Semi-weekly herald., 1911-05-15
CHAPTER v.
The One Way.


msnts. staring up at the light stealing
In through the window grating, his
mind once again active. The eyes Of
the black man had tho patient look
OF q dog ~ they watched; evidently
he had cast aside all responsibility.
now that this other had come. Final.
H Keith spoke slowly:
I'VE are In much the same position.
Esb. and the fate Of ono Is liable to
be the fate OF both. This 10 my story"
and briefly az possible, he ran over
the circumstances which lad brought
him there, putting the situation clear
enough for the nesro's understand.
ing. without wasting any time upon
detail. Neb followed his recital with
bulgtng eyes. and an occasional excla-
nation. At the end he burst forth:
''Yo' say dar was two OBJ dem whits
men murdsred-ons an Oh man wild .
gray beard. an de odder bout thirty :
Am dat II. Massa Jack, an dey had fo'
span OBJ mules an runnin' hoss?"
Yes"
An how far out was itr'
About sixty miles"
"Oh. de good Lawd!" and the negro
threw up his hands dramatically. Dat
sutt'nly am my outfit! Dat am Msssa
Waite an John Siblsy'
You mean the same men with
whom you came here from Indepen-
dsncsH"
Neb nodded. overcome by the dis
ioovsry.
But what caused them to run such
risk?" Keith insisted Didn't they
know the Indians were on the war
pathr'
.'Sho'; heard 'em talxin' bout dat,
but Msssa Waite WAS Jest boun' fob
to sit movin' He didn't pear to be
'fraid OBJ no Injuns reck'ned dsy'd
nsbber stop him. dat he knowed eb-
berry chief on de plains. l rsck'n dat
he did, too"
But what was he 70 anxious to get
away for7"
Il dunno. MassA, done heerd EN-
talk some bout dey plans. an bout
some gal dey wanted ter I'm. but
didn't git no right sense to 1t. De
dks.ral. he was q might still man"
"Ths General! Whom do you mean 7
Not WEite?"
John sibley done called him dat %
Than Keith remsmbered-1ust Z
dim misty thread q frst, changing
slowly into clear recollection. He
was riding with dispatches from Long
street to stonewall Jackson, and had
been shot through the side. Tho
hrst OF Jackson's troops he reached
was a brigade of North Carolinisns.
Commanded by General Waits-Gen-
eral Willis Waite. He had fallen from
his horse at the outposts. was brought
helpless to the Generals tsnt, and an
other sent on with the papers. And
Mrs, Waite had dressed and bsndaged
his wound That was where he had
seen that womsn's face before. with
its haunting familiarity. He drew the
locket from beneath his shirt. and
gazed 1t tho oountsnanoe revealed,
with new Intelligence. There could be
no doubt--it was the face of her who
had cared for him so tenderly In that
tent at Manassas before the fever
came and hs had lost consciousness.
And that, then. was Willis Waite ly-
ing in that shallow grave near the
Gmmsron Crossing, and for whose
death he had been arrested. Twas a
strange world, and q small one. What
q miserable ending to q life like his
q division commander OF the Army Of
Northern Virginia, a LeutensntGov-
ernor Of his state. What strange
combination of circumstances could
ever have brought such q man to this
place. and sent him forth across those
Indian-soouted plains? Surely nothing
ordinary. And why should those bor-
der desperadoes have followed.
through sixty miles OF desolation. to
strike him DOWN. II WAS not robbery.
at lssst In the ordinary sense. What
thenY And how was Black Bart" in
volved7 Why should he be sufhoient-
ly Interested to swear out q warrant,
and then assist in his arrest1 There
must be something to all this not ap-
Z parent upon the surfsce-some object,
some purpose shrouded In mystery.
No mere quarrel, no ordinary feud. no
accident of meeting. no theory OF com
monplacs robbery. would account for
the deed. or for the desperate efforts
now being made to conceal 1t.
Some way. these questions. thus
surG1ng upon him, became . call to
live. TO night. to unravel their mystery.
The memory Of that sweet-faoed wom-
an who had bent above him whom the
fever began its mastery. appealed to
him now with the opportunity Of serv-
ice. He might be able to clear this,
bring TO her the truth. save her from
despair and hand over to Justice the
murdsrers Of her husband. 1t WAS up
TO him alone to accomplish this-no
one else knew what he knew, suspect
cd what he suspected. And there was
but one way-through escape To re-
main there In weak surrender to fate
could have but one ending. and that
svtitt and sudden. He had no doubt
as'to BLACK Bart's" purpose. or Of his
ability to use the Red Light" OUTFIT
as desired The whole plan was clear
ly evident, and there would be no de-
lay IN sxecution-all they were watt
ing for was night and 4 lax guard He
glanced about at the walls OF the
seem. his eyes grown hard, his teeth
elsnchsd.
"Neb." he said shortly, Il guess that
iwas your outnt all right. but they
WaRa nof killad nv Indiana They