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Show ' CHAPTER 1. Tr Plalnsmsn. The man wss riding Just below the summit of the ridge, occaslonallv up lifting bla head so as to gar ac-rnrs the crest, shading his eyes with one band, to time better concentrate hla vision Ilolh horse and rider plainly exhibited signs of weariness, but every movement of the latter showed ceaseless vigilance, hie glance roaming roam-ing the barren rtdgea. a brown Winchester Win-chester lying cocked across the saddle pommel, bis left hand taut on the rein Yet the horse he bestrode scarcely required restraint, advancing alowly. with head hanging low, and only ocraalonally breaking Into a brief trot under the Impetue of the apur. Tho rider waa a man approaching thirty, somewhat slender and tons of limb, but possessing broad, squared shoulders above a deep chest, sitting the eaddle easily' In plainsman fash Ion. yet with an erertness of carriage which suggested military training The face under the wide brim of the weather worn elouch hat waa cleanshaven, clean-shaven, browned by sun and wind, and strongly marked, the chin slightly slight-ly prominent, the mouth firm, the gray eyea full of rhnracter and daring Ills dress was that of rough service, plain leather "chap." showing marks of hard usage, a gray woolen shirt turned turn-ed low at the ncrk. with a kerchief knotted loosely about the alnewy brniued throat. At one hip dangled the holater of a "forty-five." on the other hung a canvaacovered canteen. Ilia waa figure and far to be noted anywhere, a man from whom you would expect both thought and action, and one who seemed to exactly Bt Into hla wild environment. Where he rode waa the very weat-em weat-em extreme of the prairie country, billowed like the aea. and from off the crest of Its higher rtdges, the wtoa level sweep of the plains was visible, extending Itka a vast brown ocean to the fool hills of the far-away mountains. moun-tains. Yet the actual commencement of that drear, barren expanae was fully ten mile distant, while all about where be rode the conformation in Irregular, comprising narrow valley val-ley and awelllng mounda, with here and there a aharp ravine, liven from the rock and Invisible unttl one drew up startled at Its very blink. The general trend of depression was undoubtedly un-doubtedly aouthward leading toward the valley of the Arkansaa. yet Irregular Irregu-lar ridges ocraalonally rut acrna. adding to the confusion The entire surrounding landscatie presented th same aect, with no apeclil object upon which the eye could rest for guidance no tree, no upheaval of rock, no peculiarity of summit, no snake Ilka trail all about extended the same dull, dead monotony nf brown, aun baked hills, with slightly greener depressluus lying between, lntersiersed by patches of sand or the whit gleam of alkali. It waa a dreary, deaerted land, parchod under the hot aummer sun, brightened toy no vegetation, excepting sparse bunches of buffalo grass or an occasional stunted sage bush, and disclosing nowhere no-where the slightest sign of human habitation Th rising sun reddened th erect of the hills, aud the rider, halting l is willing horse, sat motlunless, gating steadily Into the southwest Appsr-ently Appsr-ently he perceived nothing there un usual, for he slowly turned his bodv about In the saddle, sweeping his eye. Inch by Inrh. along th line of the horliton. until the entire circuit had been completed. Then hi compressed com-pressed lips smiled slightly, his hand unconsciously patting th horse's neck "I reckon we're still alone, old girl." he said quietly, a bit of Southern drawl In the vole "Well try for the trail, and take II easy " lie swung slimy out of th saddle and with reins dangling over his shoulder, began the alower advance on foot, the exhausted horae trailing behind. Hla waa not a altuallon In which one could feel certain of safety, for any ridge might conceal the wary foemen he sought to avoid, yet ha pro-reeded pro-reeded now with renewed conndeuc It wss the summer of INCH, and the place the very heart of the Indian country, with every aeparate tribe rauglug between the Yellowstone and the Hruzoa. either restless or openly on the war path Humors of atrocities were being retold the length and breadth of the border, and every report re-port drifting In to either fort or settlement set-tlement only added to th alarm for once at leuat the plains Indians bad discovered a common cause, tribal differences dif-ferences had been adjuated In war against the white Invaders, and Klo-was, Klo-was, t'omanrhes. Arapahoes. they ennes and Hloux had becume welded together In savage brotherhood To oppoce them were the scattered and unorganised settlers lining the more eastern streams, guarded by small detachments de-tachments of regular troops posted here and there amid that broad wll derm-SB, scarcely within touch of each other Kverrwbere beyond these llnre of ratrol wandered roaming war ;artle. Vt Wffl Vr ATALC or c PLAiriS HsO'IV JvPAriDALUPAl7DI.ri- , V . a'' lA.u.-v-lV AotmopOi'My LanvOr TMr. South' " 'tM:V 'TN "Win" WnPiuMt M Washing' ficllC i ICn-rrltM. A. C. MrCiurg a Co.. Itlftl K ) ain4r Spirals of Blu amok Win Visible sttarklng traveler on the trails, raiding raid-ing exposed settlements, and occasionally occa-sionally venturing to try open battle with the small aquada of armed men In thl aire of udden emergency very available soldier on scllvs duty civilian had been pressed Imo service, serv-ice, and hastily despatched to warn exposed settlor, guide wagon trains, or carry deapatchea between outpoata And thus our rider. Jack Keith, who knew every foot of tho plains lying between the Republican and the t'sn-sdlaa t'sn-sdlaa river, wss one of these thus suddenly requisitioned, merely bonus bo-nus ha chanced to be disc ovci eel uu rmuloyed by the harassed commander of a rantonment Just without the en vlroaa of Carson City Twenty mln utes later be waa riding awlftly Into th northwest, bearing Important newt to Ueneral Bberldun, commander of the Department, who bapiened at thsl moment to Ik 11 Port Calrnea. To Keith thl had been merely another anoth-er psg In a career of adventure; for blm to take bis lire In his hands bad long ago become an old etory. He had quietly performed the atieiial duty allotted him, watched a aquad ron of troopera trot forth down the valley of the Hepubllcan. received the billy thank of th peppery Utile general, gen-eral, aud then, having nothing better to do. traded hla horae In at the government gov-ernment corral for a fresh mount and started back again for ( arson City. For th greater portion of two nights slid a day he bad been In the saddle, but h ss accustomed to this, for h l td driven mors than one bunch of lougtioru up tba Texas trail; and a be had slept three hours at Catrnes. sud as bl nrve were like steel, the thought of danger gave him slight concern He wa thoroughly Hied, and It rested dim to get out ol th saddle, while the freshness of the mornlni air was a tonic, th very breath of which mad him forgetful of fatigue. Alter all, this was ludeed the very ton of experience which appealed tn bliu. and alwaya had this life of peril lo the open, under the stare and the sky. He had constantly expert eured It for so long now. eight years as to loak It seem merely natural. While h" ploughed steadily foraard through the shifting sand of the con leu. bit thought drifted Idly hue k over thute year, and aometlmes he smiled, uud occasionally frowned, as various Inrldenti returned to memory. It hud been a rough life, yet one not mnmm: to thine of bis generation Horn of eic elhiit family In tidewater Virginia, his fat her a successful planter, his mother had died while he was still In early bujhood, and he had grown up cut off from all womanly Influence He had barely attained his majority a senior st William and Mary's Collegn. when tba Civil War came; and one month after Virginia raal In her lot with the South, he became a sergeant In a ravalry regiment commanded by his father He bad enjoyed that life and wun hi apur. yet It had roat 1 bore wai much not over plt-anuut to I remember, and those strenuous year of almost ceaselei-s fighting, of long night marches, of swift, merciless raiding, of lonely scouting within th enemy's lines, nf severe wounds, hsrdshlp and suffering, bsd left their marks on both body and soul 111 father had fallen on the field at Anile tain, and left him utterly alone In the world, but he had fought on grimly lo the end. until the last flag of the I Confederal y had been furled lly that time, upon the rollar of hla tattered ! gray Jacket appeared the tarnlaheil In slgnla of a captain The quick tears dimmed his eyes even now as be re ailed anew that flnnl parting follow I Ing Apiatmattox. the battle worn faces 1 of his men. and his own painful Jour j ney homeward, defeated, wounded and penniless. It waa no home when he 1 got there, only a heap of ashes and a - few weed grown acres. No famllta I face greeted him; not even a alive I waa left j Ha had honestly endeavored to re 1 main there, to face the future and i work It out alone; he persuaded him self to feel thst this waa hla para j mount duty to the state to the mem ory of the deed Itut those very years of army life made such a task tm laisslhle; the dull, dead munotony of routine, the lonellneaa. the alownesa ' of roaulta. became Intolerable Aa 'It , came lo thoussnds of his romradca 1 the call of the Weat came lo him. and at last he yielded, and drifted toward 1 the frontier The life there fasclnat-i fasclnat-i ed him, drawing him deeper and deep I er Into Its swirling vortex He became be-came freighter, mall carrier, hunter, government acout. cowboy, foreman Once he had drifted Into the tnoun talus, snd took a chance In the mlnea. but the wide plains railed him bark once more to their desert loneliness What an utter waste It all seemed, now that he looted back upon It Klght years of lighting hardship and rough living and what had Ihey brought him? The reputation of a hard rider, a daring pli -e- at carda a quick allot, a scorner or i'-nger. and a hnd man to fool with- that was th I whole of a record hardly won T'-a I man'a eyes hardened, his Hps set firm I ly. aa tl is truth came cniMhlng home I A pretty life atory surely one to be j proud of. mid with prnhahlv no belter I eliding than an Indian bullet, or the flai-h of a revolver In some barroom light 1 he narrow valley along which he was traveling suddenly changed lis direction, compelling him to climb the lixe or tie rlclge Hllulitly below the summit be hailed In front extended I the wide expani-e of the Arkansu J valley, a ac ene of aplcmlor under the ' golclcn ruya nf the sun. with vivid .contrast of colors, the gray of rocks I the yellow of sand, the brown of dis tunt hills, the gieen of vcgc-tailon and the silver sheen nf the stream half hidden behind the frluye of cm totiwrM-itla lining Its hanks This was a sight Keith had often looked upon but always with appreciation, and for tho monxtt hla tyi-B swept across from W. iff tn Muff without thmgcM ' ; rirrpt for Un llrt tVnuty TTr-a I V - i tTt Hvi'ii notiioititnR fthlt-h tiiKiftun.- ' : f fturtlrd him Into MMitlnn tcncW t v v Ion tri'Mlilf tin rlvr. Junl liicri. " s t ' thnt rtiKKfd lium h of rottonwni" '" ivmlrr uptruln of Mum nrmihv vtm tUllil That would hurrilj tw rumf of fr.'lttMrn Ht thin Imiir of th d . ' ' nn.. tnh,.n. thf Hulim Ft trull (.,, 7 - hf'i rnn rlor- In tiKiiliiM thn Muff. oniltiK down to th rtnr nl lb ford ,( two nillrp furlhcr wrwt No i-am of t ' ' Itliittiftmrn would rvrr vrnturv to huWft ' k fir In ho fiftopt'd it font, and m mull rnniimny would tah tfm rhnn. of I hi- trnll Hut ttrrly thnt Hp.trnrrd to h thf Hup nf li riMni I wtiRon top Itn le to th rlKhl of th I amort, yt nil wrm o fur jtm hm 1 r nu Id not ,m rrrt.iln tin tnii In I thnt dlrrrtlnn H lonn whllo. hart tun I hit ryr with both hand. nnabW- lr rihldr Thor wri thw or four nwi nr blni k rinln higher up th nvt. foil no tnr tiwftjr hr i-oiitd not dUtlnrrt-' whether men nr nntmrtltt Only pa out lined annlnat Hi1 yellow Hand ritin- roiild he Ml they went ndvaie Ire went ward toward the ford Iwvldedly purxled by all thla. yrt riiMrrmtnt'd to imiIv the myatery aod unwilling to remain hidden therw until un-til night. Kelih led Mr home alone lt lat t of the rtiltte. until he attain- av Hharp hrenk through the bluff learilritt down Into the valley It waa a nir g'd itaah. nearly Impnaaabl. but half hour of toll won them tha lower prrlrle, the winding path firere nllnjr Ihe Rllghtent view of what might bar meunwhll tranaplrtng below Oar afely out In th yalley the rlwer vnoitl nn longer be aeen. while, barel hundred yarda away, winding aknir 1 IU a great aernent, ran thw dvepJy rutted trail tn Hntita Kft. In ftHtttter direction apeared an? algn of baouu life As near aa ha rould deteTTnlr from thoae dlxtant cotton wood, tmtt- lined agnlnM the aky. for tba awrofc aplrala were too thin by then to bm e-t aerved, the a ot aought 'muat bat et Iderably lo tba right of wberw ba bl emerged With thla Idea In .trip m advanced rautloualy, bla every mm aU'rt, aearchlna analoualy for tfaa algna of panaaga or evldnra of m wagon train having deaerted lh bml en trark. and turned aouth. Tb tmlt Itielf, duailena and packed hard. e vealed nolhlug, but noma five hundred yarda beyond the ravine be dlaoireel what be aought- here two wagona haJ turned aharply to the left, tbtur wbeelii ctiltlng deeply enough Into the pralrlo aod to ahow them bavl.r laden. With the eiperlenne ef tV border he waa able to determine tht theae wagona were drawn by bw-. two apan of each, their amnll koofit clearly defined on the turf, anil that, they were being driven rapidly, e aharp trot aa they turned, and tltrn a hundred feet further, at a alair.fr giillop Juki outftlde their trail IwHred the marka or a gallofrtng hreu. A few rola farther along Keith auM to a coufuied blur of l-ony irwtk. aweepiiig In from the eaat, in4 list-whole list-whole atory of the rhuae waa reve.)titf aa though he had wltnenvd It with bi own eea They munt have tt crnxy. or elan luiMled by nome gr-w-nerenatty, to venture a Inn a tbln irwU In an pmall a party And they w-vr traveling wettt-weatf Keith dra-a a. deep breath, and awore to fcli " "Of all the hi it ma foola He perceived Hie dcture la mil trr grewvome detalla-the two -drawn wagoni moving lowly mivtur the trull In the early mornlnr; itWt band of hnatlle Indiana auriitvrrla n woo ping out from aome obneunr aM Ing place In the bluffa; the rtlarovf-t of their preaence; the dertperale ffreff at eacnpe; the nwervlng front tlv oKn trnll in vain hope of reachiu.-the reachiu.-the river and finding pre-tertton mu rie rn e:i I h 1 1 bn n k a ; tho f rich i f went mulea galloping wildly. Iai!rnt laeo a fienv by the man on boraelmrh; tlie-poundtng tlie-poundtng of the iHitilea' boo fa. poor i tuated by the exultant yella of lb purHuera Again he awore: "Of all the blame foolnf" ! ; CT(I UK I'ONTINI'Kfp jf |
