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Show MtHK Devils Own. W jcntioHT o vftUtmasf -warn KlM?t. no nodded, his eyes dull, his lips moving as though It was an effort to tulk. Quite evidently whatever little intellect he had ever possessed, now refused to respond. Kennedy broke In Impatiently. . "H takes thct boy 'bout nn hour fer ter tell cnythlng, Cup." ho explained gruffly. "I reckon he's skecred half tor death In the furst place, an' then thors Bumthln' wrong with him cny-how. cny-how. Howsuinevcr, It's whut ho seed on' heerd, Cap. thet sounds mighty queer ter rac. Ho ser thnr wus more'n fifty bucks In thet party, an' that ol' Black Hawk wus thar hlsse.lf, a leadln' 'em ho done saw him." I turned, surprised at this statement, to staro Into the boy's face. He half grinned back nt me, Vacantly. "Black Hawk I He could scarcely be down here; what did he look like?" " 'Bout six feet high. I reckon, with n big hooked nose, nil' tho blnckest pair o' mean eyes, ever yo saw. I reckon he didn't hnv no eyebrows, an' lio wore n bunch o' eagle feathers, nn' n red blanket. Gosh, mister, but the devil cudn't look no worsu'n ho did." "Wus thet him, Cap?" hurst In Tim, anxiously. "It's not n bud description," I admitted, admit-ted, yet not convinced. "I can't believe be-lieve ho would bo hero with n raiding party. If he was, there must be somo Important object In View. Is that nil?" "No, 'tnln't J tho boy swears thnr was n white man 'long with 'em, a feller with n short imistnchc, nn' dressed In store clothes. Ho wnn't no prisoner nuther, but lied n gun, an' talked ter Black Ilnwk, most Ilka he wus n chief hlsself. After tho klllln' wus nil over, he wus tho ono whut got 'em ter go off thar to tho south, the whole kit nn' kuboodlc." "I don't doubt- that. There hnvo nl-wnys nl-wnys been white renegades among tho Snes nnd plenty of half-breeds. If Black Ilnwk, and this other fellow ore lending this band, they nre nftcr big game somewhere, anil wo hud better keep out of their way. I favor saddling sad-dling up Immediately, and traveling all night." "So do I." nnd Tim flung n half-filled ling from his shoulder to the ground. "But I vote we ent furst. 'Tnln't much, only u few scraps I found out thnr; but it's a way butter their ittlthln'. Here you, nail, give me a hand, an' then we'll go nut, an' round up them bosses." If the parly of raiding Indians, whose foul deed we had discovered, laid departed In n southerly direction, us their trail would plainly seem to Indicate, In-dicate, then our safest course would seemingly be directed eastward up the valley. This would give us tho protection pro-tection of the bluffs, nnd take us more and moro out of tho territory they would bo likely to cover. Within twenty minutes wo wero In saddle, descending de-scending tho steep hillside through the darkness, Tim walking ahead with tho lad, his borne trailing behind, and tho long rifle across his shoulder. I do not recall feeling any special fear. In tho first place I was convinced that wo must already bo at tho ox-trcmo ox-trcmo limit of Black Hawk's radius, nnd thnt, traveling us we were eastward, east-ward, .must before morning bo well beyond be-yond tiny possible danger of falling Into the hands of his warriors. Tho other pursuers I had practically dismissed dis-missed from thought. Shortly ufter midnight my horse strained u tendon, nnd could no longer uphold my weight. On foot, with the poor beast limping painfully behind me, I pressed on beside be-side Elolso, both of us silent, too utterly ut-terly wearied with the strain for any attempt at speech. Tho rising sun topped the summit of the bin IT, Its red ruys seeming to bridge with spans of gossumer the lit-tics lit-tics valley up which, wu tolled. I had lot my Interest, ami was walking doggedly dog-gedly on, with eyes bent upon tho ground, when tho girl besldo mo cried out suddenly, a new excitement In her voice. "Oh, thero is n cabin t Seel Over -yonder; Just beyond that big oak, where the bluff turns." Her eager face wus aglow, her outstretched out-stretched hand pointing cngcrly. Ttie logs of which tho little building hail been constructed, still In their native na-tive bark, blended so perfectly with the drab hillside hoyoud, that for tho moment uonu of us caught the distant outlines. Tim possessed tho keenest sight, ami his volco wus first to speak. "Sure, miss, diet's u cabin, nil right," ho said grimly. "One room, an' new built; likely 'uough sum settler Just com' In yere. I don't seo no movement, move-ment, iter hiuoke." "Fled to the nearest fort probably," I replied, able myself by this time tn decipher tho spot. "Bo too risky to stny out hero alone. We'll look It over; thero might bo food left behind, even If tho peoplu have gone." Wo must hnvo been half nn hour In covering tho distance. The cabin stood well up above the stream, within the shade of tho greut oak, and wo were coullrmed, long before wo reached It, In our former Judgment thai It wus uninhabited, tfo sign vl lira r? vim-ble vim-ble about the place; It had tho appearance ap-pearance of desertion, no smoke even curling from out the chimney. A fulnt trail, evidently llttlo used, led down toward tho creek, and wo followed this as It wound uround tho base of tho big tree. Then It was that the truth dawned suddenly upon us thero to our right lay a dead mule, harnessed for work, but with throat cut; while directly In front of tho cabin door wns a dog, nn ugly, tnnsslve brute, his mouth open, prono on his bnck, with stiffened legs pointing to tho sky. I dropped my rein, and strode forward. "Walt where you are," I called bhek. "There have been savages hero; let mo see first what has happened Inside." In-side." The dog had been shot, stricken by two bullols, and I wns obliged to drag his huge body to one stdo before I could press my way In through tho door. The open doorway and window afforded ample light, and u slnglo glnuco was sufllclent to reveal most of the story. Tho table had been smashed ns by the blow of nn nx, nnd pewter dishes were everywhere. The bed In ono corner had been stripped of Its coverlets, many of them slashed by n knife, nnd the straw tick had been ripped open In n dozen places. Coals from the flrcplnco lay widespread, wide-spread, somo of them having eaten deeply Into the hard wood before they censed smoldering. I saw nil this, yet my eyes rested upon something else. A man lay, bent double across nn overturned bench, In u posture which bid his faca from view. Ills body was there alone, nl-though nl-though n child's shoo lay on the floor, and a woman's llnsey dress dangled from u book against tho wall. I crept forward, my henrt pounding madly, until I could gain sight of his face. Ho was a big fellow, not moro than thirty, with sandy hair nnd beard, and a pugnacious Jaw, his course hickory shirt slashed Into ribbons, n bullet wound In the center of his forehead, fore-head, and one arm broken by u vicious blow. Ills calloused bauds yet gripped the haft of nn nx, Just as he had died lighting. Tim's volco t spoke from tho doorway. door-way. "Injuns, I reckon'" "Y"es, they have been here; tho man Is dead. But thero must have been others, a woman nnd child also see that shoo on the floor, nnd tho dress hanging over there. Tho p'oor devil fought luird." Kennedy stepped Inside, staring about him. "Do you think It best to stop hero?" "Why not? 'Tnln't likely them devils will bu bnck agin.. Thar sure must bo somethln' fer us ter cat tn the place, an' the Lord kno's wo can't go on ns wo are. Them gurls bo mighty nigh ready ter drop, nn' two o thq bosses has plum glv' out. I'm fer set-tlln' set-tlln' down fer a few hours enyhow say tilt It gits middling dark." Undoubtedly this wus the sensible view. We would be In far less danger remaining there under cover than In any attempt to continue our Journey by daylight. Together wo enrrled tho body out, and deposited It In u thicket behind the cabin, nwaltlug burial ; and then dragged the dead dog ulso out of bight. The disorder within was easily remedied, und, ufter this had been attended at-tended to, the girls wero permitted to enter. Elolsc sank back on tho bench, her head supported ugulnst the wall, tho lushes 'of her holf-closed eyes showing dork ugulnst the whiteness of her cheeks. She looked so pitifully tired, tho very heart choked In my throat. Tho rest of us found a small stock of provisions, nnd Elsie, with Tim to aid her, built ii tiro and prepared breakfast. A half-filled bottle of whisky discovered In the cupboard, helped to revive all of us slightly, and gavo Asu sufllclent courage to seek outside for a spring. Tim, comparatively compara-tively unwearied himself, and, restless, located a trapdoor In tho floor, rather Ingeniously concealed, which disclosed tho existence of u small cellar below. Caudle In hand ho explored this, returning re-turning with two guns, together with a quantity of powder and bull, und Information In-formation that thero remained a half keg of the explosive hhlden below. "Must n bin nlmln' ter blow up stumps, I reckon," ho commented, exhibiting ex-hibiting u sample. "Coarsest I ever saw; cudn't hardly uso thct In no gun, luit It's powder alright." To remove tho debris out of our way, I was gathering up the straw tick and silt blankets, and piled them all together to-gether back nn tho bed. Clinging to ono of the blankets, caught and held by Its pin, was it peculiar emblem, and I stood for a moment with it In my hand, curiously examining tho odd design. de-sign. Elolso unclosed her eye's, ami started to her feet. "What Is that you hnvo?" she asked. "A pin of somo kind n rather strange design; I Just found it here, entangled In this blanket." "Why," sho exclulmed In surprise, "1 hnvo seen ono exactly llko It before Klrby wore It In his tie." CHAPTER XVI. 'Av Accept a Refuoet. U!wnfaln at tho thing with a fresh curiosity, y0t with no direct thought of any connection. The undisguised un-disguised terror nwnlfcut In her face, however,-Caused me to realize tho sudden sud-den 'suspicion which this discovery had nroilsed. "That means nothing." I Insisted, taking tho pin back Into my own possession. pos-session. j"It Is probably tho emblem of some secret order, nnd there may be thousands of them scattered about. Anyhow this one never belonged to Joe Klrby. Ho could never have been here. My guesa is the fellow Is back at Yellow Yel-low Banks before now. Forget It, ElOlse, while wo eat. Then u few hours sleep will restore your nerves; you nre ull worn out." We had nearly completed tho mcnl, seated around what remained of tho shattered table. The boy Asa sat at the very end of tho table, facing tho open door, eating as though ho had not tasted food for a week. From tho time of sitting down he had scarcely raised his eyes from off the powtcr pinto before him; but nt last this was emptied, nnd he lifted Ida 'head, to stare out through the open door. Into his face came a look of dumb, In-nrtlculato In-nrtlculato fright, as his lips guvo utterance ut-terance to one cry of warning. "Look! Lookl" With swift turn of tho bond I saw what ho mcunt a man on horseback, riding at n savage gait up the trait, directly for tho cabin, bent so low In the saddle his features could not bo discerned, but, from his clothing, uu-questionably uu-questionably white.- I was without tho door, Tim beside mo rlllo in hand, when tho fellow swept nround the bnso of tho onk, still staring behind him, us though In fright of pursuers, and flogging flog-ging his straining horse with tho end ' of n rein. Ho appeared fairly crazed with fear, unaware In his blind terror of tho closo proximity of tho cabin. "Hold out" I yelled, springing for-ward, for-ward, my nrms thrown up, directly lu the animal's course. "Stop, you fool 1" I know-, not whether tho frantic horso checked Itself, or If tho rider drew rein, but tins beast stopped, half rearing, nnd I gazed with amazement Into the revealed face of the man ho was Joo Klrby. Beforo I could speak, or move, he burst Into words. "You I Knox! My God, ninn, whoever who-ever you nre, don't refuse mu shelter I" "Shelter? From what?" my hand dosing on n pistol butt. "Indians 1 Be merciful, for tiod'al sake. They ate thero in tho valley, I Ui .'.. lvW C -JrY -fcBLrMJiVHjV K "Indians! Bo Merciful for God's Sake." they nre after mo. I Just escaped them they were going to burn mo at tho stake I" I glunced aside at Tim; his rlllo was flung forward. Then I looked quickly back ut tho man, who had already dropped from his horse, aud seemed scnrcely nblo to stand. Wus this true, bad he ridden hero unknowing whom ho would meet, with no other thought but to save his life? Heaven knows ho looked tho part his swarthy faco dirtied, with n stain of blood on ono cheek, his shirt ripped Into rags, bareheaded, bare-headed, and with a look of terror In his eyes not to bo mistaken. Villain nnd savage as I knew bint to be, I still felt n strungo wuve of pity sweep mo pity and tenderness, mingled with hatred and distrust. "Klrby," I said, und strodo In between be-tween htm nnd Tim's leveled weapon. "Thero Is no friendship between us now, or nt any time. I bellevo you to bo a miserable, snarling dog; but I would suvo even n cur from Indian tor ture. Did you know we wero here?" "No, so help me God. I saw the cabin, nnd hoped to find help." "The savages aro following you?" "Yes yes; seel Look down thero thero are half a hundred of the devils, und nnd Black Hawk." "By tho holy smoke, Cap. lie's right thero they urol" sung out Kennedy, pointing excitedly. "Tho cuss ain't u lyln'. Whnt'll wo do?" I saw tltein nlso by this time, my mind In u whirl of Indecision. What should we do? What ought wo to do? Wo should have to fight to tho death-there death-there was no doubt of that. An attempt at-tempt to get nway was manifestly Impossible. Im-possible. But what about this renegade, rene-gade, this Infernal scoundrel, this hell-I hell-I hound who had been trailing us to kill I and destroy? Should we turn him back now to his deserved fate, or should wo offer him the same chuncu for life wo bad? He might fight; he might add ' ono rifle to our defeuse; he might help , us to hold out until rescuers came. And then then after that wo could sottle our score. Tim's volco broko tho ' silence. j "I reckon we nln't got much time," j he snld grimly. "It's one thing, 'cr tho other, I'm fer glvlu' tho d beggar u cluinct, I can't turn no whtto man over ter Injuns not me. Klrby's got n gun, an' 1 reckon mtiu goln' ter need 'em nl! nfora tills blnnie irncns Is over with." "And 1 agree with yon, Mr. KerN tiedy," said Klolse, clearly, speaking from tho open door. "Lloutennnt Knor, no one here lias more to forgtvo than I, Wo must glvo the man refugo It would bo Inhuman not to." "Go In I" I snld. grimly, to Klrby, looking him squarely In the eyes. "And then play the man, If you care to live." I lingered thero upon the outside for a moment, but for a moment only. The advancing cloud of savages wero already al-ready coming up tho slope, gradually spreading out Into the form of n fan. Tho majority wero mounted, although jSeveral struggled fiorward on foot. fVoar their center appeared the ominous omin-ous gleam of a red blanket, waved back and forth as though In signal, but the dlstnnco wns too great for my eyes to distinguish tho ono manipulating manipulat-ing It. Wo were trapped, with our backs lo the wall. There were hut few preparations to ho made, and I gavo small uttentlon to Klrby until theso hnd been hastily completed. Tho door nnd wludbw were barred, tho powder and slugs brought up from below, the rifles loaded und primed, the few loopholes between the logs opened, and a pall of water placed within easy reach. This was alt that could bo done. Kennedy mndo uso of tho fellow, ordering or-dering him about almost brutally, nnd Klrby obeyed the commands, without an answering protest, To nil appearances appear-ances ho wits ns eager as we In tho preparations for defense. But ho could not command htm; to even address tho fellow would hnvo been torture, for eVen then I-wns without faith, without with-out confidence. Tho very snenklng, cowardly way In which he acted did not appeal to me ns natural. I could not deny his story those approaching Indians nlonu wero proof thnt he lied from n real danger; and yet and yet, to my mind he could not represent nnythlng but treachery. I possessed but ono desire to kick the cringing cur. 1 stood nt u loophole watching tho approaching savages. They had halted Just below the big tree, und four or II vo half hidden by tho huge trunk, wero lu consultation, well beyond rlllo shot. Assured by their uttltudo that the nttnek would not he niadirntrmrritr utely, I ventured to turn my fucu slightly, and take final survey of tho room behind. Tim hnd stationed himself him-self ut the other side of the door, his eyes glued to a narrow opening, both I hands gripped on his gun. Elolso nnd thq colored girl, tho ono dry-eyed und alert, tho other prono on tho floor cry-lug, cry-lug, wero where I had told them to go, Into tho darkest corner. Tho boy I did not see, nor even remember, but Klrby stood on tho bench, which enabled en-abled him' to peer out through tho loop-hole lu the window shutter. Whut I noticed, however, wus, that Instead of keeping wntch without, his eyes were furtively wondering about-tho room, und, when sthoy suddenly en countered mine, wero us instantly averted. "Where was It you met thoso Indians, In-dians, Klrby?" 1 questioned sternly. "Down tho valloy." "Lost night?" "This morning ; they surprised us in camp." "In camp I there wero others with you, then. Who wero they? tho pnrty you hud trailing us?" "Yes," n decidedly sullen tone crcepi Ing Into his voice. "Flvo of them; ono wits u Winnebago." "And Itulo was along, 1 presume. What becamo of the others?" He shook his head, but with no show of feeling. "That's moro than I know. Things wero hot enough for mo without bothering both-ering ubout tho rest. I never suw uny of them ugnln, except Rnlo. Ho was killed In tho light. About nn hour after that I shot tho buck who was guarding me, and got away on his horse." "What Indians wero they?" "Sacs mostly ; somo Foxes, nnd mny-be mny-be n Winnebago or two." "Wns Blnck Hawk with them?" "I don't know I never saw Black Hawk." I felt firmly convinced thnt ho was deliberately lying, and yot thero was nothing In his story which might not bo true. No doubt It wus prejudice, personal hatred, and distrust which led mo to come to this conclusion. Well, true or not, I meant to seo that he fought now. "All right, but 1 ndvlso you to keep your eyes outside," I said sternly. "Don't bo staring about tho cabin any moro." "I was looking for something to ent." "Is that so? Well, you better stand It for uwhllo without eating. What is It, Elolso?" "I'leaso let mo hand him somo food?" I hesitated, conscious that I disliked even tho thought of her serving the fellow In uny way, yet unable to resist the eager plea lu her eyes. "Very well, If you wish to; only keep down out of range ; thoso Indians may try for the loopholes. It Is moro than you deserve, Klrby." Ho made no response, und I watched him closely us he endcuvored to cat what she proffered him, und felt convinced con-vinced thnt It was hard work. Tho man hud lied about being hungry ; ho wus not In need of food, aud my deep-rooted deep-rooted suspicion of him only flumed up anew, A hand gripped nt my sleovo timidly, and I turned quickly to encounter tho eyes of Asa Hull. Never did I read such depth of fear In the expression of nny face It was tho wild, unreasoning unreason-ing terror of an animal. "Whnt Is It, my boy?" "It's him, sell," ho whispered, his lips (rumbling so I coinu scarce catCM i H the words. "Thet feller thar. Iftnr i HJ lie's tho one I saw las' night with Bliefc f HJ v HJ "Are you sure?" .HJ "Yes, sell; I know him. I B&vr fata ' HJ plain lis I do now." ,. 'HH I do not know why, but every' bit ' Hl evidence against the man camo ! H HK9K7 t H "Klrby, Stand Upl Drop That RHtar" 'lH stanlly thronging back to my mind 1 HJH tho chance remark of Throckmorton on ' H tho Warrior about his suspicion of In- ' '' HJ dlnu blood ; tho high cheek bones und HJ thin lips ; tho boy's earlier description ; I HJ the manner In which our trnll hnd beta j H so relentlessly followed; tho strange- H emblem found pinned to the blanket. H I seemed tn grnpp the entire truth , H thq wily, cowardly scheme of treachery ' Hfl he wits endeavoring to perpotrnte. My H blood boiled In my veins, nnd yet 1 H felt cold ns Ice, ns I swung about nnd Hfl faced the fellow, my rifle Hung for- ' HJ i Hfl "Klrby, stand upl Drop that rlllo HV tako It, Elolsc. Now ralso your hands. . HH Tim." ' HH "What's up?" , HJ 'Is there anything serious going oil ; HJ outside?" !HJ "No; ntithln' much Just pow- . j ;Hfl wowtn'. Ycr wnnt mo?" s "Search that scoundrel for weapoa.. H Don't ask questions; do whnt I say." I M Ho made short work of it, using ne , B -gvutlo methods. , "Wal', tho gent wasn't exactly harm- B less," ho reported, grinning cheerfully, !HjVJ "constderUr this ycro knlfo nn' cannon. fiflYJ Now, mnybu yo'll tell mo whut the iIBBJ h 'h up?" ' H Klrby stood erect, his dark eyed 'iBfl Kcifrchlng our faces, his lips scornful. lHVj "And perhaps, Mr. Lloutennnt liLI Knox," ho udded sarcastically. "You ttBil might condescend tn explain to mo - vfl also the purpose of this outrage." JH "With pleasure," hut without lower- ' ll lng my rifle. "This boy.hcre belonged - JHHJ to the company of soldiers massacred jf yesterday morning. You know whero S LVJ menu. He wus the only ono lo escapo Rl alive, aud he saw you thero among the' liB savages free, und one of them." flHjB "Ho tells you thnt? And you accept ijHfl tho word of that half-wit?" hH "He described your nppenranco to ' us exactly twenty-four hours ago. I Hfl nyvcr thought'of you at the time, nl- mLwJ though tho description wns nccuruto B enough, because It seemed so lmpos- IHfl slblo for you to hnvo been there. But jHJ that Isn't nil, Klrby. What has become lIH of the emblem pin you woro In your 'jH tlo? It Is gone, I sec." : HJ Ills hnud went up Involuntarily. It HJ Is possible, ho had never missed It be- IHJ fore, for n look of Indecision came Into ' HH tho man's face tho first symptom of iH weakness I had ever detected there. HI "It must huvo been lost mislaid " jHV "It was; and I chanco to bo qblo to !lH tell you whero In tltls very room. I HI Hero Is your pin, you Incarnate devil. 'HH I found it caught in thoso blunkctst IBB yonder, This Is not your first visit to jHJ this cabin; you wero hero with Indian BH murderers." , pH "It's a d d Ho " HH But Kennedy had him, locked in iJHfl vIseMlko grip. It wns well ho hnd, for - rlH the fellow had burst Into a frantic iHI rage, yet was bound so utterly helpless f HH ns to appear almost pitiful. Tito 'IHI Knowledge of what ho had planned, of HH his dcsplcublo treachery, left us mer- rH ciless. in spite of his struggles wu f'H boro him to tho floor, and pinned him HHl there, cursing nnd snapping llko a fH wild beast. HH ' HHl Continued Noxt week) l H |
