Western Kansas world., 1908-03-07
CHAPTER XVII.
The Trail of Silent Murph


The young infantryman who had
been detailed for the important serv-
ice of telegraph operator sat in the
Cheyenne office, his feet on the rude
table, his face buried behind a news
paper.
Gould you inform me where 1
might find Silent Murphy, govern
ment scout?
The voice had the unmistakable ring
of military authority, and the soldier
operator instinctively dropped his feet
to the floor.
Well, my lad, you are not dumb,
are you?"
The telegrapher's momentary hesi-
tation vanished; his ambition to be-
come a martyr to the strict laws of
service secrecy IVES not sufficiently
strong to cause him to take the doubt
full chances of a lie. He was here,
but has gone
Where ?'
The devil knows. He rode north,
carrying dispatches for Custer
''When?''
'Oh, three or four hours ago.
Hampton swore softly but fervent-
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 a trip.
He started Off as happy as ever l see
him."
How far will he have to rider"
-'Oh, bout 800 miles as the crow
flies, little west of north, and the
better part of the distance, they tell
me, it's almighty rough country for
night work. But then Murphy, he
knows the way all right Sorry you
didn't come along a little earlier he
said, gerially. DO you know Muir
phy2''
I'm not quite certain. Did you
happen to notice a peculiar black scar
on the back of his right hand?"
Sure; looks like the half of a pear.
He said it was powder under the skin"
new look of reviving determine
ton swept into Hampton's gloomy
eyes-beyond doubt this must be his
man.
How many horses did he have??"
Two"
Did you overhear him say anything
definite about his plans for the trip?"
What, him? He never talks, that
fellow. He can't do nothing but sput-
ter if he tries. But I wrote out his or
ders, and they give him to the 2oth to
make the Big Horn You wasn't plan
ming to strike out after him. was
you?"
'1 might risk it II 1 only thought 1
could overtake him within two days;
my business is Of some Importance
We'll, stranger, 1 should reckon you
might do that with a gone good
outfit Murphy's sure to take things
pretty easy to-day, and he's almost
certain to follow the old mining trail
as far as the ford over the Belle
Fourche, and that's plain enough to
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
vestfge of hesitation vanished Be
yond any possibility of doubt he was
on the right scent this time. Murphy
was riding north upon a 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
hundred To the end. to the death II
need were, he would follow,
f-o RE CoNrT>rJ-EDa