Show 1 T vr H vr A E Q U V IL the story of an army officer on an indian reservation by ROBERT AMES BENNET 4 1 tuya w wi it aws was told in the first installment of this story how capt floyd H hardy hrdy U 6 S A just back in the states from the philippines where he an fn I 1 had ad put do down a savage cupris uprising ing of moros arrives at lakotah indian r reservation rati in the northwest he finds a party of angry indians firing sought shelter in the canyon the who have on three t hr white wt persons trader his beautiful daughter marie and whites are old jake dupont a a youngea young easterner named vanderlyn Vand ervyn they are ill mannered toward la captain anHar hardy but he risks his life and routs the indians he becomes Capt friendly r bend y with wt the whites and learns that vanderlyn Vand ervyn nephew of a united states state senator e at had expected to get the agency appointment following the killing of the regular agent by an indian also he discovers of chief sitting bull and marie Is a great granddaughter ove vers r th that at t avat that aishe she h has been educated edica ted in a french canadian convent this installment revelations of conditions on the reservation t contains some CHAPTER III 2 confidences the rescuers from born the agency had reined in their sweating ponies to a lope when they first caught sight of the party on the butte side of the coulee they straggled down the gulley at a walk eight short haired indian policemen in blue uniform and a tall loose lipped young in ordinary frontier clothes As they stopped in the stream to water their ponies each furtively studied the rider who was approaching pro aching on the big rangy mare youre too late charlie called vanderlyn Vand ervyn captain hardy climbed the butte and the whole bunch hit out I 1 soldiers queried the halfbreed halt breed no hes bes alone our new agent explained vanderlyn Vand ervyn as his pony brought him alongside hardy at the edge of the stream captain this Is charlie red eod ib abear eaLr our issue clerk and interpreter if interpreter ater preter repeated hardy do any of the police understand english no sir only a few words mumbled the halfbreed half balf breed tell them I 1 am it a captain of the horse orse soldiers the Long knives I 1 have been sent here to be the agent interpreted in musical la ic otah accompanying his words with swift signs the swarthy policemen grunted approvingly and their leader rolled out a sonorous reply the halfbreed interpreted mechanically ile he says your eye Is straight he says they are ready to trail and fight the indians whose hearts are bad they are not to pursue the party ordered hardy 1 I shall call a coun cn of the chiefs and ascertain the cause of the tribal unrest tell them hesitated and looked at vanderlyn Vand ervyn the chief clerk spoke to him in sharp reproof dons do as youre told charlie captain hardy Is now in command of the reservation the halfbreed stared in astonishment but hastened to interpret at once the faces of the policemen became stolid they cast covert glances at vanderlyn Vand ervyn without seeming to no artice their sudden change of manner hardy selected tour four to act as escort to the indian trader and his daughter the rest of the party followed him aback up the gulley from the first the mare walked out in the lead she would soon have left even quickstep quick step icing iping g pinto had not cot her rider happened to glance alance about and catch the troubled expression on the younger mans face nardy hardy waited tor for him to come alongside and gravely remarked 1 I wish to e empress er press my regret mr air vanderlyn Vand ervyn that my detail here has deprived you of your expected promotion small mouth curved with a cynical smile but softened to a more agreeable expression as he met the others gaze you admit it he muttered having accepted the detail I 1 cannot 11 now ow ask to be relieved said hardy but the extra pay was not one of the inducements permit me to suggest that arrangements can be made to divert to your salary the amount la in excess of my regular compensation as an officer the offer was as unexpected as it was generous vanderlyn Vand ervyn flushed bit his lip and replied halt half inaudibly you think just because no not quite you may mean well but no excuse P my fault stir sir pardon me apologized hardy vanderlyn Vand ervyn looked ahead at the mountains considered and turned to his companion with what seemed a cordial smile 1 I am not used to being patronized captain but as you did not mean it that way not at nil all Vander vanderlyn Vand ervyn vya nodded you now understand der stand that im not one of the common run of indian service employees LI il was slated for to our embassy at the alie court of saint james celebrated the coming event with some friends and wound up by heaving a I 1 trick brick through a window of the white house uncle shipped me out here until the storm should blow over hardy may have recalled the halings in which he had shared it at west point ills only comment was you were fortunate to get any appointment OH I 1 dont know carelessly replied vanderlyn Vand ervyn 1 I wake the president and I 1 had some of 0 ray my wad left the watchman sent me home in a taxi tail put aut the infernal grafter must have beached pe ached I 1 got this instead of london best thing for you you think so said vanderlyn Vand ervyn his wide open eyelids drooping ive been six months in this godforsaken god forsaken jumping ingoff off place I 1 have stayed six days it if it been for marle alliss dupont seems to be a very spirited young woman dryly commented hardy walt till you see her put on dog she was three or four years at a convent in ottawa they must have farmed her out as a parlor maid in some select british family she can give a perfect imitation of a real lady when she choo chooses sem yes said hardy take it for the sure article ment w ent on vanderlyn Vand ervyn yin and not all she can cook like an angel says she took a course in domestic science but it must be hereditary ill give odds one of her paternal ancestors was a F reach french chef ceef french the word the way she has with men even this halfbreed thinks lie he Is in the running was mad over her lie ile even would have married her but he was not a man of family or culture fancy jake dupont Z A Z f 11 11 V p 0 im not used to being patronized captain for a father alfather in law only thing his squaw died five or six years ago that was when nhen he be sent the girl to ottawa hardy looked at the mountains and changed the subject may alay I 1 ask you to give the particulars of the killing of mr V eyelids drooped low and opened again in a wide guileless stare theres little to tell and I 1 and were riding into the moun we met the murderer he and quarreled ile he shot killed him then and I 1 fired and one of us got him we dont know which of ua m it t was all find it in the coroners report I 1 kept a copy in the office at the agency strange that an indian should attack a white man that way observed hardy was the cause ascertained Vander vanderlyn Vand ervyn vya twisted the tip of his blond mustache well it may be all talk but I 1 gather that the trouble was over this ore buying thought it a good thin thing to encourage the chiefs felt ugly because the goods were not paid to them instead of to the laborers the bucks and squaws squads who iho dug the ore you know the chiefs stirred up a lot of bad blood no doubt they instigated sti gated the murder they want to boss the tribe their own way let us trust that we shall have them in hand before fall fall echoed vanderlyn Vand ervyn you expect to stay all summer that shuts me out of my promotion you may receive the appointment of perhaps I 1 dont want it just now you forget marle marie the gra gravity ity ot of the officers face hardened to sternness sir mr vanderlyn Vand ervyn madly kindly bear in mind that as ag agent of this reservation I 1 am in charge of 0 the moral as well as the material welfare of every member of the tribe vanderlyn Vand ervyn quivered like a thoroughbred flecked with the lash his voice shook passion damn your impudence ill have you understand youre not talking to one of your roughneck rough neck recruits aly ancestors were gentlemen before yours were ever heard of 1 I regret that you do not seem to have inherited their gentlemanly manners came back the cool rejoinder reddened face went crimson the veins of his forehead began to swell but with vc a strong effort he repressed his anger and forced a smile you went me one bettor better nardy hardy I 1 throw down the officer responded with instant sympathy 1 I see no reason why we should not become friends and work together for the good of the tribe its a go agreed vanderlyn Vand ervyn and as if cleared of till all ill III temper by ills his outburst he began a lively conversation on official society in the national capital the party topped the rise between the river and sioux creek and rode down the winding road that skirted its willow ollow fringed bank to the crossing of the stream As they rounded the spur ridge on the far side rode up on hardys ardys II right and pointed to a small cabin among the quaking asps alps in the mile wide curve of the stream to the left see my house sir he said looks well built remarked hardy his field glasses at his eyes quite new I 1 see sec you have still to put dirt on this corner of the roof and to put a squaw inside added vanderlyn Vand ervyn the jaw muscles twitched but he did not look away from hardy 1 I got a letter from my sister oinna she says she cant stay at school she says she will die it if they make her stay at school I 1 want her to come and cook for me till I 1 get married how old is she more than seventeen she is sick to come she says she will die very yell well but you tou must take good care of her until she is married marr led 11 yes sir ive got a lot of money replied the halfbreed with the proneness of a weak nature to boast ive got almost P almost enough to buy you two squaws squads cut in vanderlyn Vand ervyn started to speak caught the others eye and reined in his pony hardy did not notice this they had rounded the toe of the spur ridge and he was gazing up the green valley that lay outstretched in a circle of hills larger and far more picturesque than the cata catskills ills sioux creek swirled out of a canyon at the for far end to meander down a winding channel fringed with bushes and aspens ashens and other small trees on a natural terrace or bench two miles vp up the glasses showed the log buildings at the agency midway down to Red bears cabin but across the creek was a large post and rall corral van delvyn had resumed with zest his talk about the social gaieties of which he 11 e had been deprived for half a year hardy said little but his eye was busy taking in the natural features of the beautiful valley when they came to the slope of the bench or terrace vanderlyn Vand ervyn noticed the intent look of his companion and inquired well what do you think of it talk about siberian exile that is the dupont place over here hardy glanced at the large double cabin a hundred yards off to the right of the road the broad front porch gave it a homelike appearance the two cabins before him were very small beyond them stood the big agency warehouse its overhanging upper story showed that it had been built for use as a blockhouse but the many windows had rendered it less defensible ible than alian one of the cabins the only persons in sight were the two indian police who had been left in charge by well repeated vanderlyn Vand ervyn not an easy place to defend suld said hardy where is the office and the guardhouse the office is in inthe the near front corner of the warehouse the police quarters are in the other end you see the white tepees over there across the creek most of the relations of the police camp near the agency this first cabin Is yours I 1 should say the second Is mine your quarters may I 1 ask you for a bite of lunch as soon as I 1 have rubbed down my mare 1 I board with the duponts but I 1 can scare up a cold lunch said vanderlyn Vand ervyn As they dismounted came up and abid successfully curried favor with the new agent by offering to curry his mare he led her away to the low brush stable beyond the warehouse after lunch though still weary from ills his long ride hardy put in the rest of the day inspecting the agency property and examining the accounts of the two clerks with the exception of two or three small items oil mi Red bears books everything checked accurately Vand vanderlyn ervyn brought bacon coffee crackers and canned food and the new agent cooked supper with the skill of an old campaigner after they had eaten the chief clerk produced cigars in anticipation of a social evening but hardy was so drowsy that he asked to be excused the moment he was alone he laid his rifle and automatic ill pistol tol in the bunk blew out the candle and tumbled in on his blankets without troubling to close either cither the door or the one small window 0 the next morning hardy and van delvyn were seated in the agency office when came in and started to shuffle around to his desk on the other side of tile the office partition wait said hardy 1 I wish vish the chiefs and headmen of the tribe summoned to meet me in council as soon as lios possible sible 11 it is a lays days ride to the camps farthest back in the mountains remarked vanderlyn Vand ervyn yin f hardy considered and looked up at Eed bear does not this tribe use smoke si signals not for a long time not since I 1 was a boy sir I 1 never learned how to do it that old sergeant of police will know predicted hardy hard come vanderlyn Vand Vind ervyn lingered behind the others and followed them only to the rear corner of the warehouse when lie he had seen them ride off across creek towards the highest of the mountains that encircled the valley he went back into the office opened the safe and carefully sorted over its contents XII all letters addressed to the late agent and to himself he tool took out and locked in his desk meantime hardy and with the police sergeant passed through the camp of the families of tile the police where they lidded added two old bucks to their party A pony trail led vp up through the pines on the mountainside to the bare granite crag of the summit found the indians standing around a greenwood fire alternately covering it with a blanket and permitting puffs of the dense smoke to rise in the still air in less than half an hour hardys glasses showed him an answering smoke on a peal peak fifteen or twenty y miles distant when he called attention fo 0 o it the police sergeant pointed out still another smoke signal off to the left of the first and several miles farther away the old bucks turned from the fire and started down to where the mare and ponies had been left the chiefs will come tomorrow interpreted their answer to hardys inquiry the jaded buckboard ponies were tugging their load up the slope of the terrace when hardy came down the line of agency buildings at a gallop harie dupont was driving but on the seat beside her was a brown eyed olive skinned girl who averted her handsome face with childish shyness as hardy wheeled his h ls mare and reined up alongside marle marie flushed under the officers direct gaze though unlike her companion she did not seek to avoid it he raised his lint hat with punctilious politeness she bowed and gazing back at him with a leel glance quietly remarked good afternoon captain hardy I 1 have brought your luggage that was very kind of you said hardy as he glanced at the other girl marle smiled in instant appreciation of the fact that chehad spoken to her as to an equal she patted pan ions work reddened hand with her gloved fingers this is charlie red bears sister oinna they did not treat lier her well at school so she ran away to come home I 1 want her to live with me but she says she must be with her |