Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1912-06-06

cClurg & Co... 1907
no opportunity
Mrs. Murphy shook her head dis
paragingly.
ut was shure some divilment," she
asserted, stoutly. He'll be up to
some trick wild the poor gyurl; OF
know the loikes av him. Shure, the
two av yez must look as much a1oike
as two pages in pod. Loikely now,
It's twin sister we've got?"
Hope smiled, although her eyes
were misty.
"Oh, no. Fred and 1 were the only
children; but what shall do? What
ought l to do?"
The Irish mouth of Kate Murphy
set firmly, her blue eyes burning.
ITS not sthrong OF am on advisin',"
she said. shortly, but if it was me
Ord be fer foindin' out what all this
mix-up was about. There's somethin'
moighty quare in 1t. It's my notion
that Hawleys got hold av thin papers
a. er fathers. The ovid gint thinks
SO, too, an that's why he's so hot
dllASl CdlCAlu Alul. May IuS ulVll
admoire me av OF know where this
Maclaire gyurl comes in, but Oill bet
the black divil has get her marked
fer some part in the play. What
would OF do? Be goory, Old go to
Sheridan, an foind the Gineral an
till him all knew Maybe he could
piece it together, and guess what
Hawley was up ter"
Hope was already upon her feet.
her puzzled face Frightening.
ooh, that is what l wanted to do.
but was not sure it would be best
How can get there from here9"
"Ye'd have ter take the stage back
to Topeky; loikely they'd be runnin'
thrains out from there on the new
road. It'll be aisy fer me ter foind
out from some Nv the lads down be-
low"
Tho only equipment operating into
Sheridan was a construction train,
with an old battered passenger coach
coupled to the rear. A squad OF
heavily armed infantry rode along, rs
protection against possible Indian
raiders, but there Nas no crowd
aboard on this special trip, as all
construction work had been suspended
on the line indefinitely, and most OF
the travel, therefore, had changed to
the eastward The coach used had
q partition run through it, and, as
soon as the busy trainmen discovered
ladies on board, they unceremoniously
drove the more bibulous passengers,
protesting, into the forward compart-
ment This left Hope in comparative
peace, her remaining neighbors quiet,
taciturn men, whom she looked at
through the folds of her veil during
the long, slow, exasperating journey,
mentally guessing at their various oc-
Gus, monotonous trip, the train slack
ening up, and jerking forward, appar-
emily without slightest reason; then
occasionally achieving full stop,
while men, always under guard, went
ahead to fix up some bit of damaged
track, across which the engineer
dared not advance At each bridge
spanning the numerous small streams,
trainmen examined the structure be-
fore venturing forward, and at each
stop the wearied passengers grew
more impatient and sarcastic, per-
feet stream of fluent profanity being
waited back whenever the door be-
tween the two sections CHANGED to be
left ajar.
Hope was not the only woman on
board, yet glance at the others was
sufficient to decide their status, even
had their freedom of manner and loud
talking not made it equally obvious.
Fearful lest she might be mistaken
for one of the same class, she re-
NAMED In silence, her veil merely
lifted enough to enable her to peer
out through the grimy window at the
barren view slipping slowly past. This
consisted of the bare prairie, brown
| and desolate, occasionally intersected
| by some small watercourse, the low
| hills rising and falling like waves to
the far horizon. Few incidents broke
the dead monotony; occasionally q
herd of antelope appeared in the dis
lance, silhouetted against the sky
line, and once they fairly crept for ar
hour through mass of buffalo, graz
ing so close that fusillade of guns
sounded from the front end of the
train. A little farther along she caugh
glimpse of troop of wild horses
dashing recklessly down into shell
tering ravine. Yet principally al
that met her straining eyes was ster
lie desolation. Here and there grea
ugly water tank reared it's hideoul
shape beside the track, the engine al
ways pausing for a fresh supply. Be
side 1t was invariably a pile of coal
few construction cars, a hut hal
buried under earth, loop-holed ant
barricaded, with several rough mel
loafing about, heavily armed and in
quisitive. A few of these points ha'
once been terminal, the surrounding
scenery evidencing past glories b.
piles of tin cans, and all manner o
debris, with occasionally vacan