The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-02

money. too
The dark man put two fingers to his
lips, gave a shrill, wild whistle. and a
beautiful horseback as night-came
leaping UP from the gulch behind him.
| "Myl but you're a verdant youth"
said the dark man as the messenger
offered him the money, and there was
a shade of smile about his black
mustache Come, let me help you
into the saddle while I've got the
strength. Be quick" and he reached
to help the messenger to rise.
II shall never leave you here
| alone"
I'll be dead in twenty minutes
thirty at the outside Now don't be a
fool" and he stopped to lift the big
messenger by his wounded leg, but the
| effort caused him to cough: blood
| spurted from his mouth, and both
men, weak from their Weiinds fell
down in a heap: and then, leaning on
! their elbows. they looked at each
other, the dark man with cynical,
the messenger with sort OF hyster-
ical, smile The black horse shifted
at his master and snorted at the smell
/ of blood
The warden's dark-eyed daughter
was taking her regular morning ride
in the foothills. There were no daily
papers to spread the news of the place
and she had heard nothing OF the
washout of the previous day and of the
flight of the messenger. Yesterday he
had made her feel herself the happiest
woman in the world. She had gone to
her bed happy, but had awakened IN
dreadful dream, and had been I'M
able 10 go to sleep from that hour I'M
til morning. Her heart was heavy
within her breast. She felt half in
clined to be angry with her spirited
horse, who was now cantering away
with her toward the fresh green hills.
AT the edge of the valley she met
three horsemen riding hard toward
the town.. Two of the men were
wounded-one was bleeding-and she
asked what was the matter. The men
appeared not to want to stop, but
when she had heard, in confused
way, something about the express
messenger, she turned and rode by the
side of the sheriff until he had told
her hurriedly all that had occurred.
He made her understand that they
! had left the fugitive and his confed-
crate at the top of the gulch from
which they had just emerged and that
the thief" was severely wounded.
He is no thief" she retorted; there
is some mistake
Yes said the sheriff, I'VE made
mistake in not shooting him down like
dog at first sight; but he'll never
leave those hills alive. In an hour
the whole town will be after him
With that the sheriff drove the spurs
into his horse and galloped away af-
ter his companions.
The dark-eyed woman refined her
horse to stop and stood looking after
the deputies. 1t was some moments
before she could realize the awfulness
of what she had heard. I'm an hour
the whole town will be after him
She repeated what the sheriff had
said. The guards at the prison, those
who could be spared-even her own
father-would be upon his trail to kill
him. 1t must not be. With prayer
upon her lips the bewildered woman
turned her horse and dashed away
toward the hills.
From the valley the gulch showed
plainly, but when she found herself
among the rocks she became confused.
The heavy growth of pinion and cedar
obscured her view and for nearly an
hour she galloped up and down along
the foothills. unable to find the cor
rect pass. Her horse was white with
foam. Her veil had been torn away
and her face was bleeding from many
wounds inflicted by the stiff branches
of the spreading cedars. At times she
actually cried out to God to guide her
to her lover, whom she believed to be
innocent. At last she found the trail
made by the sheriff's posse as they
came down the gulch, but moment
later her heart sank as she heard the
rattle of horsemen behind her. Pres
emily she came to the dead deputy
and his horse, but the sight did not
appall her. Nothing could stop her
now. Even in the presence of these
silent witnesses-the horse and rider
slain by the messenger-she was able
still to believe in his innocence. Such
is the capacity of woman's love-
Now new trouble confronted her.
Her horse refused to pass the dead. In
vain she urged, coaxed and whipped
him; he would only snort and turn
away. Nearer and nearer came the
crowd Of man-hunters behind her. At
last, having given UP all hope of get
ting her horse beyond the CHASTITY
dead, she leaped to the ground and
continued on foot. The horse. having
been trained to follow her as a. faith
full dog follows his master leaped the
corpse of his brother, and galloped to
his mistress. 1t required but a mo-
ment for her to remount, and when
she reached the top of the narrow
canyon she turned to look behind her.
The little gulch. was filled with a
stream of horsemen and at the head
of the column rode her father, fol-
lowed by the mounted guard from the
penitentiaTy. From he mouth of the
gulch struggling and broken line of
horsemen reached down to the stage
road, and the stage road was lined
with wagons and boys on the burros.
while out of the town and over the
valley men and women swarmed like
ants
It's awful for you to have TO die for
me- said the. messenger as the two
men leaned upon their elbows and
looked at each other His shirt was
pasted to his shoulder. His shoe hav-
ing flied up, the blood was now oozing
out between the lacings.
ut is not awful" said the dark man,
rubbing the ends of his fingers over
the wound in his breast. Its a. useful
ending of a wasted life. l never
dreamed tha. I should die so nearly
satisfied. And such sport Why that
fight between you and the-and Huer-
fano Bill, as you call him, was. the best
thing I ever saw. And the last wild
plunge of the maddened horse. What
a climax. 1 wonder where the soul
plunges to at that last leap? Stuff,
there is no soul and no place to plunge
to-I've always said so. And yet he
went on, looking at his companion,
when I was near fainting a moment !
ago, l thought the end had come, and
instead of darkness there was dawn
an awful dawn-tile dawn of a new life,
and the glare and uncertainty of it
frightened me- I can't remember ever
having been frightened before. Did
you ever see the sky SO biue?' he asked