The Columbus journal., 1907-09-25

Two
nd yoa ovesAear him ~ anything
definite about .his plans 1ne IL tEip!'
what him? He never talks. tAat
fellow. He cantedo nothing but sput-
ter II he, tries. But I wrote out his q.
dess. and they Give him - tie 18Th 70
make the Big Horn. Yoa wasn't plan
ming 10 strike out aftse hin. was
yoa9"
Z might risk e n I only thought I
could oveFtake him within two days:
business = q some importance"
We'll. stEangsr. I should reckon yoa
might Do that with . dog-Oone good
outlt Marphy's sure 10 take things
pretty easy today. and he's almost
certain 70 follow the old mining tfail
- far % the ford over the Belle
Joarche. and that's plain enough to
travel; Beyond that point the devil
ealy k1sws where Ae Win 90. for then
= Whsa his hard ridin' begins"
TAo moment The operator mentioned
that odd scar a Nurphy's hand. every
vestige a hesitatioa vaE1ished. Be-
you'd any possibility q doubt he was
a the right scent this time. Murphy
vas riding north upon . mission %
desperate ~ " man WAS called
upoa 10 perform. The chance of his
coming forth alive from that Indian
haunted land VA. - the operator
txuthfully said. barely q out oe .
hundred. To the end. 20 the death II
ned Vere, ho would follow!
The memory Of his old plain craft
would not permit any neglect Of the
1ew ~necessaries for the trip. He
bought without haggiing over prices.
but insisted on the best. So It was
four In the afternoon when he finally
struck into tho trail leading north
ward. He rode . mettlesome. half
brokea bronco. . wicked-eyed brute.
which required to b conquered twice
within the first hour of travel: . Sec
oad and more quiet animal trailed BE-
hind ct the end Of . laziat, bearing the
equipment
He had. BY persistent questioning.
acquired considerable Information. dur
ing that busy hour spent In Cheyenne.
regarding the untracked regions lying
before him. - Well ~ the character
and disposition Of the man he pur-
sued. Both BY instinct and training
he was able to comprehend those brief
hints that must prove Of vast benefit
In the painless wilderness.
The night VA already dark, but
stars were cleaning brilliantly over
head, and the trail remained easily
Il became terribly lonely
On that wilderness stretching away
for unknown leagues In every direc-
tion, yet Hampton scarcely noted this.
20 watchful RAJ he lest he miss the
trail. To his judgment Murphy would
not be likely to ride during the night
until after he had crossed the Fourche.
There was no reason to suspect that
there were any hostile Indians south
Of that stream. and probably therefore
the old scout would endeavor 10 con
serve his own strength and that Of his
horses. for the more peei)oos travel
About midnight the trail becoming
obscure, the rider made camp. conf
dent he must have already gained
On the man he pursued. He
his horses and Ainging him
self down On some soft turf. almost
dropped asleep. He was
up again before daylight, and. after
hasty meal, pressed On. The nature
Of the country had changed consider
ably. becoming more broken. the view
circumscribed BY towering cliffs and
deep ravines.
Late In the afternoon he refined up
his horse and gased forward into .
broad valley. bounded with precipi-
tous bluffs. The tran led directly
down toward where . Considerable
of water shone silvery In the
sun, half concealed behind . fringe Of
wfllowsL And yonder. close IN against
Hose distant willows. some black dots
were moving: Hampton glued his
eyes to the glass. The leveled
tubes clearly revealed . man On horse
back, leading another horse. The AMI
mails were walking. There could b
little doubt that this was Silent Muir
ply.
Hampton lariated his tired horses
the blur and returned to the
lying nat upon the ground.
With the neld-glass at his eyes. The
figures passed slowly forward
INTO the midst Of the willows. and for
half q heur tho patient watcher
the surface Of the stream BE-
vond, but there VA no sign Of At
passage. The sun sank lower
md finally disappeared behind those
lesolate ridges to the westward.
knowledge Of plAinscraft
rendered Nurphy's actions suf1ciently
lear. This was the Fourche; beyond
hose waters lay the terrible peril Of
indian raiders. Further advance must
" made BY swift, secret night riding.
md neverceasing vigilance. This wa
vhat Murphy had been saving himself
md his horses for. Beyond conjec-
ure, he was resting now within the
Of those willows. studying
he opposite shore and making ready
or the dash northward. Hampton be-
ievod he would linger thus for some /
after dark, to zee II Indian fires |
would afford any guidance. Confident
4 thin, he passed hack to his horses.
them down with grass, and
hen ate his lonely supper. not ventur.
Nc TO light . nre, certain that Muir
eyes were scanning every inch
4 skyline.