Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1901-10-13

to fiame-colored glow, A moment OF
waiting, with the steely sky all tense.
and then dawn flashes and Post Desert
awakeS
The southernmost of al! the Arizona
posts, with the scorching sands OF the
desert licking Its adobe wall it stands
in the heart OF the Apache country.
/ Through the dew-drenched sage bush
sleepy troopers stumble this morning..
cinehing up whinneying bronehos. who,
when mounted buck vigorously. as
protest against such early rising.
For last night two scouts, their
weary horses white With lather. pound
ed at the gates. From General Crook,
the guardian Of all that waste land, they
came. Lone Wolf, after a year OF quiet
preparation. is once more on the war
path with his band of Apaches. Law
ing a trail of blood and ashes. they are
sweeping southwark to the desert,
where among the rocks and canyons,
they can evade pursuit, if only Crooks
little army can be passed or broken
through.
So messengers have hurried TO every
post, summoning every man able To
pack horse. Even if the Reds break
through, the general counts on a pur-
suit too close to permit them time to
attack the almost deserted posts.
At Post Desert the grizzled old colo
mel has decided to leave behind the two
scouts, to rest from their hard ride.
/ They will be also the sole protectors Of
the women and children of the lit.le
garrison, for none others are left bit
Joe, the cook. too valuable to be lightly
risked in a skirmish. and two troopers
in the hospital. But from the Black
Hills TO the ella river there are no more
noted Indian fighters than these two
scouts. the Wells brothers. inc In
dians, themselves have niek-named one
Death from his infallible aim, While
the other is called Dumb" because for
years no one, save possibly his brother.
has heard him speak.
AS the men ff1e out in the red dawn
of this blazing August day. there can
tiers out to see them depart a girl Of Is,
/ with a skin as brown as her tan gaunt-
lets, and gray eyes that look out from
under long, black lashes-strange eyes
that can darken to match the great coil
of dusky hair or brighten like the CLINT
on steel-eyes that can do anything but
finch or wayef. The truest, dearest
eyes in the world, thinks Lieutenant
Ardsly of the Signal Corps, as Alice
Glaverack gallops up to say goodby to
her uncle, the colonel.
Her horse. Night, is worthy of the
rider. Without d single white hair his
magnificent quarters and satiny skin, SO
meath shows through, mark him as a
thoroughbred. At sight of the long line
of sulky bronchos with their jingling
accoutrements, Night stands on his hini
legs and gives Alice an opportunity to
display equtation> that an admiring
troop will swear to be unequalled on the
plains In a minute she has brought
Night down on his feet again, bunen
Of trinkets tinkling against the silver
backed hand mirror hanging at her belt,
and deity reins him alongside the col
one,.
As the bluff soldier tries to make his
parting words as light and reassuring
as possible, he notes with disapproval
the glance of understanding passing be-
tween his lovely niece and the young
and ineligible lieutenant, who, he sud-
denly remembers, has been monopoliz-
ing Alices society the past month.
Soon the rapid, even lope OF the tire
less bronchos carries the troopers of the
Seventh Cavalry beyond the range OF
vision of the anxious eyes at Post De
sert strained to catch lst glimpse OF
the dust cloud marking their way as 1t
disappears in the lonely north, but long
after they are out of sight of the post
the worthy colonel is puzzled by flashes
of light on the sky coming from that
direction and g,ances sternly at Lieu
tenant Ardsley who only regards the
sky line where the flashes come with
curiously tender look in his eyes.
But the departure of the troop is
eagerly watched by other eyes than
those of the little garrison-black,
! snaky eyes-that glitter low in the
sage bush as the soldiers pass, and
flash with anticipation at sight of the
deserted post For once Lone Wolf
has outwitted the Gray Fox, as the In
dams call General Crook. The Wolf
himself, with a picked force of braves
on foot, has slipped through the slim,
shifting line of blue horsemen This
has been easy, for the scouts naturally
follow the plain horse sign. once IN
the passes of the southern hills, he can
be Joined later by the squaws and the
horses. Meantime. the Wolf reasons,
because of curious weakness OF the
whites. the women and old men will
be well fed and cared for, instead OF
being tortured to death, as captiyes
properly should be. So for three days
this picked band of fighters has tray.