The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1894-10-27
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ing away from the sentry he styal ked
: rapidly ont upon the bench hichsover-
looked the river bottom. Up here the
moon. illumiDed his way, while under
meath the low crest there were fallen
cottonwoods and more or less Jungle
and tangle to trip over. a camp sem
try, well hidden under the bank,
waited until his senior was close at
hand. then challenged in muff1ed tone.5
Have you heard anything unusual
off yonder?' asked the officer Of thee day
as soon as he had been formally ad-
vanced and recognized.
ssThcre's voices ont there. sir, and
horses. Rafferty's party has got em,l
whoever it is
Presently two horsemen, piloted BY
a soldier afoot, came slowly through!
the timber towards them.
s'Don't challenge said Capt. Fenton.
ell hail. What have you there, corr
poral?'' he sharply asked. when the
party had come within dozen yards.
.sThat you, cap.?' queried a voice.
with the western twang in it. Good
Lord. but I'm glad to git yere! We've
ridden seventy-fve likely miles since
morning, and amt had a drink for
twenty-four hours. Say, any OF our
other fellows we're? We're the posse
sent out from Butte"
ooh! / thought you'd given up and
gone home,' said Fenton shortly, dis
appointed somehow that it was not a
courier. .
'sWell, we did start, till we got word
of Lieut.. Thornton's striking the trail,
then we turned round and followed
him. Luckily, the Sioux headed us
off,
"Why luckily?"
Good Lord! amt you heard? The
lieutenant and his men were corralled
up at Slaughter cove. I don't reckonI
there's hide nor hair of any of EN- left
by this time, 'cept what the Indians;
have got on their scalp BELTS
slaughter cove, man! why that's not
more than thirty miles north OF us,
through the gap
That's all true, perhaps, but we
had to ride around q whole county TO
work our way out. The Sioux have
gos the swag by this time, robbers;
troopers, and ALL"
CHAPTER X.
A proud boy was Perry Thornton the;
night the details of the robbery reachesdI
them. Finding no paymaster att
Willow Springs Oh Friday noon, and
alarmed by reports Of Indian outragests
down the Mini Ska, Tintop, DIS has been
seen. decided TO push on for Painted|
Lodge as soon as men and horses had
enjoyed an hour of incoming; and so by
sunset of the long June day the caval-i
ry had put some forty-three miles to;
their credit and gone into camp once
more, close to the stream, and not more
than ten miles from the bridge over!
which was carried the broad and once|
well-beaten trail from Pawnee to theI
agency. Thornton, eager to win his'
spurs, and being q prime favorite with
Tintop, as indeed he was with every-l
body, had been accorded the bliss OF a
side-scout, and was sent over to the
stage station at the bridge to gatherI
news There WAS no difficulty in load,
ing up with rumors Tie air was full
of them. Perry found at the station
half a dozen cowboys, ranchmen and4
the like, most of whom had escaped by;
the skin Of their teeth and the per-
Torrance of prodigies of personal valo1.
The old telegraph line from
Pawnee to the station was in
tact, but north through Wagon
gap and SO on to the agency there
had been no communication for 4
week, and no one was venturesome
enough to 60 out and discover why.
Around by way of Bismarck and
Yankton it was easy, though slow
work, to communicate with the agency
people, and the situation warranted
the. belief that the Sioux had slashed
the wires running southwark from
their reservation, and therefore toward
the railway and the coming soldiers,
but had left the northward passage
open, under the natural impression
that no tidings could ever get to the
enemy by road that ran the opposite
way. Perry was urged by his inform
ants to get back to camp and bring up
the cavalry, and had not gone mile
before the accident happened which:
led to the shooting of the horse he was
riding. The telegraph company, think.
ing to be enterprising, had sent a
young man out with an instrument only !
day before, and reopened the old Office
at Ska Bridge station, and when cow
boy came running in to say the lieu .
tenant and his party had been jumped
on the way back to Painted Lodge, the
dispatch was sent at once. which SO
alarmed the good folks at Ransom,
and which Rhett found means to mod
ify on the following day; by which
time, however, the truth was learned
at Ska Bridge, as the cavalry battal-
ion, ''going for all it was worth
passed ON down stream in cloud Of
alkali dust. Perry was ready for an
other ride even after a long days
march, when, late Saturday night, as
they slept far down the Ska, a courier
rode in from the stage station behind,
with full particulars of the robbery
and the news that some of the gang
were unquestionably striving to es-
cape toward the Indian agency to the
north, and had been seen squirting