The Lafayette advertiser. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.) 1865-19??, 1906-12-19

lne DlOOQ uOOQeO q man 8 lace. he
Grew some six feet of Drawn and bone
up haughtiiy. while his eyes blaZed in
u way not Gnod to see. but their fire
was LOST Oh Kathryn.
She had turned without another word
and walked swiftly out of the parl0r
to the dice. AS she stopped in frOL.
of the desk there was Il bright spot On
either c':cek. Il want to take the Nee
tees sc stage" she said to the clerk In a
vo:ce which suddenly shook.
He surveyed her from under locked
brows. Truly. the ways of easterrars
were past finding out. you'll have ID
get busy. ma'am. for it's out here now
ready to start. .Jim." he vOuchsafcd t.
Z rur coated individual who ut that
IN. SWUNG the door at the end of
tie counter. there's n lady to go in the
stage"
jim drew near. his bre"th revealing
the kid Of refresL;neut served beyond
the swing door. He Informed her wit,
every evidence Of confidence aud go.
will that the Meeteetse stage was due
to strike the trail in just ten minutes.
Followed by the porter. Kathryn
again climbed the stairs. Her knees
failed her, and a feeling Of faintness
assaulted her. Its the effect Of the
altitude" she told herself bravely. al
though a better explanation was found
In the presence Of the man leaning
against the Office door and following
her with a pair Of angry and perplexed
eyes. 1.-THE ~villain!" she breathed and
then stole another glance. He was
certainly a handsome One.
She had resolved on Il desperate
move. Shutting her teeth fly and
resisting a desire to shut her eyes. she
removed Il small revolver from her
suit case and slipped it tremhlingly
into the bosom Of her dress. IF he
| follows u.s. she whispered and shiv-
cred. At intervals for a month she
had practiced with that revolver. and,
barring a constant fear of Il. Sic felt
proficient in it's use since she had mas
tered the art of pulling the trigger.
"Fair night. ma'ar,. but COLI" vol
unteered the stage driver as he tucked
her %unsteadily away in the back seat
Of the stage and surrounded her with
boxes and bags galore.
Kathryn's hand few to her hat as
the stage was jerked violently for
ward. A fleeting backward glance re
vealed a tall figure in a fur coat ant
hat standing beside n Of the porcl
pillars. and the light streaming out OF
the office door fell on a smooth, darl
face. The stranger was evidentl,
equipped for travelling.
"Git out Of here! Hi, there. Ram
bier, this amt no time to rest! Fool
you keep yer heels in place or you'll
lose 'em some Of these days. Git on
Of here!"
The horses ''got out" on a run. Jus
as they passed the last shack and turn
ed into the Meeteetse road kathryn
heard sounds Of drunken shouts ant
cries, hoarse laughter and the notes :
a song Then she was whirled out Of
the wind swept and dust blown prairie
"You will fall in love with the west.
Belle had written in q burst of enthu
siasm, but Kathryn. bouncing with tn
rest Of the freight in the end of tn
long. uncovered wagon, was far from
realizing her friends predictions. TIL
driver. who was accompanied by a bot
tie. alarmed her. The belief that sh
was being followed terrified her. Will
the iimitless wastes through whic
they were moving made her heart ach
with loneliness.
A sharp wind carried the dust In ed
dies around the wagon. leaving a Ion
dirt air trail behind them. The moor
bright and full. arose out of a drear
distance In the east and moved tOwar
n dreary distance in the west. 1t shon
on a wilderness of sa~gebrush, whic
Kathryn's vivid Imagination people
with belligerent sheep herders an
i bank robbers. On and on and on II
hours Fool and Rambler carried tn
stage, disputing the right Of way wit
each other Mt intervals unheeded b
the noddIng driver. Hour after hou
the only sound Of life was the M
notonous clank Of the trace chains an
the dull thud Of boots Oh the har
ground.
II shall die" thought Kathryn. se'
ting her teeth to prevent them froI
chattering. 1t seemed ages since sh
had left home and safety behind an
projected herself into this land OF te1
ror and danger. Back In Gods coul
try 1t was christmas eve. with chez
and comfort. The family were co
lected now In the library around til
Christmas tree singing Christmas ca
OILS and distributing gifts. And her
was she beset with evils on all side
The threatened tears were checked b
q sound on the back trail. 81
thought she saw a shapeless, shadow
thing moving In the moonlight.
They had been travelling through tt
bad lands OF the basin. the sandy %
sas and coulees, through which II
wagon creaked and groaned like
49, - aA> 49, S~a,nv vxvao 0vv0H