The weekly North-Carolina standard., 1869-03-31
RED KNIFE !;
KIT. CARsoN'S LAST TRAIL.
BY LEON LEWIS,
AUTHOR OF 1.-THE WAGON TRAIN" "THE
WITCH FINDER" THE WATER WOLF
ETC., ETC, ETC.
CHAPTER L.

June, 1867, man and woman, mounted
upon fleet horses came galloping over one of
the great plains of the West, and drew rein
in the shade of q clump of cotton woods
upon the bank of u beautiful river. They
had ridden far AMI rapidly. Their steeds
were painting. and Seovered-with sweat and
foam.
ave must give the horses breathing
SPELL" said the former. slipping to the
ground; and his companion nodded a grace
full assent, as she followed his example.
The couple were evidently father and
daughter. -...
The man was in The prime of life, hale and
hearty, with large frame, which was sinewy
and athletic, without ceasing to be refined
and prepossessing. He had the keen, shrewd
look peculiar to the advance guards of CIV
ilization, and there was an honest, frank
expression on his sun-browned face that
proclaimed his integrity and courage.
In her way, his daughter was equally pic
turesque and attractive.
In the early flush of wOmanhood, with a
pure, sweet, and tender face, with eyes tlarkly
glowing, with coral-tinted lips, and cheeks
softly flushed with the hue of the rose, with
amber curls floating behind her, she was as
graceful as gazele, as light-hearted as
bird, as lovely as a flower, and as spirited as
an untamed antelope.
The stream by which the couple had
halted was Wood river, branch of the
Platte, in Nebraska at point fifty miles
northwest of Fort Kearny.
Are you tired, Miriam ~ asked the
hunter, George Dane, with fatherly solici-
tude.
Tired. fatherl" reioined the maiden.
with happy laugh. "Oh, no. How could
1 be tired after day like this9 Every
minute has been filled with pleasure and
excitement l feel rs fresh as yonder bird"
The father smiled understandingly, with
look full of the fondest affection.
81 can guess the cause of your lightness
of heart" said he, smilingly. "The return,
now daily expected, of q certain Hubert
Earle, from the mines of Idaho, may ac-
count, l suspect, for your present gladness."
A heightened color appeared on Miriams
face, for the name mentioned was that OF
her lover She answered the glances of her
father, however, with a frankness that at
tested his entire sympathy with her, and
said:
True, father, my heart has been unusu-
ally light for several days past. How could
it be otherwise, since know that Hubert is
comingl"
Nh. Dane did not reply. He was looking,
with kindly eyes, ever the fair f1ower-dotted
widely his thoughts had strayed.
{" wonder what mother has been doing
without US all day, Miriam She must be
lonely, with no one to speak to or share her
meals. shouldn't wonder if we could see
our home from this point" and his face
lighted up with soulful glow. "Our cot
tage is not more than seven miles distant
let me see r.
He drew from his coat pocket-glass, adj
iusted it to his sight, pointed it in
northerly direction, and gazed through it
long and earnestly, towards his rancho upon
Carey's Fork.
" Yes, l see it." he said, at last, with a
long, deep, and Joyful i aspiration, as if the
sight refreshed him in every nerve. There
is our cottage, as plain as day. / can
even see the vines you planted before the
windows. Miriam. And there, on the grape,
vine bench, under the big elm. sits your
mother, busy at her sewing. Bless her!
She does not imagine we are locking at her.
Look, Miriam"
He yielded the instrument to his daugh-
ter. who obeyed the injunction, her lovely
face glowing with smiles as she regarded
the distant home scene.
Dear mother m she murmured. at is
treat to her to he able to sit out under the
trees without moestation. There are no
hostile Indians hereabouts now-are there,
father 2"
mo. Red Knife, as you have already
heard, was killed yesterday by a settler, and
his band has retreated towards the noun
tains. l will confess, Miriam, that during
all the time we have been in the West,
have not felt so light-hearted and care-tree
as since we received news of Red Knife's
death. You have Just seen how this joy
bubbles over in me. Red knife was demon,
rather than a savage"
Miriam shuddered, and her features even
paled at the memory of the Indian men
toned.
He never spared pale face" said she,
striving to speak calmly. " Desolation and
cruelty marked his path. For more than
three years he has ragged to and fro upon
the plains like aravening wolf. He was
the terror of the border"
"You have named HIM appropriately,
Miriam" said the hunter He had tiend-
ish hatred of the white race, and his victims
have been many"
Mr. Dane held out his hand for the glass,
and Miriam was in the act of restoring it.
when a strange, gasping, painting sound
startled them both, and sent them quickly
to their saddles.
The hunter wheeled his horse and looked
down upon the river-bank, from which di-
rection the sound come, his manner self
possessed. but his countenance indicative of
alarm. The maiden followed his example.
Her eyes were the first to discover the
cause of the sound that had startled them,
detecting mans figure creeping along
through the underground OF bushes lining
the shore i" 4t
At the same moment, their presence in
turn was detected, for the man dropped sud-
denly among the protecting bushes, as if he
had been shot.
san Indian ~ whispered Miriam, draw
from her bosom a revolver.
The hunter shook his head, continuing to
watch the spot at which the man had fallen.
his hand on his rifle, his manner that of
one ready for action.
Suddenly, as the man showed a haggard
face peering cautiously from his conceal
ment, Mr.. Danes anxious countenance broke
into smile, and he cried out:
Halo Is that you, Thompson Do
you take US for Indians, that you skulk
there in the bushes 2"
The individual addressed was silent full
minute, as it seemed, from sheer amazement;
then he sprang out from his hiding-place