Omaha daily bee., 1902-06-21

you shall CO." said Hardy. between hts
teeth, for l intend TO take you. We hap
pen to be on good American soil once more.
John Ellis. l arrest you for the murder Of
Robert Kerwin. and II you move your hand
I'll Put a bullet through your head"
Ellis never moved a muscle, but kept HIS
eyes on the man before him. and a great.
terrible weight seemed to press Upon his
breast as he realized What the meaning Of
II all had been. A whole year Of close,
faithful ~comrsdeship, partners and friends.
He thought Of how he had taken the
stranger into the little old shack on the
mountain side and nursed him through the
battle.
did you mean to do It all the time,
Hardy" he asked huskily.
That was the little private business I
came up on" returned the detective curtly.
The other fellow died. you know. That
was why two were sent. I took his place.
Sit down there. on that log. l can cover
you easier. In about an hour the party we
passed last night will come UP and help
me. l half expected this ever since we
crossed the boundary and kept in their
way"
Ellis seated himself on the fallen tree.
and again his eyes sought the sunrise.
You have done your work WE'LL" he
said after a time. II suppose it's right.
but. Lord Harry. it's hard. Why. Hardy"
his voice softened. ia rather swung for
II than had you the man. You don't know
how / liked you"
THAT girl married another man. inter
posed Hardy, keeping the revolver in posi-
tion and reaching for his pipe with his left
hand. Il meant to tell you before. but It
seemed to be the only thing that would
bring you out"
Ellis glanced suddenly at the tree trunk
against which he had leaned his rife. II
was gone. There was a tightening Of his
sinewy frame, a seconds hesitation, then
he sprang forward like q panther for the
throat of the detective. Half way a bullet
struck him and he fell forward, his face
buried In the damp. leaf mold. Before
Hardy could move, before the smoke had
curled away from his revolver. a second
shot crashed through the bushes behind
him and the head Of the Hawk rose above
them. with Ellis rife leveled. The second
body lay boot to boot with the FIRST, when
the Indian stole out into the open space
and Bones gave a long, quivering howl as
he lay down at his masters side and licked
fearfully at one upturned hand. The Hawk
stepped lightly past the detective and
raised Ellis head. There was a flask of
whiskey in the ~latter's pocket and he un-
corked 1t and forced some between the
close-shut teeth, then felt for the heart.
It was beating softly.
The minutes passed. Silent and express
sionless as a craven image the Hawk sat
between the two bodies, his knees drawn
up tent wise, his rife resting on them as
he watched the trail ahead. Once or twice
he bent over Ellis and gave him more of
the whisky, until at length he opened his
eyes and looked up at the patch Of blue
sky shining through the tangled branches
overhead. Bones whined, and crept closer
to him, and the Indian nodded his head
toward what lay on the other side of him.
"Dead7" whispered Ellis, moistening his
lips with an effort.
The Hawk bowed grimly. There was q
long silence and the full glory Of day had
spread over the mountains. The autumn
sunlight lay warm and pleasant where the
frost had been an hour before. and some
where OF in the hills q bird was singing
madly.
Ellis turned his head and looked at the
hard, ugly face Of the boy.
Hawk" he whispered finally. Take my
hand. will you? you're white. all right. II
he hadn't said she was married."
The Hawk looked down In his face a
minute after and laid the corner of a
blanket over IT. When the party Hardy had
waited for came down he trail 1t was sun
set again and they were laughing and sing
ing. for the long tramp was nearly over,
and each had a pile and the thought OF
the one at home to cheer. At the turn OF
the path they stopped and the music died
away at sight of the picture there. Two
stark, silent forms lay side by side and an
Indian and a yellow dog kept watch beside
their dead. IzOLA L. FORESTER.