The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1896-02-28

tAc WOunueu man 10 q temporary place
Of shelter, In q tumble down and dis
used trapper's hut, on the further side
OF an incline on the opposite side Of the
gulch, and on spur Of the mountains,
totally distinct from that on which
both Maclane's and Ashland's cabins
were situated. By these means. aud by
Lucy's silence, they were sure Of OBJ
tanning, at least, sufficient breathing
time to secure large amount of gold,
and to be able to hy East before the
avenging arm of the rough border law
could reach them. Not very far from
the broken down trapper's hut lived in
solitary retirement an old Sioux half
breed, named Makasapa, who, like ev-
erybody else In that country, would
have died to help Lucy. The old man
spoke hardly any English at all, al
though his father had been n rough and
ready Scotch trapper, who, somehow or
other, years and years before, had
spent few hunting seasons among the
Dacotahs, and had disappeared with
out the least further inquiry about the
fate Of his wife and child. But Lucy
was fully conversant with most of the
Indian dialects of the surrounding
tribes, and had no difficulty in securing
the old half-breed's skilled assistance
in the dressing of Herbert's wounds,
and also In securing his secrecy on the
subject. ~
Weeks passed thus, and the girl bare
~ left her charge for moment. When
the wounds began to heal and the flick
ering life became stronger, when con-
sciousness returned and the danger of
accusation grew more threatening, the
Maclanes paid hurried visits to the hut,
with CHASTITY pale faces, inquiring
about the patients condition, and with
ha-d-set teeth vowing that they would.
finish their job IL the wounded mans
absolute silence could not be obtained.
They had struck great lode Of gold in
the meanwhile, and had stored
away big pile Of the precious
metal ready for sudden flight.
Again. and again Lucy stood
determinedly in front Of the man who
already owed her his life; over and
over again she dared and deaed her
savage relatives She went even so
far as to order them out Of the hut at
the pistols mouth. Little by little the
Maclanes came to accept the danger
Of the situation, and to prepare for all
eventualities.
They had buried Dick Ashland in an
out-of-the-way spot, where nobody
would have thought to look for him.
They removed all traces Of bloodshed
from the gulch bottom and burned
their gore stained clothes. Thus they
entertained the hope, by desperate Inn
prudence, to be able to brazen the mat
ter out until they could retire and dis
appear In the great thriving East.
Great was their amazement, and
equally their relief, when Herbert, on
recovering, recognized neither of them,
nor Lucy; when he seemed to wake,
ns from dream, in which al the REM
iniscence Of the bloody fray was swal-
lowed up; when, in fact, oil memory
Of that terrible night and Of oil per-
sons and places, seemed to be gone
from the young mans mind, they look
ed at one another in grim and half
frightened stare, as If the relief which
had burst upon them was too sure to
be real. But the hours and the days
drew on, and Herbert's condition re-
manned the same. In fact, at that
time, loss Of memory was absolute;
acts of the morning were obliterated
by the events Of the afternoon, and
the poor young fellow could not carry
his recollections from one day to the
next. This surprising dispersal Of
their fears changed the plans of the
Maclanes, and they urged Lucy to re-
turn to the parental cabin. and to
share the immense and newly found
wealth. But the girl was firm. She
would not again live with her guilty
father and cousin. She would rather
die hundred times than touch q red
speck Of their blood-stained gold. She
would leave her relatives to explain
the circumstances as best they might,
but she would move far away from
them and devote her life to the care
and recovery Of the man whom they
had so dastardly assailed and injured.
She gathered up her belongings, and
those beQueAthed to her by her dead
mother, and having persuaded Maka-
eapa to join his fortunes to hers, the
two set out with their now fairly re-
covering patient to the prairies north
of the South Platte, where Makasapa
soon found them q home with some
friendly Sioux.
AS Herbert became stronger his
memory of actual occurrences Inn
proved, and he was able to remember
events of the days and weeks as they
swept by, but the past, even as near
as his residence and recovery in the
mountains, was gone. To all his ques.
lions concerning himself, both. Lucy
and Makasapa gave evasive answers.
and, as the inquiries fatigued him and
seemed to distress the girl, he did not
continue them. AS his health and
strength returned 1t brought back his
impulsiye, hot-headed disposition, and,
as was only natural under the circum.
stances, he fell head over ears in love
with the beautiful girl who was 60
good to him. But Lucy knew how to
tame her admirer into tacit submis-
sion, and Herbert at last resigned him
self into living with her rs brother
would with a dearly beloved sister.
During all this while Lucy held nc
communication whatever with hel
father and cousin, and the latter
whether 1t were from Indifference OF
fear, sought none with her. Therefore
when the Madanes met Lord Cleve Ii
Hyde Park they were thunderstrucl
to find themselves face TO- face witt
their former victim. and they were alb
/ ROliltplv una ware TINT Illcv wGR II