them. More than once they tot
tered on the very brink, held to safety
merely by desperate clutcbings at rock
or shrub, yet never once did the man
loosen his guarding grasp of his com
panion. Pressed tightly against the
smooth rock, feeling for every crevice,
every slightest Irregularity of surface,
niakinj use of creeping tendril or
dead branch, daring death along every
inch of the way, these two creepers
at last attained the opening to a little
gulley, and sank down, faint and trem
bling. The gill glanced furtively at
him, the long lashes shadowing the
expression of her lowered eyes. In
spite of deep prejudice she felt im
pelled to like this man; he accom
plished things, and he didn't talk.
It was nothing more serious than a
hard and toilsome climb after that, a
continuous struggle testing every mus
cle, straining every sinew, causing
both to sink down again and again,
panting and exhausted, no longer stim
ulated by imminent peril. The narrow
cleft tbey foUowed led somewhere
away from the exposed front of the
precipice, yet arose steep and jagged
before them. It was bridged finally by
a cedar trunk, which Hampton
wrenched from out its rocky foothold,
and the two crept cautiously forward.
to emerge where the sunlight rested
golden at the summit They sank face
'downward in the short grass, barely
conscious that they had finally won
their desperate passage.
Slowly Hampton succeeded in up
lifting his tired body and his reeling
head, until he could sit partially up
right and gaze unsteadily about The
girl yet remained motionless at his
feet, her thick hair, a mass of red gold
in the sunshine, completely concealing
her face, her slender figure quivering J
to sobs of utter exhaustion. Before
them stretched the barren plain,
brown, desolate, drear, offering in all
its wide expanse no hopeful promise
of rescue. With hand partially shad
ing his aching eyes from the blinding
glare, the man studied its every ex
posed feature, his face hardening
again into lines of stern determina
tion Tho flrl Btirwxl from linr nrtat-
tion, flinging back" her heavy vhair
with one hand, and looking up into his
face with eyes that read at once his
disappointment
"Have have you any water left?"
she asked at last, her lips parched and
burning as if from fever.
He shook the canteen dangling, for
gotten at his side. "There may be a
few drop's," he said, banding it to her,
although scarcely removing his fixed
gaze from off that dreary plain. "We
shall be obliged to make those .trees
yonder; there ought to be water there
in plenty, and possibly we may strike
a trail." ;
There was nothing more said- be
tween them. Like two automatons,
they started off across the parched
grass, the heat waves .rising and fall
ing as they stumbled forward. Neither
realized until then how thoroughly
that hard climb up the rocks, the
strain of continued peril, and the long
abstinence from food had sapped their
strength, yet to remain where they
were meant certain death; all hope
found its center amid those distant
beckoning trees.
No one can explain later how 'such
deeds are ever accomplished; how the
tortured soul controls physical weak
ness, and compels strained sinews to
perform the miracle of action when
all ambition has died. Hampton sure
ly must have both seen and known, for
he kept his direction, yet never, after
wards did he regain any clear memory
of it.- .
CHAPTER -IV, '
On the Naked Plain.
. It was U8 miles, w the crow Use,
between old "Fort 'Bethene and the
rock fori crossing the Bear Water,
every foot, of that dreary, treeless
distance Indian-haunted, the favorite
skulking place and hunting ground of
the restless Sioux. Winter and' sum
mer this wide expanse had to be-suspiciously
petroled by numerous mili
tary scouting parties, anxious to learn
more regarding the uncertain where
abouts of wandering bands and the
purposes of malcontents:
One such company, composed of a
dosen mounted 'infantrymen.: accom-
r periled by three Cree trailers.' rode
slowly1 and wearily across the brown
exposed uplands down Into the longer,
greener grass of the wide valley bot
tom, until they emerged upon a barely
perceptible trail which wound away in
snake-like- twistlngs, toward those
high, barren hills whose blue masses
were darkly silhouetted against the
western sky. -' The animals - moved
steadily forward, reluctant and weary,
their heads drooping dejectedly, their
distended nostrils' red and quivering,
the oily perspiration streaking their
dusted sides. The tired men, half
blinded by the glare, lolled heavily in
their deep cavalry saddles, with en
crusted eyes staring moodily ahead.
Riding alone, and slightly in ad
vance of the main body, his mount a
rangy, broad-chested roan, streaked
with alkali dust, the drooping head
telling plainly of wearied muscles, was
the officer in command. He was a
pleasant-fared, stalwart young fellow, s
with the trim figure of a trained ath
lete, possessing a square chin smooth
ly shaven, his intelligent blue eyes
half concealed beneath his hat brim,
which had been drawn low to shade
them from the glare, one hand press
ing upon his saddle holster as he
leaned over to rest No insigna of
rank served to distinguish him from
those equally dusty fellows plodding
gloomily behind, but a broad stripe of
yellow running down the seams of his
trousers, together with his high boots,
bespoke the,cavalry service, while the
front of his 'battered campaign hat
bore the decorations of two crossed
sabers, with a gilded "7" prominent
between. His attire was completed by
a coarse blue shirt, unbottoned at the
throat, about which had been loosely
knotted a darker colored silk handker
chief, and across the back of the sad
dle, was fastened a uniform jacket, the
single shoulder strap revealed pre
senting the plain yellow of a second
lieutenant
Attaining to the summit of a slight
knoll, whence a somewhat wider'vista
lay outspread, he partially turned his
face toward the men straggling along
in the rear, while his hand swept
across the dreary scene.
"If that line of trees over yonder
indicates the course of the Bear Wa
ter, Carson," he questioned quietly,
"where are we expected to hit the trail
leading down to the ford?"
The sergeant, thus addressed, a lit
tle stocky fellow wearing a closely
clipped gray moustache, spurred his
exhausted horse Into a brief trot, and
drew up short by the officer's side, his
heavy eyes scanning the vague dis
tance, even while his right hand was
uplifted in perfunctory salute.
"There's no trail I know about along
this bank, sir," he replied respectfully,
"but the big cottonwood with the dead
branch foiking out at the top is the
ford guide."
They rode down in moody silence
into the next depression, and began
wearily climbing the long hill opposite,
apparently the last before coming di
rectly down the banks of the stream.
As his barely moving horse topped the
uneven summit, the lieutenant sudden
ly drew in his rein, and uttering an
exclamation of surprise, bent forward,
staring intently down in his 'immedi
ate front For a single Instant he ap
peared to doubt the evidence of hi
own eyes; then he swung hastily from
out the saddle, all weariness forgotten.
"My God!" he cried, sharply, his
eyes suspiciously sweeping the bare
slope. 'There are two bodies lying
here white people!"
They lay all doubled up in the coarse
grass, exactly as they had fallen, the
man resting face downward, the
slender figure of the girl clasped vice
like in his arms, with her tightly
closed eyes upturned toward the glar
ing sun. Never once i questioning but
that he was confronting the closing
scene of a grewsome tragedy, the thor
oughly aroused lieutenant dropped
upon his knees beside them, his eyes
already moist with sympathy, his anx
ious fingers feeling for a possible
heart-beat. A moment of hushed,
breathless suspense followed, and then
he began flinging terse, eager com
mands across his shoulder to" where
bis men were clustered.
Here! Carson, Perry, Ronk, lay
hold quick, and break' this fellow's
clasp," he cried, briefly. "The girl
retains a spark of life yet, but the
man's arms fairly crush her."
With all the rigidity of actual death
those clutching hands held their tena
cious grip, 'but the aroused soldiers
wrenched the interlaced fingers apart
with every tenderness possible in such
emergency, shocked at noting the ex
pression of intense agony stamped
upon the man's face when thus ex
posed to view. The whole terrible
story was engraven there how he
had toiled, agonized, suffered, before
finally yielding to the inevitable and
plunging forward in .unconsciousness,
written as legibly as though by a pen.
Carson, who in bis long service had
witnessed 'much of death and suffer
ing, bent tenderjy above him, seeking
for some faint evidence of lingering
life. The anxious lieutenant, bare
headed under the hot sun-glare, strode
hastily across from beside the uncon-'
scions but breathing girl, and stood
gazing doubtfully down upon them.
"Any life, sergeant?" he demanded,
his voice rendered husky by sympathy.
"He doesn't seem entirely gone, sir,"
and Carson glanced up into the ofl
cer's face, hi own eyes filled with
feeling. "I can distinguish just a wee
bit of breathing, but it's so weak the
pulse hardly stirs."
"What do you make of It?"
"Starving at the bottom, sir. ' The
only thing I see now is to get them
down to water and food."
The young oScer glanced swiftly
about him across, that dreary picture
of sun-burnt desolate prairie stretch
ing in every direction, his eyes pans
ins; slightly as they surveyed the tops
of the distant cotton woods.
"Sling blankets between your horses,'
decisively.. "Mora
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quickly, lads, and we may save oae or
these lives yet," -
As if by some magic discipline the
rude, effective litters were rapidly
made ready, and the two seemingly
lifeless bodies gently lifted from off
-the ground and deposited carefully
within. Down the long, brown slope
they advanced slowly, a soldier grasp
ing the rein and walking at each
horse's head, the supporting blankets,
securely fastened ' about the saddle
pommels, swaying gently to the meas
ured tread of the trained animals. Be
neath the protecting shadows of the
first group of cottonwoods, almost on
the banks of the muddy Bear Water,
the little party let down their sense
less burdens, and began once more
their seemingly hopeless efforts at re
suscitation. A fire was hastily kin
dled from dried and broken branches,
and broth was made, which was forced
through teeth that had to be pried
open. Water was used unsparingly,
the soldiers working with feverish
eagerness, inspired by the constant ad
monitions of their officer, as well as
their own curiosity to learn the facts
hidden behind this tragedy.
It was the dark eyes of thef girl
which opened first, instantly closing
again as the glaring light swept Into
them. Then slowly, and with wonder-
"y.
"Now Miss, Just Take a Sip of This."
saBsswVTti yiiQmJaV'Cj:
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As 70a may know, it is oar
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Owing to the protracted cool
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ment, she gazed np Into those strange,
rough faces surrounding her, pausing
In her first survey to rest her glance
on the sympathetic countenance of the
young lieutenant, who held her half
reclining upon his arm.
"Here." he exclaimed, kindly. Inter
preting her glance as one of fear, "yon
are all right aad perfectly safe now.
with friends to care for yon. Peters,
bring another cop of that broth. Now,
miss, just take a sup or two of this,
and your strength will come back in
a Jiffy. What was the trouble? Staxv-'
Ingr
She did exactly as he hade her.
every movement mechanical, her eyes
fastened upon his face.
"I I reckon that was partly it." she
responded at last, her voice faint and
husky. Then her glance wandered
away, and finally rested upon another
little kneeling group a few yards far
ther down stream. A look of fresh In
telligence swept into her face. .
"Is that him?" she questioned, trem
blingly. "Is Is he dead?"
"He wasn't when we first got here,
but mightly near gone, I'm afraid.
I've been working over yon ever
since."
She shook herself free and sat .week
ly up. her lips tight compressed, her
eyes apparently blind to all save that
motionless body she could barely dis
tinguish. "Let me tell you. that fel
low's a man. Just the same;' the
gamest, nerviest man I ever saw. I
reckon he got hit, too, though he never
said nothing about it That's hm
style."
The deeply interested lieutenant re
moved his watchful eves from oft bis
charge just long enough to glance, in
quiringly across his shoulder.. Has
the man any signs of a wound, ser
geant?" he asked, loudly.
"A mighty ugly slug m the shoulder,
sir; has bled scandalous, but 1 guess
It's the very luck that's goia' to save
him; seems now to be comln' out all
right"
To be continued
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