The copper era and Morenci leader., 1912-04-26

had all the police force of Sheridan hunting you"
 The old man stared at the speaker.i open-mouthed, and muttered some-i thing about Fort Hays, but Keith, pay-1 ing little attention to him, hurried onl with his story. r
 AS I say, she decided upon impcr-i sonating Christie here, hoping in this way to learn more regarding Hawley's plans. We had discovered that the two were to meet afte4 the evening performance at the stage door of the Trocadero I escorted Hope there, dressed as near like Miss Maclaire as possible, and left her inside the vesti- bule waiting for Black Bart to ap- pear. At the head of the alley l ran into Fairbain, told him something of the circumstances, and persuaded him to escort Miss Christie back to the hotel He was not very hard to per suade. Well, Hawley came. and Hope met him; they went out of the alley way together arm in arm, talking pleasantly, and turned this way to- ward the hotel The doctor and I both saw and heard them. I was de- layed not to exceed two minutes,
 
 when I reached the street they had disappeared. I have hunted them everywhere without finding trace-I have even been through the resorts She has not returned to the hotel, and I burst in upon you here hoping that Miss Maclaire might have some infor-, nation"
 She shook her head, and Waite. glaring impotently at the two of them, swore sharply.
 Good God, man! my girl! Hope. alone with that damn villain. Come on, Sheriff; we've got to find her. Wait, thought" and he strode almost menacingly across the room. First. I want to know who the devil you are?"
 Keith strengthened up, looking di- rectly into the fierce questioning eyes.
 T have told you my name-Jack Keith,'' he replied, quietly. Doctor Fairbain knows something of me, but for your further information will add that when we met before I was Cap tain Keith, Third Virginia Cavalry, and bearing dispatches from Long street to Stonewall Jackson"
 The gruff old soldier, half-crazed by the news of his daughters peril, the gleam of his eyes still revealing un- controlled temper, stared at the young CT face fronting him; then slowly he held out his hand.
 "Keith-Keith," he repeated, as though bringing back the name with an effort. By God, that's so-old Jef- ferson Keith's boy-hlled at An tietam. And you know Hope?"
 Yes, General"
 He looked about as though dazed, and the sheriff broke in not unkindly.
 Well, Waite, if we are going to search for your daughter we better be at it. Come on, all of you; Miss Maclaire will be safe enough here alone"
 He took hold of Keith's arm, ques- tioning him briefly as they passed down the hall. On the stairs the lat ter took his turn, still confused by what he had just heard.
 Who is Miss Maclaire?" he asked.
 Phyllis Gale"
 "Of course, but who is Phyllis Galef What has she to do with General Waite? His daughter has told me she never heard of any one by that name"
 Well, Keith, the old man has never told me very much; he's pretty close mouthed, except for swearing, but I've read his papers, and picked up point or two. I reckon the daughter, Miss Hope, maybe never heard a word about 1t, but the boy-the one that was shot-must have stumbled onto the story and repeated it to Hawley. That's what set that fellow going It seems Mrs. Waites maiden name was Pierpont, and when she was seven teen years old she was married to the son of a rich North Carolina planter. The fellow was drunken, dissolute, good-for-nothing. They had daugh- ter born-this Phyllis-and when the child was three years old her father.' in a fit of drunken rage. iran away, and to spite his wife took the little girl with him. All efforts to trace them failed, and the mother finally secured ried Willis Waite. Waite, of course, knew these facts, but probably they were never told the children. When, the father of Mrs. Waite's first hus- band died, he left all his large proper, ty to his grandchild, providing she could be found and identified within a CSTldiH IliHc, ldiliuS Wu1Cu lAS PiOpcl- ty was to be distributed among cer- tain designated charities. Waite was named sole administrator. We'll, the old man took as much interest in it as though it was his own girl, but made mighty little progress. He did dis cover that the father had taken the child to St. Louis and left here there with a woman named Raymond, but after the woman died the girl com pletely disappeared"
 Then Miss Maclaire is Hope Waites half-sister?"