Show THE 0 I L hot ormy laty or tie waa KING BY Pe AMBORN C copyright A Q C co uia za SYNOPSIS jack belth IL now a border plainsman Is looking ng for or roaming war parties of oc savages vaRea Ba lie jie sees a wagon team it ull full callop gallop pursued by men on pon ponies when keith r rea e ac clico es t the h a w wagon acco atco n ti alia a raiders h have avith me massacred sac red two me men n and departed var ile he searches the victims finding pa papers ra and a locket with IL a homans womans per irr t keith la Is arrested at carson city charged with the murder his hl accuser be bing a ruffian named blach black dart bart A ne negro ara companion in hla his cell named neb tella tell mm that he ha knew the keiths in virginia neb fays one of the murdered men was john r vey t the h a other ron gen formerly a confederate officer the plainsman brij an and neb escape and later the fugitives come upon a cabin and find its if occupant to be a girl whom keith th aits nits he h saw lt at carson city the girt girl explains that she Is a in search of 0 a brother who had deserted from rom the tha army and that it a mr r hawley induced Indu ceil her har to come coma to cabin while he ha sought bought her brother howley ng appears avid and keith in hiding recognizes zell hi him in as black dart bart there Is a ter rifle battle lit in the darkened room in which keith la is victor horse are ara appropriated and the girl who says that her name I 1 la hopp hope joins in the escape keith explain his 81 situation t and tho the fugitives make for fort larned lamed the girl Is left with the hotel landlady hope tells that she ohe la 13 the daughter of general walte waite keith a and nd nob neb drift into sheridan where keith meets an old friend dr li keith meets the brother ot of hopa walte waite under the assumed name of 0 fred wll wil loughry lough by and becomes convinced that block dart bart has aoma plot involving the two hope learns that gen watt walla who was thought murdered la Is at sheridan sh dan und and g boes there where she ip if mistaken for christ christie aes a Tifa maclaire Macl claire alre the carson city singer acel keith th meets ineeta the real christie Ma clalra and finds that black dart bart has convinced her that thero there Is a mystery in tier her lif ufa which he Is g going to turn to her advantage the plainsman tells tella hope walte waite ot of her resemblance to christlo christie Ma maclaire Macl clairO alro CHAPTER continued keiths eyes aled to her face his ears quick to detect tho the undertone in her voice interesting yes tor for I 1 was seeking atter after information and met with some success Buc cesa As to the other question 1 I am not sure whether I 1 admire the lady or not she la Is bright pretty and companionable and in spite ot of her profession 14 heart I 1 believe a good woman but really miss hope liopo I 1 was too deeply immersed in my purpose to give her personality much consideration era tion among amon g other things we spoke of 0 you of mo ine why 1 I 1 told her something ot of our adventures together of 0 how both himley hawley and I 1 had bad been confused cont used she was waa anxious to learn who you were but unfortunately I 1 have never even eien yet heard your name you havo have not no I 1 left you it at fort larned lamed believing you christie maclaire Macl alre supposing it your stage name ot of course and was confirmed in this belief by finding in the holster of the saddle is you had been riding an envelope bearing that address 1 I 1 remember it contained the note the man brought to me from hawley he had written it that wry way she crossed the room sinking down into a chair facing him and you have actually confused me with christie maclaire Macl alre all this while have never known who I 1 was ile he shook his head 1 I told you to call me hope that Is my name I 1 am hope watte walte waltel Wal lel he be leaned leaded forward startled by the possibility riet not not yes she burst in holding out her hands clasping the locket and this was my lathers fathers where dilyou did you get it he took the he trinket from rom her turning it over in his fingers little by little the threads ot of mystery were being unraveled yet even now he could not see very far ile he looked up from the locket into her questioning face did I 1 not tell you no then it was an oversight this was about the throat threat of one or of the nien men I 1 buried at cimmaron maron crossing butout but but hope it t was not your father 1 I know hervilee her voice volee choking slightly mrs murphy found that out that Is why I 1 am here I 1 heard beard my father came to sheridan azid and I 1 wanted you to help me find him ila ha was waa thinking and did not answer at once and the she went on in some alarm do you know anything about him captain keith where Is he why Is he be here dont be ba afraid to tell 1 roe me ile he pressed the lociel locket back into her hand retaining the latter within his bla own 1 I 1 have not seen your father hope but he was certainly hero here a few days ago for cor fairbain bain met him they were together la in the army I 1 am going to tell you all I 1 know it seems to be a tangled web but the ends must be somewhere who re although I 1 confess 1 am all at bea lie ile told it slowly and simply bringing forth his bla earlier suspicion and how bow he be had stumbled upon facts acts apparently patently ly confirming them lie he related her fathers robbery hla his loss of at valuable a his papers and the conversation tie bs 1 tween hawley and scott which led to I 1 the tha suspicion that these same pa I 1 pers had bad rilon into the handt hands of the amer and were the th basis of ct bin plot hope listened breathless with interest her c opened eyes es filled with wonder A As he concluded speaking she ibe burst bunt I 1 torta tor tb out but I 1 doni dont understand in tho the lent least captain keith why did this nan man hawley send bend me to the salt fork ile he thought he was dealing with christie maclaire Macl alre lie he had some reason for retting getting her away getting her where he could exercise influence over her yes yes yea but who la Is she that la Is what makes the matter so BO hard bard to unravel she even know herself hawley Is going coins to take advantage of her ignorance Igno ranco in this respect and convince her that she Is the person he wishes her to represent but who Is the he person it if we knew that we might block the game sat ant silent striving to figure out somo some reasonable explanation do you know of any special papers your father carried he asked no none outside his bis business agreements has any ono one ever disappeared connected with your family did you have an older sister fred and I 1 were the only children why should you ask that question because something of that nature would seem to bo be the only rational explanation your brother must have told hawley something some family se secret cret which he felt could he be utilized to his own advantage then he saw your picture and was immediately reminded of the remarkable resemblance between you and christie Macl Ik laclaire alre evidently this disc discovery discoverer fitted into his bis plan and made it pos pas tor for him to proceed ile he his hag been trying ever since to got get an interview with the woman to sound her and find out what he be can do with her ile has written letters sufficiently ex bring him here lie Hs would teu tell you what whatever eyer it was vlas ho he told hawley and that t will give us the clue lie he picked up hisham from the table but she rose to her feet holding forth her hands 1 I cannot thank you enough captain keith she ebo exclaimed frankly you are doing so much and with no personal interest oh but I 1 have the long lashes dropped overt over the brown eyes 4 what do you mean 7 that I 1 have a 9 personal interest in you hope she stood silent her bosom rising and falline to rapid breathing you dont mind my callian you hope bope I 1 got used to miss 00 A 4 10 0 0 r 4 ali keith saw the man go down in a heap illicit to make it clear hla his scheme la Is based upon a will drawn as he be cla claims tims by Chri christias christies sties gra grandfather landfather lad father no doubt by ahlet tl n has fully convinced tha att at she bho la Is the rightful heiress to cherty as he stated to scott valued at over a million do dollars llara a stake worth fighting for or and these two will make a hard bard combination hes got the papers or claims to have and they must be ba the ones onea stolen from your father I 1 have been trusting you might know in your daml camhy history which would malie make it hil plain fi but I 1 do not de decisively you must believe roe me not so m as 4 hint of any secret has ever reach reached l me there are only the boull tow ft U ul father mother fred and L I 1 1 I 1 sure buro there can to be no s secret ecret which I 1 would not know perhaps ir I 1 could see bea miss alfs lal rf 1 I am convinced that would I 1 s lots less ha rang 04 pacing across the tb cser it if ila hayley 14 haa as convinced her of the justice of odthe the claim he n will also have hate her to secrecy lie ile Is working butof cut ot eight liko like a mole for br be knowd alto fraud and rill pill never corn come to the surface until everything la Is in readiness I 1 knorl kno a better way ill find bad neil brej and walte waite yet her eyes met his hl swiftly ot of counsel not such ceremony would bo be foolish after all you havo have done for me do do you call tier her christie lie ile laughed clasping her hands bands closer 1 I assure you no she la Is strictly miss and solemnly shall be to the end of the chapter oh well I 1 care only that was what you called her when you were telling me what she cha said bald are you going yes to find fred the osconer boobier wo we can get this straightened out the better CHAPTER A mistake in assassination let his future be what it might jack keith would never again forget the girl who bield the door open tor for hla his passage with one hand band her other clasped in hla his interested before Y yet et forcing himself into indifference now cow that ho he knew who she really was the man made full surrender it was waa a struggle glo that kept him from clasping the slender blender figure in his bis arms and pouring forth tho the words worda ot of tenderness which he ha sternly choked back this was neither tho the time nor tho the place y eye eyed roust must have spoken for hope op glance giant ce fell and her cheeks creeks grew crimson 1 I deot need to pledge you yola to r re turn flit dip t tl im meio e io MI I 1 she ebe ques questioned til one d e trembling 14 rw h bob ea n kwerel gw erel nor any time gain apte fp hal hall was deserted but a few girfen ern loitered air d in the domce keith d i one of the faces and did r 01 stop atop w 1 make doy any inquiries es of the blerk lerk it was waa growing dark tha lights already tru burnt ping nE and from the plash ing of drops on the window it must be b hawley would surely hav have tended ended his call upon miss maclaire Macl Mac alre latre long before this and left the hotel however interesting his communication muni cation might ight have proven abe mut mu t fill her evening engagement at I 1 tho the trocadero and aad would require time for or supper and rest As aa to the result of that interview there could be little doubt providing the gambler poa pas hessed the tha proper papers ho he would have small difficulty la in convincing the girl that she ehe was indeed the ono us sought keith had bad probed sufficiently into her mind to feel assured that her inclination was to sida eidd with clawley under all the circumstances circumstance this was natural enough and lie he did not blame 11 her or ile ho glanced into the barroom bar room as ile ho passed not in any anticipation but merely from the vigilance which lie ile comes second nature upon the frontier hawley stood leaning against the bar where he could see BOO any one passing through the hall the eyes of 0 the two men met but the gambler never moved never changed hla his attitude although keith noted that his right hand band was hidden beneath the skirts of 0 his bis long coat thu the plainsman drew back bach facing his enemy until he reached the outer door tilt there re was a sneer on harleys hawleys Haw Ilaw leys dark eints ter face like au an invitation but a memory 0 of the girl he had just left and nor her dependence upon him cause caused d keith to avoid an encounter llo ile would fight this affair out in a different way As the door opened and no he slipped forth into the gloom bloom he bo brushed against a man apparently just entering the gleam of 0 light fellnor foil fell for an instant upon the face of the other it willi scotty with willi the tau rea moustache they had been watching tor for him then what for or hawley on tho the inside and this man scott without wore were walting waiting to determine when he left the hotel would probably dog doe his footsteps to discover where he be went keith loosened his bla revolver so an to bo be assured he be could draw quickly and slipped back into tho the shadow of the steps his bla eyes on the door ot of the I 1 hotel there was a cold drizzly rain falling ailing the streets almost deserted appearing sodden and miss miserable whore the lights shone forth through saloon windows one or two men seeking supper coat collars turned up and hats drawn low over their erts climbed the rickety steps and went in but bu no ono one came outs oat perhaps no he was mistaken as to the purpose of I 1 those h ass fellows they may have desired merely to know when bo be left or scotts return just at that moment might havo have been an accident to bo be sure the hotel possessed a back exit but be could not cover both ends ol of tho the building and must tako take his bla chances it was too wet and disagree ablo ab Is to remain crouched there now that it was waa evident thero there was no intention tent lon 0 of following him hh hand on the butt of his big gun suspicions and watchful yet with scarcely a taster faster beat to his bis heart keith straightened tip and began splashing his bis way through the mud down the street ile ho know knew where ebora willoughby would be most likely found at this hour bour with cronies at the Tenderfoot aud and ho he meant to discover the boy and make him confess con Cesi to hope the truth matters had now reached a point where longer delay was dangerous sheridan was seemingly beamingly dead the long street silent gloomy black except tor for those streams of saloon hent shining across pools of wa water ter A few wanderers ploughed sloughed hed through the muck dim uncertain shapes appearing and van vanishing tabing in the gloom lie he had bad gone eona a block and over the struggle against the elements leaving him forgetful torget lul of all else dee when a man reeled out of some dimly lit shack to his bis right and staggered drunkenly forward a few feet in advance ile he could barely distinguish the rellow tellow ss outlines giving little thought to the occurrence tor for the t he way was unusually black along there the saloon opposite having shades drawn suddenly a flash of red fire spurted into the night with a sharp report it was so BO close at hand it blinded him and ho he flung up one OD arm over his bis eyes and yet in that single instant he perceived the whole picture its aa revealed by the red flame ile he saw the man MR n in front go down in a heap h aup the projection ot of tho the building froni from behind which the shot came tho the end 0 at a wagon sticking slicking forth into tho the street which had bad concealed the assassin the blinding flash the shock of that sudden discharge tor for a moment held him motionless then ile ha leaped forward arward fo revolver in hand band sprang are around und the end of the wagon and rushed down the dark alley aley between two |