The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser., 1911-11-24
SYNOPSIS.

SYNOPSIS.
Jack Keith. a Virginian. now bor-
der plansman, is riding along the Santa
Fe trail on the lookout for roaming war
parties of savages. He notices a camp camp
attached to wagon and at full galiop
pursued by men on ponies. When keith
reaches the wagon the raiders M have mass mass.
the victims finding papers and a locket
with woman's portrait He resolves to
hunt down the murderers Keith Is ar
rested at Carson City, charged with the
murder, his accuser being ruffian named
Black Bart. He goes to Jail fully reahz-
ing the peril of swift border Justice. A
tells him he is Neb and that he knew the
Keith family back in Virginia. Neb says
one of the murdered 1;1is men Waits Vas '9nn forn
merly an officer in the Confederate army
The plainsman and Neb escape from the
cell. and later the two fugitives i become come
a cabin and find its lone occupant to be
young girl. whom Keith recognizes as a
singer he saw at Carson City The girl
a brother who had deserted from the
army. A Mr. Hawley induced her TO
come to the cabin while he sought to 10,
Keith in hiding recognizes him as Black
Bart. Hawley tries to make love to the
girl. There is = terrific battle IN IRE
darkened room IL which Keith overcomeS
Black Bart. Horses are appropriated and
the girl who says that her name IS Hope.
joins in the escape. Keith explains nls
situation and the fugitives make for For. or
hotel landlady. Miss Hope tells that she
is the daughter of General Waite.
CHAPTER xvl-(continuedI
It was a grim picture of depravtty
and desolation, the environment dull.
gloomy. forlorn: all that was worthy
the eve or thought being the pulsing
human element All about extended
the barren plains, except where on
one side a ravine cut through an over
hanging ridge From the seething
street one could look up to the sum-
NIT, and see there the graves of the
many who had died deaths of violence.
and been borne thither in their
boots" Amid all this surrounding
desolation was Sberidan-the child OF
a few brief months of existence. and
destined to perish almost as quickly
the center of the grim picture. mere
cluster of rude. unpainted houses.
poorly erected shacks. grimy tents
Tapping in the never ceasing wind
swirling across the treeless waste. the
ugly red station. the rough cowpens
filed with lowing cattle. the huge, un-
calmly stores. their false fronts deco
rated by amateur wielders OF the
paint brush. and the garish dens of
vice tucked in everywhere The pen
dulum of life never ceased swinging.
Society was mixed: no man cared who
his neighbor was. or dared to question
OF women worthy the name there
were few. yet there were fitting te-
male forms in plenty. the saloon lights
revealing powdered cheeks ami paint
ed eyebrows. 1t was a strange. rest
less populace, the majority here to-
day. disappearing fomorrow-cow
boys. half-breeds. trackmen. graders.
desperadoes. gamblers. saloon-keepers,
merchants, generally Jewish. petty of.
ficials and a riff-raff no one could ac.
count for. mere floating debris. The
town was an eddy catching odd bits
of driftwood such as only the frontier
ever knew Queer characters were
everywhere. wrecks of dissipation. de-
relicts of the East. seeking nothing
save oblivion.
Everything was primitive-passion
and pleasure ruled. To spend easily
made money noisily. brazenly. was the
ideal. From dawn to dawn the search
after Joy continued. The bagnios and
dance halls we're ablaze: the bar
rooms crowded with hilarious or
quarrelsome humanity. the gam bling
tables alive with excitement Men
staggered along the streets looking
for trouble. and generally finding 1t:
cowboys rode into open saloon doors
and drank in the saddle: troops of
congenial spirits. frenzied with liquor.
spurred recklessly through the street
firing into the air. or the crowd. as
their whim led: bands played popular
airs on balconies. and innumerabie
"barkers" added their honeyed invi-
tations to the perpetual din. From end
to end ii was a saturnalia of vice. a
babel of sound a glimpse of the in,
ferno. Money flowed like water; every
man was his own law, and the gun
the arbiter of destiny The town
marshal and a few cool-headed depu-
ties moved here and there amid the
chaos. patient, tireless undaunted,
seeking merely to exercise some
slight restraint. This was Sheridan.
Into the one long street just at dusk
~;xl. T~L
trailing behind Already lights were
beginning to CLEAN in the crowded
saloons. and they were obliged to
proceed slowly Leaving the negro at
the corral to find some purchaser for
the animals and such accommoda
tions for himself as he could achieve.
Keith shouldered his way on foot
through the heterogeneous mass to-
ward the only hotel. a long two-storied
wooden structure. nnpainted fronting
the glitter of the Pinoeer Dance Hail
opposite noisy band was splitting
the air with discordant notes. a loud
voiced barker" yelling through the
uproar. but Keith. accustomed to simi
lar scenes and sounds elsewhere,
strode> through theeepen door OF the
hotel. and guided by the noisy. contln-
uous clatter of dishes. easily found his
way to the dining-room. 1t was crowd,
ed with men. a few, women scattered
here and there. most of the former IN
shirt-sleeves. all eating silently. A
few smaller tables at the back of the
room were distinguished from the 9th
ers by white coverings in place of oil
cloth. evidently reserved for the more
distinguished guests, Disdaining cere-
mony. the new conner wormed his way
through finally discovering vacant
seat where his back would be to the
wall, thus enabling him to survey the
entire apartment.
IL was not of great interest, save
for it's constant change and the primi-
tive manner in which the majority at
tackled their food supply. which was
piled helter-skelter upon the long
tables. yet he ran his eyes searcningiy