Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-09-05
on the lifeless corpses viii not bear

The mighty oath which Dick Prater.
forgetful alike of hunger. thirst and
fatigue. ground between his set teeth.
will, L hope and trust. never be re-
corded against him on high.
While his pony was eagerly shaking
its thirst, Dick looked about him. hop
ing to find among the scattered debris
some overlooked weapon. with. Heaven
only knows what, wildly-vague plans
for pursuit and vengeance.
But. all In vain. Even the bodies of
tho slain had been plundered of their
revolvers and hunting-knives.
As, sick at heart, Dick turned away,
his foot encountered hard substance
in the short grass. It was a very
new and deliberately mounted hunting
knife with six-inch blade and ivory
haft, in which was inserted a silver
plate bearing the not-unfamiliar name
of ''Cyrus Manning, Esq. the Esq. :"
settling its ownership beyond the shad-
ow of doubt.
Then Dick remembered having once
heard Millionaire Manning declare his
intention of building hunting-lodge
in the wilds of Nebraska, where he
owned few thousand acres of land
''some day."
Some day had come, and presumably
on his way to the lodge, the train was
attacked. his guide and wagon crew
were massacred, and he himself taken
away a prisoner perhaps with others.
Disk reverently covered the multi
lated fragments of humanity with what
was left of the wagon-tilt- Then the
claims of a very healthy appetite as
serted themselves vigorously.
The red men had evidently not been
educated up to canned provisions.
Tins of various comestibles strewed
the ground on every side. Cold
chicken, ham and dessert of English
plum pudding. with preserved peaches,
made a most satisfying meal for a man
who had tasted nearly twenty-four
hours. And Dick arose from a cracker
box like a giant refreshed.
As he turned his eyes in the twilight
toward a more distant range of bluffs
he saw the dark base illumined by a
sudden ruddy glow. That it was
fre-the campfire of the Indians who
had attacked the wagon, was his most
natural conjecture.
Dick was no hero of the Roaring
Bisbe of the Range" order Far from
it. But he had pluck and determine
ton, and his blood was at white
heat of wrath by reason of what lay
under the slit wagon-tilt. And with
no very definite purpose in mind he
tethered his pony. after which, initial
ing as far as possible the stealthy
steps of the old trapper. who has done
duty for so many years in dime and
half-dime literature, he made his way
through the night shadows in the di-
rectiOn of the distant campfire.
This proved to be built in deep
rift of the irregular-shaped bluffs, and
it was but the reflection that he had
seen. The tall form of a half-naked
Indian, rife in hand. standing sentinel
like in the entrance was unpleasantly
silhouetted against the blaze, which
effectually precluded, further re-
connoissance in that direction.
Now, with the going down of the
sun, the sky. had cleared. And as Dick,
crouched behind a clump of sage
brush, watched the sentinel with
thorough sense of his helplessness to
do more, the full moon began creeping
slowly up over the edge of the wide
plain he had traversed but few hours
before.
Higher and higher climbed the
great oval shield which. to use a
strictly original phrase, ''bathed every
thing in a flood of silvery light
clump of sage bushes included.
But the same mOOn-rays illuminat-
ing the face of the bluff show Dick
how, concealed from the eagle-eye of
Lo, he might ascend to the top and look
directly down on the campfire. So,
having wormed himself cautiously
around a convenient angle, Dick be-
gan his upward climb.
Like most things it was far easier of
accomplishment in theory than in
practice. And to accomplish it noise
lessly was most difficult of all, owing
to bits of shale and rock that soould
go rafting down the irregular steps
he was climbing.
But Dick finally reached the summit
with ''barked' knees and torn cloth
ing. Resting little while to get his
wind he crawled forward till he
reached a point which should directly
overlook the camp below.
But to his disappointment sand
stone boulder, dislodged by some con-
vulsion of nature, rested almost on the
verge of the bluff just where he had in
tend to peer over.
Getting round to one side, Dick fat
tened himself out on the brow of the
bluff and. craning his neck forward,
looked down.
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