Semi-weekly herald., 1911-05-01
Copyright A. c. NcCluru Co. lsi0)
:AHLE or The PLAN


ing exposed settlements. and occa-
sionaily venturing to try open battle
with the small squads of armed men.
In this stress Of sudden emergency
every available soldier ON active duty
civilians had been pressed int serv.
Ice, and hastily despatched to warn
exposed settlers. guide wagon trains.
or carry dispatches between outposts.
And thus eur rider, Jack Keith, whs
knew every foot Of the plains lyiAg
betwesn the Republican and the Can
adam rivers. was one of these thus
suddenly reQuisitionsd. merely Be
cause he CHANGED to be discovered un-
employed by the harassed commander
Of & cantonment Just without the en-
virons OF Carson City. Twenty min
utes later he WAS riding swiftly into
the northwest. bearing important
news to General Sheridan. commander
Of the Department who happened At
that moment to be at Fort Csirnes.
To Keith this had been merely anoth-
er page in q career Of adventure: for
him to take his life In his hands had
long ago become an old story. He
had quietly performed the special
duty allotted him. watched u squad
ron Of troopers trot forth down the
valley OF the Republican. received the
hasty thanks Of the peppery little gen
ersl. and then. having nothing better
ts do. traded his horse in at the gov
ernment corral for q fresh mount and
started back again for Carson City.
For the greater portion of two nights
and 4 day he had been in the saddle,
but he WAS accustomed to this. for he
had driven more than one bunch Of
longhorns up the Texas trGil; and a.
he had slept three hours at Cairnes,
and As his nerves were like steel, the
thought OF danger gave him slight
concern. He WAS thoroughly tired,
and 1t rested him to get out Of the
saddle. while the freshness Of the
morning air was = tonic. the very
breath of which made him forketful
OF fatigue
After ALL this was indeed the very
sort Of experience which appealed to
him, and always had--this life of
peril In the open, under the stars and
the sky. He had constantly expert
enced 1t for SO long now. eight years,
ss TO make IT seem merely natural.
While he pioushed steadily forward
through the shifting sand Of the cou-
lee. his thought drifted Idly back over
those years and sometimes he smiled.
and occasionally frowned, As various
Incidents returned to memory. II had
to those of his generation. Born of
excellent family In tidewater Virginia,
bis father q successful planter, his
mother had died while he was still ia
early bOyhood. and he had grown up
cut sf from all womanly influence He
had barely attained his majority, 4
senior At William and Mary's College.
when the Civil War came; and one
month after Virginia cast In her lot
with the South. he became a sergeant
in 4 cavalry regiment commanded BY
his father. He had enjoyed that life
and won his spurs, yet It had cost
There was much not over.pleasant to
remember. and those strenuous years
Of almsst cessslsss Sighting. Of long
night marches, Of swift, Mercilsss
raidiRE. Of loaely scouting within the
ensmy's lines. Of severe wounds.
hardship and suffering, had left their
marks on both bsdy and soul His
father had fallen on the neld At Antis
tam. and left him utterly alone in the
world. but hs had fought on grinly
to the end. until the last nag of the
Confederacy had been furled BY that
time, upon the collar of his tattered
gray Jacket appeared the furnished in
sigma Of q captain. The quick tears
dimmed his eyes even now AZ he re-
called anew that final parting follow
ing AppOmattox. the battieworn faces
Of his men. and his own painful Jour.
ncy homewsrd. defeated. wounded and
penniless. II was no homo when he
got there, only = heap Of ashes aAd =
few wssd-grown acres. Ne familiar
face greeted hin; net even = slave
was left.
He had honestly endsaysrsA 10 rs
main there. to face the future and
work It out alone; he persuaded him
self to feel that this was his para
mount duty to the state, to the mem.
ory OF the dead But those very years
Of army life made suck = task in.
possible: the dull, dead menotony Of
rsutins. the Loneliness, the slownsss
Of results, became intolerasle. As Il
came to thousands Of his comrades
the call of the West came TO him, and
At last he yielded, and driftsd toward
the frontier, The life there fsscinat.
I'd him. drawing him deeper and deep
Or ints its swirling vortex. He BE-
came freighter, mail carrier. hunter,
government scout, cowboy. foreman.
Once he had drifted late the moua-
tsias, and took = chance In the mines.
but the wide plains called him back
once Asrs to their desert lonsliness
What an utter waste It all seemed,
new that he locked back upoA II.
Eight years Of hghtiAg. hardship and
rough living. and what had they
brought him? The reputation Of 4
hard rider. \ daring player at cards.
= quick shot. . scernsr Of danger, and