The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-12-03

keeper, my father, on yourself. MY
father is a thief for my sake, you
are selt-accused criminal for my
sake; l know that you could not bear
the idea OF incarceration and seeing q
chance, you made your escape. /
have done what could to guard you,
but my father is very ill now, and is
unconscious. find that your hiding
place is about to be discovered. Go,
now; obey me and cross the sea.
must hope for my fathers recovery
and his confession OF the truth; in the
case OF his death the confession shall
be mine. can say nothing while he
is SO ill and helpless. And Iknow
we two shall meet again. Pray for
my poor father, pray for me, for you
are the fittest Of oil to ask for aid
from heaven. Pray, and the time
must come when you shall return to
love and MARY"
Crooks heard the men coming. He
locked and barricaded his door. He
knew that he had fallen into some
trap laid by her, and who would be-
lieve him against her? He looked
from @ knot-hole and saw the rope
hanging on Brule's arm, the moon
light making it look like a long black
snake. He put the barrel of his gun
to this knot-hole.
Crooks" said voice, "what's the
use OF you roasting powder. No in
nocent man bars his door without
knowing what he is accused Of"
They pressed around the hut. The
rifle cracked The men retired, and
all WAS silence. The prisoner look
ed after his knot-hole and saw
"men as trees walking"
clnmp of trees had been shorn of their
twigs, and he heard them raspingly
piled up against the back of his cabin,
There came cracking, thread ol
flame shot up. The man inside look.
ed out; the men We're standing a semi.
circle, some OF them drinking from
TASKS. A blazing log tumbled in upon
the floor; the roof was mass OF tin
der. He must live! hemustlive The
strongest call OF life had come, and
unseen hands were pulling him across
to old England. He felt in his pock.
ct for his money; that was safe, but
his book was gone; if that book had
been found by Brule's daughter
her unscurpulousness would know
no bounds. He tore the blanket from
his bed and wrapped it about his gun.
The place was wasting hot; his hair
was singed; paper on the wall float.
ed and fiared into cinders. He would
wait until certain glowing log at the
back gave way, and then he would
take to the long grass, and-the log
trembled; a scalding stream poured
over him as he tore it down. His
blanSeted gun held up before his face.
he made q dash for the flames, clear
&c them, was speeding across the flat
beyond. But the men had seen HIM;
be heard their thud as they fell to, the
ground through the rattling grass.
And then he saw a woman before him..
Throw your gun into the air, com
manded the harsh voice. He had for
gotten that he held it, that the sway
ing blanket impeded him. He threw
1t away up into the air, where it look
ed like a human body, and then he
stopped and glided through the grass,
away, away, believing in ner, he knew
not why. And there was Brule's girl
between him and the men.
"Stop!" she shrieked. Let him 60 :.
! lied to you; l burnt the money to
harm him; you can find the ashes in
the lamp. Pm the thief!'
YOU'RE too late, Sissy" said Bob
Craddock; "and like most women you
will lie to prevent bloodshed But
you're too late. Look" The men
were kneeling around an object on the
ground. With cry she ran there and
saw--a blanketed gun.
She stood there, q grim smile upon
her face; she knew that the newly
struck vein at the lode would kindly
stop for day or two, and she knew
that the fleeing mans plans had been
maturing too long to fail him now
When she went along with her father
and he was upbraiding her for com
ing and confusing the men until the
fugitive had escaped them, she put her
hand into the bosom of her frock and
held tightly there worn pocketbook
which enclosed q lock of woman's
hair, a faded rosebud and scrap of
paper-all hatremained to her OF the
man she loved, the man she had saved
for another woman. For the first
time, perhaps, in years, her thought
sped to the Supreme aid in supplica-
ton for him she had hoped to destroy
before she had read the agitated note
OF Mary"
"l'm ashamed of you," growled her
father; "there's nothing womanly
about you"