The Princeton union., 1900-11-08

Deen missing two days, and Mrs. Folsom
was crazy with fear. so Mr.. Folsom left
| Lieut. $LOrtng to attend to all the mat
ters about the robbery and started at once
Tor the ranch, and Pappoose. of course. in
! sisted on going with him. and would not
! be left behind. And here we are. Now
! can see the hills where YOU had the fight
| and wore E.linor's picture. and it was right
out there among them that Halbert was
found. Horse thieves had run Off his best
horses-the same gang of murderers that,
! they say, planned to trap you and that
you outwitted- Oh! Marshall. was ever
a girl so proud of her brother!-and they
| shot Hal and he was found and taken
care OF by some Indian people, tame ones
| and one was a girl. lizette, who had fallen
In love with him four years ago. Wasn't
is romantic? And she's gone again. but
Hal is safe here. although Mrs. Folsom is
| more than half-crazy, and now old Mr..
| Folsom is worried to DEATH and says we
| must start back for home tomorrow. It's
| sevcnty-tlve miles. and we don't want to
| so at all only I'm SO eager to see you, and
| l heard--at least Mr.. Loomis told me you'd
| be back any day. and he has your troop
! till YOU come. and he's SO fond Of YOU
| Oh, here's Pappoose to say this must go
! at once"
The colonel sat watching the young
fellow as he read. bad news, Dean ?"
he quericd
"Everv kind of news, sir. It's all
Il whirl. The devil seems to have
broken loose in Wyoming. Let me
skim through Loomis' note
Dear Dean: In case the letter sent yes
tertay passes YOU on the way. add a line
| to say that ii ever l said mean thing
| about IAornS when we We're in the corps,
take it back. I thought him prig when
We wore the gray. He rather held us
| under, anyhow, being class ahead, you
| know. but the way he has panned out here
and wiped up Wyoming with the only men
| l ever knew that tried to wrong you is
! simply wonderful. He's nabbed three of
| the Btrdsall gang and is away now after
Burle1gh. The news from Folsom's ranch
| is more reassuring. Hal was shot by horse
| thieves who were running off stock and
| was found and taken care Of by friendly
| Indians, but Mrs. Hal had an awful scare
| and sent for the old man, who went, OF
course-both young ladies going with him.
| They We're miles away before we knew OF
1t at the fort. tried to persuade old Peck
| sniff that he ought to let me go with twenty
| troopers to guard the ranch and scout the
| Laramie, and he threatened to put me In
arrest. or all the double-dashed, pig-head-
| ed old idiots he's the worst. I don't want
| people at the ranch to be scared, but if
the Sioux only would make some demon
! stration this way that would give me a
| EAAeSAiSS' "a lAJ ~ Culu q 1lllc Ol CllG rep"
utat1on that you're winning, old boy, and
| no man knows better how much you de-
! serve it than
| Your friend and classmate, HANK L."
| ~. S.-Lorlng took ten of the troop into
| the Black Hills to beat up Burleigh, but
| he said II they struck Indian sign he meant
to make for Folsom's ranch. Now, if we
could only meet there!''
The sun was we'll down at the
| NaSt Tha davis. Lol
and tedious, as only cavalry marches
are when long wagon trains have to
be escorted. Dean had not yet fully
recovered strength, but anxiety lent
him energy.
III Mr.. Folsom says there is need
OF cavalry guard at the Laramie, it
is because he breads another Indian
visit, colonel. I have nine men in
good shape. Our horses are fresh or
will be after few hours rest. May
| push on to-night::"'
And to the young soldiers surprise
the elder placed trembling hand
upon his shoulder and looked him
earnestly into the eyes. Dean, my
boy, it's my belief You canuot start
too soon. Do you know who Ii
zette is?'
'l've heard the story said Mar
shall, briefly. ''She must have been
lowering about there for some time"
Yes, and now her people know it,
and it will rekindle their hatred. The
moment l heard of this I sent old
Bat to watch the crossing at La
Bonte. Not an hour ago this came in
by the hand of his boy,' and the
colonel held out Il scrap of paper.
1t was IL rude Photograph, a rough
sketch, map-like, of a winding river
another and smaller one separated
from the first by a chain of noun
tains. The larger one was decorated
by t1ag-pole with stars and stripes
at the top and a figure with musket
and bayonet at the bottom. The
smaller one by a little house, with
smoke issuing from the chimney, and
a woman beside it. Above ALL, it's
head over the mountains pointing to-
ward the house, it's tail extending
north of the bigger stream, was a
comet-the ''totem'' or sign of the
Ogallalla lover of Lizette. The story
was told at a glance. Burning Star
was already south of the Platte and
lurking in the mountains near Fol
SONS ranch.
That night, toward ten o'clock, an
anxious council was held. Halbert
Folsom, fevered by his severe wound,
was lying half-unconscious on his bed,
his unhappy wife wandering aimesslv
about at times. wringing her hands
and weeping. evidently unbalanced by
the tcrrors that had beset her of
late and the tidings Of that awful
Indian revenge along the Big Horn
Silent, helpful, almost commanding,
Elinor spent the hours sometimes at
her brothers bedside, then at that
Of her sister-in-law when the Door
creature could be induced to lie still
a moment. The burly little son and
heir. long since sound asleep i'm his
cradle, was watched over by JESSIE
whose heart hnttered in dread she
dare not say of what. Twice that
| afternoon she had seen whisDered con.