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Show I IkeithI OF THE BORDER A TALE OF THE PLAINS By RANDALL 1'ARRISII Author of "MY LADY OF THESOjrH.M "WHEN WU-DERNEfS WAS KING," etc. ' ' I mutnBoM by DHARBORN MILVILL. (Oop7rlht, A. C. McClnrg A Co , 1(10 ) CHAPTER XII. Through the Night Shaaow. Keith hail very little to guide htm, H he could not determine whether H this mysterious cabin on the Salt Fork tor to east or west of the usual ctttle trait leading down to the Canadian. 9 Ytt he felt reasonably anured that S the general trend of the country lying fl between the umaller stream and the nlle of the Arkanv&H would be ntml-9 ntml-9 lar to that with which he was already jfl acquainted. It wag merel) a wild 9 stretch of sandy desolation, across 9 which their horses would leave scarce-9 scarce-9 ly any trail, and een that little would 9 be quickly obliterated by the flrtpuff 9 of wind. As they drew In tow aril the 9 river valley this plain would change 9 Into sand dunes, baffling and confua-9 confua-9 Ing-, but no matter how hard they 9 pressed forward, It must be daylight 9 long before they could hope to reach 9 these, and this would give him oppor-9 oppor-9 tunlty to spy out some familiar land 9 mark which would guide them to the 9 ford. Meanwhile, he must head as ill-9 ill-9 rectly north as possible, trusting the 9j horses to find footing. HJ It was plains Instinct, or rather 9J long tratnfng in the open, which en- HJ abled Mm to retain any true sense of Hj direction, for beyond the narrow 9j fringe of cottonwoods along the i 9J stream, nothing was visible, the eyea 9J acarctfly able even to dlitlngutab H where earth and sky met. They ad- 9 danced across a bare level, without 9J elevation or depression, yet the sand 9 . appeared sufficient!) solid, so that 9 their horses were forced Into a swing- 9j ing lope, and they seemed to fairly Hj press aside the black curtain, which I ' C ' 9 v t HJ The Easy Manner In Which She Rode HJ Relieved Him of Anxiety. HJ jib Instantly swung shut once more, 9J nd closed them In. The pounding hoofs madei little iioIbc, and thy HJ pressed steadily onward, closely jHJ bunched together, so as not to lottc HJ each other, dim, spectral shadows flU- HJ ting through the night, a very part of HJ that grim desolation surrounding 9 them. No one of the three felt like Hh speaking; the gloomy, brooding dea- HJ trt oppressed them, their v iterant HJ thoughts aHsumlng the tinge of their HJ surrundlngs; their hope centered on 9H escape. Keith rode, grasping the rein HJ of the woman's horse In his left hand, 9J and bending low In vain effort at pick- 9b Ing a path. He had nothing to aim HJ toward, yet sturdy confidence In his HJ expert plalnscraft yielded hi in suffl HJ clent sense of direction. Ho had noted Hi the bark of the cottonwoods, the dlrec- HJ tlon of the wind, and steered a course HJ according straight northward, alert HJ to avert any variation. HJ The girl rode easily, although In a HJ mun's saddle, the stirrups much too HJ long. Keith glanced aside with swift approval at tho erectness with which J she sat, the loosened rein In her hand, J the Blight Hwu)lng of her form He HJ could appreciate horsemanship, and J tho easy manner In which she rodo HJ relieved him of one, anxiety It even HJ caused him to break the silence. HJ "You aro evidently acciiHtomed to HJ ddlng, Ming Hope." HJ Rl'e glanced ntrosa at him through 99 the darkness, as though suddenly mir- ITJ Prised from thought, her words not mH coming quickly. , ygK ' cannot remember when I (list mounted n horso; in earliest child- J '"od surely, nlthough I have not rid HJ ,,0'i much of lute. This one Is llko n HJ rocking chair," HJ Uo belonged to jour friend, Mr J Hawiej " HJ &lio drew a quick breath, her fnce ngnln turne,d forwurd. J Who-who Is that mail? Do )ou HJ know'" HJ ' ' lonnesn a pacing uc(uantunco," HJ no answered, uncertain yet how mud HJ ,0 tell her, but tempted to reveal all HJ " tPst of her real chhracter. "Few do HJ lot who lho nlong tlio Kiuihur bor- HJ der" 9J "Do )ou n,,ii ha Is n notoriously HJ tind churnrtHr'" 9V "I limit nevei heard ol his being in-iw up m a nonY"i to ir.e young, y,n Miss Hope," he returned more- soberly, convinced that she trul) ponKesKed no real knowledge regarding the man and was not merel) pretending limo ceiice. "I had never heard him railed Hawle) before, and, then-fore, fallid I to recognize him under that respect able name. Hut I knew his voice the moment he entered the cabin, and renl lied that some devilment was afoot Every town along this frontier has tils record, and I've met him ma) be a dozen times In the past three yearn .He Is known as 'Mack Dart;' Is a ambler b) profession, a desperado by reputation, and a cur b) nature JufI now I suspect htm of being even deep r In the mire than this." He could tell b) the quirk clasping f her hands on the pommel of the addle the effect of his words, but waited until the silence compelled her to speak. "Ob, I didn't know I You do not be lleve that 1 ever suspected such a thing That I ever met him there understanding who he was?" "No, I do not," he answered "What I overhewd between you convinced me )ou were the victim of deceit. But jour going to that place alone was a most reckless act ' She lifted her hand to her eyes, her head droosJug forward '"Wasn't It whHt he told me the nut station of a ranch' ' "No; I have rlddtn this countr) for years, and there Is no ranch pasturing cattle along the Salt Fork. Miss Hope, I want ou to corny ehend what It Is you have escaped from, what )ou are now fleeing from Within the last two years an apparently organized body of outlaws have been operating throughout this entire region Often times disguised as Indians, the) have terrorized the Santa Ke trail for two hundred miles, killing travelers In small parties, and driving off stock. There are few ranches as far west as this, but these have all suffered from raids. These fellows have done more to precipitate the present Indian war than an) act of the savages They have endeavored to make the authorities authori-ties believe that Indians were guilty of their deeds of murder and robbery. Both troops and volunteers have tried to hold the gang up, but the) scatter and disappear, as though swallowed b) the desert. I have been out twice, hard on their trail, only to come back baffled. Now, I think accident has given me the clue." She straightened up, glancing ques tionlngl) at him through the darkness. dark-ness. "This Is what I mean, Miss Hope. 1 1 suspect that cabin to be the rendezvous ren-dezvous of those fellows, and I half believe Hawley to be their leader." "Then )ou will report all this to the authorities?" I He smiled grlml), his lips coin-I coin-I pressed 1 'I hardly think so, at least, not for the present. I am not blood thirsty, or enamored of man hunting, but I happen to have a personal Interest In this particular affair which I should prefer to settle alone " He paused, swiftly reviewing the circumstances 'of their slioit acquaintance, and as suddenly determined to trust her dls cretlou Deep down In his henrl he rather wanted her to know "The fuel of the matter Is, that Neb and I here were the ones that particular posse wero trailing " : 'You!" her voice faltered "He I said those men were under arreHt . for murder, and had broken Jail " I "Ho also said It was easy to ton vlct men In this countr) If )ou onl) knew how. It Is true we broke Jail, but only In order to save our lives, It was the onl) wa). Technical!), we are outlaws, and now run the risk of Immediate rearrest by returning north of the Arkansas. We came to you fugitives; I was charged with murder, the negro with assault. So, you see, Miss Hope, the desperate class of men you are now associating with." The Blight bitterness In his tone stung the girl Into resentment. She was looking straight at him, but In i the gloom he could not discern the expression of her eyes i don't believe It," she exclaimed decisively, "you you do not look like that!" "My appearauco may be sufficient to convince you," he returned, rather dryly, dry-ly, "but would weigh little before a Western court. Unfortunately, the evidence was strong against me; or would have been had the case ever come to a trial. The strange thing about It was that both warrants were sworn out by the same complainant, and npparentlyfor a similar punose Black Barf Hawley" "What pin pone'" "To Keep us from telling what we knew regarding a certain crime, In whlph eith'r .he, or Home of his Jntl mate Irlends, wero Ueeviy interested "But It would nil come out at t lit trial, wouldn't It?" "Theie was to be no trial .bulge l.)nch littles the mnjorlt) of such cases out here at present It Is extreme)) ex-treme)) simple. Listen, and I will tell )ou the stor)." I It- reviewed briefly those occurrences occur-rences leading directly up to his ar j est saving little regarding the hor rnrs of that sceno witnessed near the Clmmaron Crossing, but making suffl clentl) clear his er) slight ronuec tlon with It, and the reason those who were guilty of the crime were so anxious anx-ious to get him out of the way She listened tntentl), asking few questions, ques-tions, until he ended. Then the) both looked up, (onsclous that dawn was becoming gray In the east Keith's first thought was one of relief the bright sky showed him the) were riding rid-ing straight north CHAPTER XIII. The Ford of the Arkansas. They were still in the midst of the yenuw irwiurrirsG iiniu, nut uir fM) horses had slowed down to a walk, I the heavy sand retarding progress It was a gloom), depressing scene In the spectral gra) light, a wide circle of Intense loneliness, unbroken by elfuer dwarfed shrub or butich of grass, a barren expanse stretching to the sky Vague cloud shadows seemed to lilt across the level surface, assuming fantastic fan-tastic shapes, but all of the same dull coloring, Imperfect and unfinished. Nothing seemed tangible or ttn, but rather some grotesque picture of delirium, de-lirium, ever merging Into another yet more hideous. The very silence of those Hiirrouudlng wastes seemed bur densome, lidding immeasurably to the horror They were but specks crawling crawl-ing underneath the sky the only living, liv-ing, moving objects In all that I in menae circle of desolation and death. Keith turned In his saddle, looking back past Neb who swayed In his sett, with hand lolling on his breast as though asleep, his horse plodding artec ins oinsrs aiong cne sngni ir&ii . cney had made across the deaeft. So far as eye could reach nothing moved, 1 nothing apparently existed. Fronting ' again to the north he looked upon the Jaine grim barrenness, only that far off, against the lighter background of dlstaut sky, there was visible a faint blur, a bluish haze, which he believed to be the distant sand dunes bordering border-ing the Arkansas. The Intense dreariness dreari-ness of It all left a feeling of depression. Ills eyes turned and regarded the girl riding silently bese him The same look of depression was visible uimjii her face, and she was ga.lng off Into the dull distance with lack-luster e)eH, her slender form leaning forward, her hands clasped across the pommel. The long weariness of the night had left traces on her young face, robbing It of some of Its freshness, yet Keith found It more attractive In the growing grow-ing daylight than amid the lamp shad ows of the evening before He had not previously realized the peculiar clearness of her complexion, tho rose tint showing through the olive skin, or the soft and sllkv fineness of her hair, which, dlttananged, was strangely strange-ly becoming under the broad bilm of the hat she wore, diawu low until It shadowed her eyes It was not a face to be easily associated with frontier concert balls, or any surrender to evil; the chlu louiid and firm, the lips full, yet sufficiently compiessed, the whole expression that of pure .end dignified womanhood She puzzled him, and he scarcely knew what to believe, or exuetly how to act toward her "Our friends back yonder should be turning out from the corral by now," he said finally, anxious to bieak the silence, for she had not spoken since he ended his tale "It will not b long until they discover Hawley's predicament, and perhaps the welkin already rings with profanity. That may even account for the blue haze out yonder She turned her eyes toward him, and the slightest trace of a smile ap penred from out of the depths of their weariness. "If they would only remain satisfied with that. Will the) follow us, do you think? And are we far enough away by this time to be safe?" "It la hardly likely they will let us escape without a chase," he answered slowly "We possess too much Information Infor-mation now that we have their rendezvous ren-dezvous located, and 'Black Bart' will have a private grudge to revenge. I wonder If he suspects who attacked Mm! But don't worry, Miss Hope, we have miles the start, and the wind has been strong enough to cover our trail Do you nee that dark Irregularity Irregular-ity ahead?" "Yes; Is It a cloud?" "No; tho Arkansas sand dunes I am going to try to keep the hoi-rcs moving until we arrive there, mm we will halt and eat whatever Nou has packed behind him, and rest for an hour or two You look vory tired, but I hope you can keep up for that distance We sliull bo safely out of sight then " "Indeed, I am tired, the strain of watting alone In that cabin, and all that happened last night, have tried me Boverely But but I can go through " Her voice proved her weakness, although al-though it was determined enough, and Keith, yielding to sudden Impulse, put out bis hand, and permitted It to rest upon hers, clasped acrosB the pommel. Her eyoH drooped, but thero was no change, of poBturo "Your nervo is till right," he said, admiringly, "ou haje shown yourself a brave girl " "I could not ho a coward, and be my father's daughter," she replied, with an odd accent of pride In her chok,!"- voice, "but I have been afraid, ami aim i mn mih "Of what' Surely, not that those fellows will ever catch up with us?" "No, I hnrdlv know what, only there Is u dread I cannot seem to shake off, ns It some evil Impended, tho coming of which I can feel, but not see. Have you ever experienced nny such premonition"'' pre-monition"'' He laughed withdrawing his hand. "1 think not I am far too piusalo n mortal to allow dreams to worry me. So far I hate discovered sufficient trouble In real life to keep my brain active. Kven now I cannot forget how hungry I am " 1 She did not answer, comprehending how useless It would be to explain, and a little ashamed of her own 111 deflrtd fears and thus they rode on In silence. He did not notice thai she ! glanced aside at him shyly, mnrklng 'the outline of his clear cut features. It was a manlv face, strong, alive, full (Of character the well shaped head i firmly poised the broad shoulders 'squared In spite of the long night of weary exertion The depths of her eyes brightened with appreciation. i 'I tclleve vour stor) Mr Keith," , she said nt lsst softl) I "M) story ' questlonli'gly, and turn ilng Instantlv toward her. "Yes all that you have told me about what happened" 'Oh; I hud almost forgotten having told It. but I never felt nny doubt but I what you would believe. I don't think I could lie to vou " It was no compliment, but spoken .wfth such evident honesty that her eyes mot his with frankness. 'There could be no necessity; only 1 wanted you to know that I trus't you. and am grateful " She extended her hand this time, and he took It within his own, holding It firmly, vet without knowing what to answer There was strong Impulse within him to question her, to learn thn and there her own life stor). Vet, somehow, the retlcencC of the girl restrained him, he could not deliberately deliber-ately probe beneath the veil she kept lowered between them. Until she chose to lift It herself voluntarily, hn ........... J .... ll.t I.. IiiIpiiJa Ttia VIIVBDVII IH. .(..Ill II ' gentlemanly Instincts of younger years held him silent, realizing clearly clear-ly that whatever secret might doml nate her life. It was hers to conceal Just so long as she pleased Out of this swift struggle of repression he managed to Bay: "I appreciate your confidence, and mean to prove worthy Perhaps some day I can bring you the proofs." "I need none other than your own word." "Oh, but possibly you are too easily convinced, you believed In Hawley " She looked at him searchlngly. her eyes glowing, her cheeks flushed "Yes," she said slowly.convluclng ly. "I know 1 did; I I was so aux lous to be helped, hut but this Is dlf ferent. It was noon, the sun pltlKss and hot above them, befors they straggled within the partial hhelter of the sand dunes, and sank wearily doVn to their me.iger lunch Their supply of water was limited, and the cxhauiited ponies must wait until thoy reachc-i the river to quench their thirst Yiit this was very far off now, and Keith bad seen enough of their surrounding, to locate the position of the ford Slow as they must proceed, three hours more would surely bring them to tho bank of the stream They discussed their plans briefly as the three sat together on the warm sand, revived both by the food and the brief rest There was not a great deal to be determined, only where the girl should bo left, and how the two men had better proceed to escape observation Fort Ijirned was the nearest and safest place for their charge, none of the party expressing any desire to adventure ad-venture themselves within the Immediate Imme-diate neighborhood of Carson City. What her future plans might bo were not revealed, and Keith forebore any direct questioning. His duty plafnly ended with placing her lu a safe environment, en-vironment, and he felt convinced that Mrs Murphy, of the Occidental Hotel, would furnish room, and, If necessary, companionship. The sole problem remainingafter re-mainingafter she had rather listlessly listless-ly agreed to such an arrangement-was arrangement-was to so plan the details as to permit the negro and himself to slip through the small town clustered about the post without attracting undue attention atten-tion No doubt, the story of thslr escape es-cape had already reached there, embellished em-bellished by telling, and serious trou ble might result from discovery Keith was surprised at the slight Interest she exhibited In these arrangements, merely signifying her acquiescence by a word, but he charged It to physical weariness, and tho reaction from her night of peril, yet ho took pains to explain fully his plan, and to gain hi r consent T' l finally settled, they mounted r i and rodo on through the lanes tru erslng the sand dunes, keeping headed as straight as possible toward tho river The ford sought was some miles down stream, but with the horses' thirst mitigated, they made excellent progress, and arrived at the spot early In the evening Not In all thp day had tfioy encountered a llv Ing object, or seen a moving thing amid the surrounding desolation Now looking across to the north, a few gleaming lights told of Fort learned perched upon the opposite bluffs To Bo Contlnuod |