Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-25
BOB HAMPTON OF PLACER.
BY RANDALL PARRISH
WILDERNESS
by A. s Col

Belle Fourche, and that's plain enough to
travel. Beyond that point the devil only
knows where he viii go, for then is when
his iiard ridin' begins.
The moment the operator mentioned that
odd scar on Murphys hand. every yestige
OF hesitation vanished. Beyond any possi-
bility Of doubt he was on the right scent
this time. Murphy was riding north upon
mission as desperate as eyer man was
called upon to perform. The chance of his
coming forth alive from that Indian
haunted land wass~as the operator truth
fully said. barely one out of q hundred.
Hampton thought of this. He burst not
venture all he was SO earnestly striving
after-fove, reputation. honor-to the chance
Of a stray Sioux bullet. No! and he re-
membered Nadia again. her dark, pleading
eyes searching his face. To the end. to the
death If need were, he would follow!
The memory OF his old plains craft would
not permit any neglect of the few neces-
saries for the trip. He bought without hag-
Cling over prices, but insisted on the best
So it was in the afternoon when he flnaty
struck into the trail leading northward
This proved at first broad, plainly marked
path, across the alkali plain. He rode a
mettiesome. half-brokcn broncho, a wicked
eyed brute, which required to be conquered
twice within the first hour of travel; a sec
ond and more quiet animal trailed behind
at the end of lariat, bearing the neces-
sary equipment. Hampton forced the two
into rapid lope. striving to make the
most possible out of the narrow margin of
daylight remaining.
He had. by persistent Questioning, ac-
quired considerable Information. during that
busy hour spent in Cheyenne. regarding the
untracked regions lying before him, as we'll
as the character and disposition Of the man
ne pursued. Both by instinct and training
he was able tn comprehend those brief
hints that must prove OF vast benefit In the
painless wilderness But the time had not
yet arrived for him to dwell on such mat
tiers. His thoughts were concentrated on
Murphy. He knew that the fellow was
stubborn. silent, snilen savage, devoid Of
PHYSICAL fear. yet cunning. wary. mal1g-
nant. and treacherous. That was what they
said OF him back In Cheyenne. What. then
would ever induce such man to open his
mouth in confession of a long-hfdden crime?
To be sure, he might easily kill the fellow
but he would probably die, like wild beast
without uttering word.
There was one chance, a faint hope, that
behind his grun, uncouth exterior this Muir
ply possessed conscience not altogether
dead. Over some natures. and not infre-
quently to those which seem outwardly the
coarsest. superstition yields power the
normal mind can scarcely comprehend.
Murphy might be spiritually as cringing
coward as he was physically fearless des-
perado. Hampton had known such cases
before; he had seen men laugh scornfully
before the muzzle of a leveled gun. and yet
tremble when pointed at by the finger of
accusation He had lived sufficiently long
on the frontier to know that men may be-
come Injured to that special form of danger
to which they have grown accustomed
through repetition. and yet fan to front the
unknown and mysterious. Perhaps here
might be discovered Murphy's weak point.
Without doubt the man was guilty of crime;
that its memory continued to haunt him
was rendered evident by his hiding in Glen
caid, and by his desperate attempt to kill
Hampton. That knife-thrust must have
been given with the hope of thus stopping
further INVESTIGATION; 1t alone was sufficient
proof that Murphy's soul was haunted by
fear.
Conscience doth make towards of us ALL :"
These familiar words floated in Hampton's
memory. seeming to attune themselves to
the steady gallop Of his horse. They ap-
pealed to him as direct message of guild
ance. The night was already dark, but
stars were cleaning brilliantly overhead.
and the trail remained easily traceable. It
became terribly lonely on that wilderness
stretching away for unknown leagues in
every direction. yet Hampton scarcely noted
this. so watchful was he lest he miss the
trail To his judgment. Murphy would not
be likely to ride during the night until after