Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1906-12-12

The blood flooded the mans face. He
drew some six feet of Drawn and bone
up haughtily, while his eyes blazed in
a way not good to see. but their fire
was lost on Kathryn.
She had turned without another word
and walked swiftly out of the parlor
to the office. As she stopped in front
of the desk there was a bright spot on
either cheek Il want to take the Nee
teetse stage" she said to the clerk in a
voice which suddenly shook.
He surveyed her from under locked
brows. Truly, the ways of easterners
We're past finding out. ''You'll have to
get busy, ma'am, for it's out here now
ready to start. Jim,' he vouchsafed to
q fur coated Individual who at that
moment swung the door at the end of
the counter. "here's lady to go in the
stage"
Jim drew near his breath revealing
the kind of refreshment served beyond
the swing door. He informed her with
every evidence of confidence and good
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 feeling of faintness
assailed her. Its the effect of the
altitude" she told herself bravely, al
though better explanation was found
in the presence of the man leaning
against the office door and following
her with pair of angry ard perplexed
eyes. 1.-THE villainr' she breathed and
then stole another glance. He was
certainly handsome one.
She had resolved on desperate
move. Shutting her teeth firmly and
resisting a desire to shut her eyes, she
removed a small revolver from her
suit case and slipped it tremblingly
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 it, she felt
proficient in its use since she had mas
tered the art of pulling the trigger.
"Fair night. ma'am, but cold," 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 flew to her hat as
the stage was jerked violently for
ward haotins he,el---se-a ssiance re-
vealed a tall figure in a fur coat and
hat standing beside one of the porch
pillars, and the light streaming out of
the Office door fell on a smooth, dark
face. The stranger was evidently
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 out
of here"
The horses "got OUT on a run. Just
as they passed the last shack and turn
ed into the Meeteetse road Kathryn
heard sounds of drunken shouts and
cries, hoarse laughter and the notes Of
a song Then she was whirled out on
the wind swept and dust blown prairie.
"You will fall in love with the west''
Belle had written in burst of enthu-
siasm, but Kathryn, bouncing with the
rest of the freight in the end of the
long, uncovered wagon, was far from
realizing her friends predictions. The
driver, who was accompanied by a bot
tie, alarmed her. The belief that she
was being followed terrified her, while
the limitless wastes through which
they We're moving made her heart ache
with loneliness.
A sharp wind carried the dust in ed
dies around the wagon. leaving a long
dirt air trail behind them The moon,
bright and full, arose out of dreary
distance in the east and moved toward
q dreary distance in the west 1t shone
on a wilderness of sagebrush. which
Kathryn's vivid Imagination peopled
with belligerent sheep herders and
bank robbers. On and on and on for
hours Fool and Rambler carried the
stage, disputing the right of way with
each other at intervals unheeded by
the nodding driver. Hour after hour
the only sound of life was the mo-
notonous clank of the trace chains and
the dull thud of hoofs on the hard
ground
'T shall die" thought Kathryn, set
ting her teeth to prevent them from
chattering. 1t seemed ages since she
had left home and safety behind and
projected herself into this land of ter
ror and danger Back in Gods coun-
try it was Christmas eve, with cheer
and comfort. The family were col
lected now in the library around the
Christmas tree singing Christmas car
OILS and distributing gifts. And here
was she beset with evils on all sides.
The threatened tears were checked by
a sound on the back trail. She
thought she saw a shapeless, shadowy
thing moving in the moonlight.
They had been travelling through the
bad lands of the basin, the sandy me-
sas and coulees, through which the
wagon creaked and groaned like a
thing of life The driver was awake