Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-06-14


tives. It's rather queer to discover
that he has a daughter, anyway. He's
scarcely ones ideal Of a family man,
eh? How does she come to be at the
other end Of the continent, wonder;
and has Miss Concordia a sister? has
she a mother? Oh, this grows be-
wildering! Black Dave, during the lit
tie intercourse which I had with him,
did not impress me as being above
middle age"
He hasn't seen a day beyond five
and forty, sir"
"And, of course his daughter Is
young-a mere schoolgirl, in fact, as
was shown by her letter. Bless me!
the tiger father sends his offspring to
school like reputable parents! Well,
seeing that Black Dave treated me
with such leniency on the watch and
purse question, and let me off with
only the loss of Maud's letters, and
the gain Of a half-dozen bullets In my
inner man, I certainly must find that
damsel and pay my respects to herr
"Well, sir, 1 hope no evil may come
of it," said Hoxie.
He tied the dirty paper up again In
the bit Of sheepskin. and returned 1t
to his pocket. At the same moment
they heard Crawford coming up with
the corrals, whistling to his sheep
dogs. Hoxie, having ended his story,
went out to meet his master, and
Fleetwood was left alone in the cabin.
He looked around the place and out
through the meagre window at the
head of the bunk. Did he really care
to cast his fortunes in this desolate
country? Had he what Hoxie called
sand" for the enterprise? His was
an easy going, self-indulgent nature,
and he had not even the spur Of pow
erty to goad him, for Fleetwood was
not poor He possessed both gentle
blood and a very comfortable fortune.
Then and there he decided that If
Maud Lotus expressed the smallest
disinclination to such future, he
would abandon all thought Of sheep
raising and return at once to Canada.
It was with Maud that he left the de-
cision, and that very night he wrote
her a minute account Of all that had
transpired since his arrival in Color
ado, and of what life on a ranch really
was. The only thing which he omitted
OF
Two weeks later, when Fleetwood
had so far recovered as to wander out
to the corrals to watch-though not
with anything like Crawford's inter-
est-the stupid sheep, and drink In the
glorious air of the mountains, some
thing very unpleasant happened on the
ranch. Hoxie went forth with the
fiocks one morning and did not return,
as was his wont, at set Of sun. Mexi-
can Juan was dispatched in quest OF
him, and then both Crawford and his
Canadian friend mounted good horses
and set forth also, on the trail.
In the loneliest spot of the whole
range the sheep were found nibbling
peacefully, guarded by the faithful
dogs; and not far away, in the shadow
OF beetling rock, lay the body OF
Hoxie in his old canvas coat, with his
canteen by his side, and his ghastly
face turned upward to the starry twi-
light sky.
. "Great Heaven!" cried Fleetwood,
"look at the print of horse-hoofs in
the grass, round about, Crawford!
Black Dave has been this way-the
poor fellows presentiments are all full
filed"
The two men bent over the herders
body. 1t was plain that he had been
dead for some hours. They tore away
the clothing from his breast and found
there the track Of the bullet which had
ended his life. Alas! this leaden mes
senger had accomplished that which
the lariat had failed to do. From the
deerskin shirt, Fleetwood drew out
slip of dirty paper. drenched now in
Hoxie's blood.
Great God! How strange!" he NUT
tered with a thrill of superstitious hor-
ror, for lo the deadly bullet had cut
it's way straight through the name OF
Concordia Tempest, Of Cinderville,
Maine.