The Princeton union., 1900-11-08

| y with the growing moons that IN
time the only wonder was that any
thing was left Of the Sioux Official
records, however, limited the number
OF officers and men engaged to a Sc
lect few, consisting entirely OF Lieut..
Loring, United States engineers;
Lieut.. Loomis, ----th infantry; few
men from scattered troops, ''pickups"
at Frayne and Emory, with Lieut..
Marshall Dean and 50 rank and file
OF company &C."
Loring, it will be remembered, had
ory and gone into the hills in search of
Burleigh. Loomis, fretting at the fort,
was later electrified by a most grudg-
ingly given order to march to the Lar
annie and render such aid as might be
required by the engineer officer of the
department. Dean, with only IS men
all told, had dashed from Frayne
straight for the ranch, and, marching
all night, had come in sight of the
valley just as it was lighted afar to
| the westward by the glare of the burn
ing buildings. "We thought it was all
over said he, as he lay there weak
and languid few days later, for the
wound reopened in the rush of the
fight, ''but we rode on to the Laramie,
and there, God be thanked! fell in with
Loomis here and &C. troop, heading for
the fire. No words can tell you our joy
when we found the ranch still stand
ing and some 40 Sioux getting ready
| for the final dash. That running fight,
past the old home and down the valley
where we stirred up Loring's be-
siegers and sent them whirling, too
why, I'd give fortune, if l had it, to
| live it over again!''
But Loring, after all, had the most
thrilling story to tell-of how he
wormed a clew to Burleigh's hiding
place out of captured outlaw and
beat up the party in nook of the
hills, nabbed the major asleep, but was
warned that all the Birdsall outfit"
would rally to the rescue, and so sent
a courier to Emory for ''C' troop, and,
making wide detour to avoid the
gang, ran slap into the Sioux in the act
of firing Folsom's ranch. Then he had
to take to the rocks in the fight that
followed, and had a desperate siege of
a few hours, even Burleigh having to
handle a gun and fight for his life Il
| spotted him for a coward that day we
stumbled on Red Clouds band up by
the Big Horn. You remember it, Dean.
l thought him villain when | learned
how he was trying to undermine you.
Time proved him thief and a scoun-
drel, but, peace to his ashes, he died
like a gentleman, after all, with two
Indian bullets through him, and just
as the rescue came. He had time to
make a full confession, and it was all
Dean picked up at Reno, that so STAN
peded him. told how blackm ailing
scoundrel was on his way to Emory to
expose him unless headed off by fur
ther huge payments. 1t was the fellow
who called himself Newhall.'
THE fellow who gave the tip to Bird
sails people," said old, Folsom at this
juncture, raising bandaged head from
his daughters lap. "Who was he.
really?''
'Burleigh knew all the time, and I
suspected the moment l heard Miss
Folsom's description, and was certain
the instant laid eyes on him. He was
a rascally captain cashiered at Yuma
the year before, and I was judge advo-
cate of the court"
And Mrs. Fletcher?" asked Pap
| n~-to
while the other smoothed the gray
:uris of her fathers forehead.
Mrs. Fletcher was his deserted wife,
one of those women who have known
better days."
The ranch is still there, or was 20
years ago, but even then the Sioux were
said to raise more hair in the neigh
borhood than Folsom did cattle. The
old trader had been gathered to his
fathers, and Mrs. Hal to hers, for she
broke down utterly after he events of
'6S. Neither Pappoose nor Jessie cared
10 revisit the spot for some time, yet,
.oddly enough, both have done so more
than once. The first time it's chronicler
ever saw it was in company with q stall
Ne@A , SoAHo No optst'it " hoA oC <hAu LIS
dark-eyed, beautiful wife nine years
after the SIEGE. Hal met us, Il shy, 81
lent fellow, despite his inches. Among
other things said he, Lieut.. and Mrs.
Loomis are coming next week. wish
| you might all be here to meet them"
Il know said Mrs. Dean, I'VE are to
meet at Cheyenne. But, Hail. where's
| your wife,"
He looked shyer still. "She don't
| like to meet folks unless"
There's no unless about it, said the
lady, with all her old decision, as she
sprang from the ambulance, and pres
emily reappeared, leading by the hand
reluctant, yet not all unhappy, Lizette.
Some people said Hal Folsom had no
business to marry an Indian girl be-
fore his wife was dead three years, but
all who knew Lizette said he did per
fectly right; at least Pappoose did, and
that settled it. AS for Loring- But
that's-enough for one story. ''s
THE END. z.. ''--.