Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1908-01-25
cHAPTER XxVll.
rhe TraiI Of sllent Murnhv

table his face buried behind a news
paper.
Gould you inform me where I
might find Silent Murphy. a govern
ment scout2"
The voice had the unmistakable ring
of military authority. and the soldier
operator iustinctively dropped his feet
20 the floor.
"We1. my lad. YOU are not dumb.
are your"
The telegrapher's momentary hest
tation vanished; his ambition TO be-
come a martyr 90 the strict laws Of
service secrecy WIS not sufficiently
strong 20 cause him to take the doubt
ful chances Of a lie. "He was here
but has gone"
'NNhere?"
THE devil knows. lie rode north,
carrying dispatches FOR Custer"
"When2"
ooh. three or four hours ago"
Hampton swore softly but feryent-
Iy. behind HIS clinched teeth.
Where is Custer?'
Don't know exactly. Supposed TO
be with Terry and Gibbons. some
where near the mouth Of the Powder.
although he may have left there by
this time. moving down the Yellow
stone Murphy's orders were TO inter
cept HIS column somewhere between
the Rosebud and the Big Horn No
other scout along this border would
take such a detail. But that old devil
OF a Murphy just enjoys such trip.
lie started of as happy as ever I see
him."
How far will ne have TO ridce"
"Oh. bout 800 miles as the crow
flies. a little west of north. and the
better part OF the distance. they tell
me. it's almighty rough country for
night work. But thcn Murphy. he
knows the way an rieht Sorry You
didn't come along little earlier" be
said senialy "po YOU know Muir
phye"
"Tm not quite certain. Did YOU
happen to notice peculiar black scar
on 'ro boc', 90 his r'-hf h'nde"
"rr-e. books uke tfr nolf of "a near.
Tc e~d 20 was neu Per- "0d7r thg
-- '-e of rs.l ..0g ce..r.ana-
tion swept Into Uamptou's gloomy
eyos-boyoad doubt this must De his
man
"How many horses did be hayo??"
1.-TWO"
"n.i yCu ovc-tr1~ him say anything
definite uheu. hls ff--e ror Gro tripe"
what hine lie mover TANKS. that
fellow. 1c c-l't DO uo,hies bgt sput-
Ter II he tr.cs. Eut wrote oIt h.s or.
dcrs, and thcy give him Co ,hc c-th 20
make the Eig Loga. Yau wasn't PLAN
Ming 20 strike out after Lim. was
you2"
II might risk 81 % J only thought I
could ovcrtake him wi.tln $3.50 days:
my business is of some importance"
Wei, STRONGER, I should reckon YOU
might do that with a do~gcna good
outfit. Murphy's sure 20 take things
pretty easy to-day. and he's almost
certain 10 follow the old mining trail
as far as the ford over the Belle
Fourche. and that's plain enough 20
travel Beyond that point the devil
only knows where he will go. for then
is when his hard ridin begins"
The moment the operator mentioned
that odd scar on Murphy's hand. every
vesuge OF hesitation vanished. Be
yond any possibility OF doubt he was
on the right scent this time Murphy
was riding north upon mission as
desperate as ever man was called
upon TO perform. The chance OF his
coming forth alive from that Indian
haunted land was. as the operator
truthfully said, barely one out OF a
hundred. To the end. 70 the death II
need were. he would follow
The memory OF his old plain craft
would not permit any neglect OF the
few necessaries for the trip. He
bought without haggling over prices,
but insisted on the best. So II was
four in the afternoon when he finally
struck into the trail leading north
ward. He rode a mettlesome, half
broken bronco. a wicked-eyed brute.
which required TO be conquered twice
within the first hour of travel; a sec
ond and more quiet anii-4al trailed be-
hind at the end of a lariat, bearing the
necessary equipment
He had, by persistent questioning
acquired considerable information. dur
ing that busy hour spent in Cheyenne.
regarding the untracked regions lying
before him, as well as 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
Ia the painless wilderness.
The night was already dark. but
stars were cleaning brilliantly over
head, and the trail remained easily
traceable. II became terribly lonely
on that wilderness stretching away
for unknown leagues in every direc-
ton. 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 he had crossed the Fonrche
There was no reason to suspect that
there were any hostile Indians south
OF that stream, and probably therefore
the old scout would endeavor to con-
serve his own strength and that OF his
horses. for the more perilous travel