Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1912-06-06
Copyright. A. c.
CHAPTER Xxx.
Hope Goes to Sheridan.

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The discovery of the locket which had
Sallen from about Keith's neck made It
impossible for Hope to remain quietly
Tor long in the hotel at Fort Larned
The more carefully she thought over
the story Of that murder at the Cim-
maron Crossing, and Keith's tale Of
how he had discovered and buried the
mutilated bodies, the more assured
she became that that was where this
docket came from, and that the slain
treighter must have been her own IA
thor. She never once questioned the
truth Of Keith's report; there was that
about the man which would not per-
NIT of her doubling him. He had
simply failed to mention what he re-
moved from the bodies, supposing this
would be Of no special interest.
Mrs. Murphy, hoping thus to quiet
the apprehensions of her charge, set
herself diligently at work to discover
the facts AS her house was filled
with transients. including occasional
visitors from Carson City, and was
also lounging headquarters for many
Of the officers from the nearby fort,
she experienced no difficulty in pick
ing up all the floating rumors. Out of
these, with Irish shrewdness, she soon
managed to patch together q consist
ent fabric of fact.
"Shure, honey, It's not so bad the
way they tell 1t now" she explained,
consolingly. Nobody behaves now 1t
was yer father that got kilt. 1t was
two fellers what stole his outfit,
clothes an all, an WAS drivin' off wild
'em inter the sand hills. Divil wan
does know who kilt EN-, but there's
some ugly stories travelin' about.
Some says Injuns; some says the
posse run EN- down; an Black Bart
an his dirthy outfit, they swear 1t was
Keith. Olive got me own notion. An
nyhow, there's bout three hundred
dollars, some mules, an lot O val
yble papers missin'."
But If 1T wasn't father, where is he
now?"
That's what DIVE been tryin' ter
foind out. First off he went out to the
Cimmaron Crossing, guarded by a
squad O. cavalry from the fort here.
Tommy Game whit along, an told
me all about it. They dug up the
bodies, but niver thing did they find
on 'em-not paper, nor dollar.
They'd bin robbed all roight. The
ovid Gineral swore loike wild mon
all the way back, Tommy said, an
the first thing he did at Carson City
was to start huntin' fer Black Bart.
He was two days gittin' on the trail
av him; then he heard the Teller was
gone away trapsing after singin' or
dancin' gyurl called Christie Maclaire.
She was supposed to be ayther at
Topeky or Sheridan. A freighter told
the ovid man she was at Sheridan, an
so he started there overland, hopin'
ter head off Black Bart Oh reckon
we could towld morn that"
What do you mean?"
why shure, honey, what's the use
tryin' ter decave me? Didn't Jack
Keith, wild his own lips, tell me ye
was Christie Maclaire?"
'.But I'm not! I'm not, Mrs. Muir
ply. don't even know the woman
1t is such a strange thing; | cannot
account for it-both those men mis-
took me for her, and-and let them
I didn't care who the man Hawley sup
posed me to be, but intended to have
told Mr.. Keith he was mistaken.
don't know why didn't, only | sup
posed he finally understood. But
want you to believe, Mrs. Murphy
I am Hope Waite, and not Christie
Maclaire."
cts little the loss to We not ter be
her, an Dim thinkin' loikely Jack
Keith will be moighty we'll plased tel
know the truth. What's Black Bart
SO ayger ter git hold av this Maclaire
gyurl fer?"
81 do not in the least know. He
must have induced me to go to that
place in the desert believing me to be
the other woman. Yet he said moth
ing Of any purpose; indeed, he found