The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-03-25
w CHAPTER l.
A LIFE GLoRIoUsLY sTAKKDi

-.a lra CHAPTER l. 1f - s5
LIFE GLoRIoUsLY srAKEDi sor
Towards the close of Q beautiful day in June
1861, man and woman, mounted upon feet
horses came galloping one Of the great plains
of the West, and drew rein in the shade Of clump
OF cotton woods upon the bank Of q beautiful
river. They had ridden far and rapidly. Their
steeds were painting, and covered with sweat and
foam. ~ r ..
I'VE must give the horses breathing spell, -
said the former, clipping to the ground and his
companion nodded . graceful assent. 80 she fol.
lowed his example. 49,.
The couple were evidently father and daughter.
The man was IN the prime OF life, hale aud
hearty, with large frame, which was sinewy
and athletic, without ceasing TO be refined ana
prepossessing. He had the keen. shrewd look
peculiar to the advance guards of civilization,
and there was an honest, frank expression on his
sun-browDed face that proclaimed his integrity
and courage. lrIl ar
In her way. his daughter was equally picturesque
and attractive.
In the early flush of womanhood. with pure.
sna tender sos ana 's ossess sov ushsS
with the hue of the rose with amber curls iosting
behind her, she was as graceful as gazelle, as
light hearted as bird, as lovely as flower, and
ss spirited as an untarned antelope. 1919
The stream by which the couple had halted was
Wood river, a branch Of the Platte. in Nebraska,
st point fifty miles northwest Of Fort Kearny.
"Are you tired, Miriam ?" asked the hunter,
George Dane, with fatherly solicitude.
Tired father 20 rejoined the maiden, with
happy laugh. "Oh, NO. How could be tired
after day like this! Every minute has been
filled with pleasure and excitement feel as fresh
as yopder bird.n
The father smiled understandngly, with look
full of the fondest affection.
II can guess the cause of your lightness of
heart" said he smilingly. 1.-THE return, now daily
expected, Of certain Hubert Earle, from the
mines of Idaho, may account, suspect, for your
present gladness."
heightened color appeared on Miriam's face,
for the name mentioned was that Of her lover.
She answered the gances OF her father. however,
with frankness that attested his entire sympathy
with her, and said:
True, father, my heart has been unusually
light for several days past. How could il De other.
wise, since know that Hubert is coming?n
Mr.. Dane did not reply. He was looking with
kindling eyes, over the tair flower dotted plain;
and his next remark showed how widely his
thoughts had strsyed.
al 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 it we could see our home from this point"
and his face lighted up with soulful glow. ''0ur
cottage j. not more than seven miles distant; let
me see!"
He drew from his coat pocket. glass. adjusted
to his sight, pointing 1t in northerly direction,
and gazed through it long and earnestly, to-
wards his rancho upon Carrey's Fork.
Eyes, see it," he said. at last, with o long,
deep. and joyful inspiration. as if the sight re-
freshed him In every nerve. "There is our cot
tsge, as plain as day. can even see the vines
you planted before the windows, Miriam. And
there. ON the grapevine bench under the big
elm, sits your mother. busy at her sewing. Bless
her ! She does not imagine we looking at
her. Look, Mirism.".
he yielded the instrument to bis daughter
who obeyed his Injunction, her lovely face glow.
ing with smiles as she regarded the distant nome
scene.
''Desr motfer.n she murmured. at is a treat
TO her TO be able TO sit out under the trees without
fear of molestation. There are no hostile Indians
hereabOuts now-are there. father!"
mo. Red knife, as you have already heard.
was killed yesterday by settler, and his band
has retreated towards the mountains. will con.
TESS. Miriam. thar during all the time we have
been 10 the West, have not felt so light hearted
and care free since we received news of Red
Knife's death. You have just seen how this Joy
bubbles over in me. Red Knife was q demon,
rather than a savage.n
Miriam shuddered. and her features even paled
at the memory of the Indian mentioned.
He never spared pale face" she said, striv.
ing to speak calmly. "Besolation and cruelty
marked his path. For more than three years he
has ragged TO and fro upon the plains like raven.
ing wolf. He was the terror of the border"
You have named him appropriately, Miriam"
said the hunter. "He had fiendish 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 il, when
strange gasping, painting sonnd startled them
both, andsent them quickly to their saddles.
The hunter wheeled his horse and looked down
upon the river bank, from which direction the
sound had come. bis manner self possessed. bat
bis countenace indicative of alarm. The maiden
followed his example.
Her eyes were the first to discover the cause of
the sound that bad startled them detecting mans
figure creeping along through the undergr0sth of
bushes lining the shore.
At the same moment their presence in turn
was detected, for the man dropped suddenly
among the protecting bushes, as If he had been
shot.
"An Indian ?" whispered Marian, drawing from
her bosom a revolver. l.
The hunter shook his head, continuing TO
watch the spot at which the had fallen, his
hand on his rifle, his manner that Of one ready for
action.
Suddenly, as the man showed haggard face
peeriDg cautiously from his conceslment, Mr..
Danes anxious countenance broke into q smile,
and he cried out:
.Halloi Is that you, Thompson Do you
take us for Indians, that you skulk there in the
bushes 2"
The individual addressed was silent fall min.
ute, as it seemed, from utter amazement; then
he sprang out from his hiding place with a cry of
relief, and advanced swiftly towards the father
and daughter.
He was man Of middle age, of the ordinary
type Of backwoodsmen, strong aud brown and
siaIwart, Of the rude, rough type that seems to
white, although covered with Precipitation. HIS
breath came through his parted lips in quick.
uneven gasps. He had run far and swiftly, and
looked as il about to drop from fatigue.
Whss has happened, Thompson ~ asked Dane,
with keen anxiety, the msn's singular appearance
giving him sudden shock Of alarm.
a. The lDdions ~ easped Thompson, scarcely
able 10 command his voice. They are coming
Red Knife and his -dvided-my wife my
childrenl Help me /! Help me ~
~ hat talk ~ ihisz cried Dane, sgitated in spite
OF his efforts at self control. RED Knife was
killed yesterday"
HE was only wounded" interrupted Thomp-
son. HE is coming to take his vengeance on us
settlers. He has divided his band into two. They
were up ct the Deer Fork this morning. and are
now coming this way. The points to be struck
are your house and mine."
My God!r calculated Dane, as bis informant
paused in his excited, bresthless narration.
"A horsel horse." cried Thompson, reeling
with fatigue. "l can 90 no further on foot. NY
wife, my children-God pity and save them"
He looked from the hunter to his daughter in
sRonzed and mute supplicatioL.
Dane snaiched the glass from MiTiam's hands
end placed it to his eyes.
he looked TO the northward-ssw his pretty
cottage, his wife busy at her needle under the
fraea-and GLANCED AT fha dim lima of fha hc~s.on