Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1908-01-31
tongue, his breath quicreninr.

And In that she was right" he
said at last, his eyes lowered To the
ground Il will tell you why. II was
the father Of Nadia ellis who was
convicted Of the murder Of Maj.
Brant."
"Oh, my fatheri Is she Capt No
lan's daughter! But you say convict.
ed Was there ever any doubt! Do
you question his being guilty."
Hampton pointed in silence to the
hideous creature behind them. That
man could tell, but he has gone mad"
Brant endeavored to speak, but the
words would not come; his brain
seemed paralyzed. Hampton held him
self under better control.
Il have confidence, Lieut.. Brant, In
your honesty" he began, gravely, and
believe you will strive to do what.
ever is best for her. II anything should
happen to me out yonder. But for the
possibility Of my being knocked out, /
wouldn't talk about this, not even to
YOU. The affair Is q long way from
being Strengthened out so as to make
. pleasant story, but I'll give you all
you actually require to know In order
to make II clear to her, provided
shouldn't come back. You see, she
doesn't know very much more than
you do-only what was Obliged To
tell to keep her from getting too close.
ly sntangled with you. Maybe ought
to have given her the full story before
/ started on this trip. I've since
wished had. but you see, never
dreamed It was going to end here, on
the Big Horn; besides, l didn't have
the nerve.
You see. BraAt, I4eel that | simply
nave to carry these dispatches
through. have q pride In giving
them to Custer myself, because Of the
trouble I've had in getting them here.
But perhaps | may not come back.
and In that case there wouldn't be
anyone living to tell her the truth. II
seems to me that there is going to be
Dig night somewhere In these hills
before long. So want to leave these
private papers with you until | come
back. II will relieve my mind to know
they are safe; II don't come, then I
want you to open them and do what.
ever you decide Is best for the little
girl. You win do that, won't your"
He handed over q long manila en-.
Velope securely sealed, and the young
Or man accepted 1t, noticing that It
was unaddressed before depositing It
safely In an inner pocket Of his fatigue
Jacket.
Certainly, Hampton" he said. IL
that allr
All except what am going to tell
you now regarding Murphy. There Is
no use my attempting to explain q.
actly how l CHANGED to and out oil
these things, for they came to me little
BY little during several years. knew
Nolan, and l knew your father and |
had reason to doubt the guilt Of the
captain, in spite Of the verdict of the
jury that condemned him. In fact, |
knew at the time, although It was not
In my power to prove II, that the two
principal witnesses against Nolan lied.
thought could guess why, but We
drifted apart, and finally lost all
track OF every one connected with the
anair. Then happened to pick up
tnat girl down in the canyon beyond
the Bear Water, and pulled her out
alive Just because she CHANGED TO be
OF that sex, and couldn't stand to see
her fall into Indian clutches. / didn't
feel any special interest in her at the
time, supposing she belonged to Old
ellis, but abe somehow grew on me
; she's that kind, you know; and
when discovered, purely by accident,
that she was Capt. Nolan's girl, but
that It all had been kept from her, |
Just naturally made up my mind I'd
dig out the truth Il I possibly could,
for her sake. The fact Is, / began TO
think q lot about her-not the way
you do, you understand; I'm getting
too old for that, and have known too
much about women,-but maybe some
what as father might feel. Anyhow,
wanted to give her q chance, q
square deal, 80 that she wouldn't be
ashamed Of her own name II ever she
found out what II was.
About that time fell foul Of Muir.
ply and Slavin there In Glencaid I
never got my eyes on Murphy, you
know, and SlaVn was so changed BY
that big red beard that failed to rec.
ognize him. But their actions aroused
my suspicious, and went after them
good and hard. | wanted to find out
what they knew, and why those lies
were told on Nolan at the trial. had
an Idea they could tell me. So, for a
starter | tackled Slavin, supposing we
were alone, and was pumping the
facts out Of him successfully by hold.
ing gun under his nose, and occa-
sionally Jogging his memory, when
this fellow Murphy got excited. and
chasseed into the game, but happened
to nip his partner instead of me. In
the course Of our little scufne
CHANGED to catch a glimpse Of the Eel.
lows right hand, and It had q scar on
the back Of It that looked mighty "a
miliar. ! had seen 1t before, and
wanted 10 see II again. So, when