Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1893-02-14

downright lie: Don't YOU believe EN-
Dolly; amt nothing Of the sort And
mar iHyoluntarily, he threw = wists,i
glancs al Big Ben.
spite Of his roughness Big Ben must
nave mad soft spot somewhere. for
bending down 10 Dolly, he said gently.
There, you see. Dolly, | must have
Deem mistook. This ere fellow. instead
OF being . thief. IL wirtuous yonth an
innocent angel. In fact. Now run away y
20 Dolly departed satisfied.
After she left silence and bes;tat;or
Irll upon tlie men. The little scene had
touched them. After whispered con-
snltation the judge, stepping forward
CUT the cord round Jim's wrist. saving
CURLY, Here, you young scoundral
wen let You off this time. gnt clss,
out OF this; we don't want no thieves
here"
without word Jim turned on hia
neeL Some men would have left the
place at once. Jim was made OF differ-
ent stuff. Expelled from the camn he
built himself a cabin on the ontskirts
not trying to live the disgrace down. Int
enduring 1t with the logged obstinacv
which was part Of his nature. The
miners, even Big Ben, ignored him conn
pletely; for Ben, for all that instant Of
softness, had certain rugged fibers OF
Frlde about him which led him to treat
thief with merciless Justice.
The effects Of this severely lett;no
alone system were not very apparent
which was no doubt the reason 81 its ~.
ing carried on SO long. II Jim had only
SHOWN proper spirit Of penitence he
would have been forgiven. But, except
that ne was trifle surlier, he went on
his way pretty mnch as before. even
Dolly being treated in public with savage
silence. But as she was not alienated
there is reason to suppose that he mended
his manners when they were alone to-
gether For together they still were at
times; and although muttered protests
went up from the camp on such occa-
fions not man but had manliness enough
to refrain from making Dolly part Of
J1ms punishment. So she and Dim
and Red Mustang had many a fine
scamper together over the prairie.
But there came time when Jim ard
Red Mustang between them vera to do
fine work-a time when a sudden dan
ger doomed ont, and Jim rose to it like
the brave man that he was-when with
clenched teeth he subdued the demon
within him, and proved that on occasion
ne was ready, not for all he could get,
but to give up all that he had. For a
savage ''whoop" rang out one night on
the unsuspecting camp. Men knew what
it was, and sprang to their feet with a
snarl of rage. Rife in hand they rushed
out.
"Injin," said the judge, coolly loading
bis rife, and in the moonlight cleaned
the dusky painted figures There was
little love lost between 1njun and white
man. The "man-and-a- brother" theory
had not been propounded on either side.
1t was war to the knife on both. STEADY!
boys, steadyw said the judge, to whom
such scenes were by no means new.
Ready there? Now-at 'emr'
And lat EN-" it was. Down swung
the muskets, out flashed the shot, and
with a look that was not good to see
upon their faces the boys began their
work sharp -butchery. The saw
ages swarmed into the camp only to be
cut down. 1t was soon over. But the In
dians had fought bravely, and, old, tried
hand as he was, an uneasy light had
leaped to the judges eye. st was a
close shave" he muttered. wiping the
great drops of sweat from his brow as he
watched the fleeing band "a close
shave. A little more, and"- The
pause was suggestive.
The day was already breaking when
the Judge turned in home. Hope the
little lass hasn't been scared" he
thought; and, involuntarily, a queer,
tender CLEAN passed over the weather
beaten face as he thought of his ''little
| lass
''Dollyr' he said, opening the cabin
door. There was no answer. Dolly"
and then again little quicker, "Dolly!'
Again that night the men were aroused
by cry-an awful cry. wrung from a
strong man in pain: and when they hur-
ried forward it was to find the judge
with the fashion of his face all changed,
| pointing to the empty cabin, on whose
floor shone the CLEAN of tomahawk.
That and the confusion of the place told
its tale all too plainly-Dolly had been
carried off by the Indians.
| And not man among them but shud-
dered, for Indian revenge is very hor-
rible thing at its best, and the pltltul
helplessness of little child would have
no weight with a Blackfoot warrior on
the warpath, especially if the child's
people had defeated his own.
In the dazed silence jim stepped for
ward-,Iiu. with his shoulders well
squared and resolute look on his face,
He eyed the group rather scornfully.
..Going to stop here all day. he asked.
"Bein as this is just the right time TO
give your horses a rest. I'm off, And
so he was, he and Red Mustang together,
racing over the plain. But not before
he had seized the judges hand IN fierce
grin. saving. with totally unexpected
catch in his voice. ''Jedge, if | can I'll
hiring her back" Not much, but it
meant q great deal.
Thoroughly reused, the rest followed
his example-not one hung back. All
that feet horses and brave hearts could
do would be done for the little one.
used TO think Red Mustang the finest
horse in the world. and never wondered
at Jim's pride in her. A beautiful Great
ure she was, indeed. and what was more
TO the purpose, swift and strong. She
had been peculiarly vicious, and jim mac
broken her in himself. was present Al