The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1911-08-11
CHAPTER u
Gan. Of Tragedy.

IhA 0AVllS = l
,tever might be the nature OF
|,ssdy it would be over with long
ss .h,s and those moving black
.r.v wonder to the west. that
Siscerned from the blum. were
'stedly the departing raiders.
was nothing left for keith 70
,,snt determine the fate Of the
mates. and give their bodies az
|hnrIsl. That any had escaped.
\ lived. was altogether unlikely.
nerchance, women had been In
|srtv. in which case they would
|seeu borne away prisoners.
Iadent that no hostiles would be
.hiud to observe his movements.
pressed steadily forward. lead
4 horse. He had thus traversed
half a mile before coming upon
whence Of a fght-here the pur-
had apparently come up with
wagons, and circled out upon
side. From their ponies tracks
must have been a dozen in the
Perhaps a hundred yards furth-
ppg lay two dead ponies. Keith
Ined them closely-both had
ridden with saddles, the marks
3 clnches plainly visible. EVIL
one of the wagon mules had
dropped in the traces here. ana
Ieen dragged along by his mates.
beyond came a sudden depression
prairie down which the wagons
plunged so heavily as to break
the axles; the wheel lay a few
away, and, somewhat to the
there lay the wreck Of the wag-
kelf, two dead mules still in the
!, the vehicle stripped of con-
and charred by fire. A hundred
further along was the other
!, its tongue broken, the canvas
tipped open, while between the
we're scattered odds and ends Of
ing apparel and provisions with
Of boxes smoking grimly. The
ming mules were gone. and no
lance Of life remained anywhere.
dropped his reins over his
. head. and, with Winchester
and ready. advanced eau
80 s--
9TH from violence had long since
be almost a commonplace occur
to Keith. yet now he shrank for
slant as his eyes perceived the
Of a man lying motioniess
? the broken wagon tongue. The
ed hair and beard were streaked
blood, the face almost unrecog.
le. while the hands yet grasped
p and shattered rife. Evidently
nan had died fighting, beaten
by overwhelming numbers after
Adlng his last shot. Then those
had scalped and left him where
II. Fifty feet beyond, shot in
|ack, lay a younger man, doubled
q heap. also scalped and dead
was all; Keith secuted over q
circle. even scanning the stretch
wei under the river bank. before
puld fully satisfy himself there
no others in the party. It seem
possible that these two travelins
would have ventured upon sucl
In the face of known Indiar
ply. Yet they must have don,
Y once again his lips muttered,
all the blame fools!"
denly he halted. staring abou
,ae prairie. obsessed by q nev
n', an aroused suspicion. Their,
appeared merely the hoof-print
one horse alongside Of the Zee
Fasons when they first turne,
om The trail, and that horse ha,
newly shod. But there were tw,
ponies lying back yonder: meth
20, yet both had borne saddle,
q this, they had been spu,
' blood marks still plainly vi,
ana one Of them was branded
memoered it now. a star ana 4,
"nat could all this portend
possible this attack was =
anair after all? Was the di,
~ OF bodies, the scalping. mer,
ae 70 make 1t appear the act !
20! Driven to Investigation b
t%usplcion. he passed again ove
sapled ground. marking thI
every separate indentation. :,
sinlest imprint Of hoof or foo
"as no Impression Of I mocc,
.wnere; every mark remainip
=. booted feet. The inferene
sa cientiy plain-this had bee
ecu OF white men. not Of red: 10,
and not savage war.
k~nowledge seemed to e,
brain with IRE. and he sprlr
'sss, hands clinched and ~
ne could have believed tn
II was according to the
method Of warfare; b,
"aroiiness Of It. the atrocitv
perpetrated BY men Of b
instantly aroused with,
ussire for vengeance. +
., run the fellows down, !,
IL. .neir identity. Witho'
o. personal danger be !,
On their trail. which led I
eastward, alnne ~ No.