The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1913-05-15

where the valley perceptibly narrowed
To the left. beyond . fat sxpaase of
brown. sun-soorcheA gTasa. flowed
the vtdelyspreading waters Of the Ar
kansas. barely covering the treachsr-
oas candy bottom. and from the other
Side came the more distant CLEAN OF
alkah plains: to the right arose the
has6s. here both steep and rugged.
co0pletely shutting OF the view. bar
ren OF vegetation except for . fsv
scattered patches OF grass. ouddenly
nan rode ost OF Q rift n ths hank.
directly IN front. and held up his hand.
Surpstse1. startled. the driver In
seastasssssly elAnped On his bsaka.
~ beoasAt hh horsss 70 Q suisk
49,: ths conductor. .aariy sang frs0
~ eeok yanksd biz gun Sosvar1
Noos ef hat Row." called ct -
~ 6 ia3dle sujeAiy. bs<A haaAs -
lifted 70 SHOW their soptissss. '"fhlo
10 NO hold-uD. I've got news"
He sparrsA his pony forward SLOW
ly. the animal seemingly barely able
to move. and swung out Of tAs saddle
beside the front wheel. staggering
bit ~ though his limbs were cramped
a. his feet felt the ground.
I'm from Fort Union," he said
Seventh Cavalry. sent through By
way Of Cimafron Springs. There y
hell - pay west of here; the stati>
at Arkansas Crossing and Low WstAf
were burned last night"
"The devil you say" burst out the
driver hoarsely. his startled eyes
sweeping the horizon. "Injuns?"
Sure. plenty of signs. but haven't
seen any bucks myself. As soon as
discovered what had happened at the
Crossing l struck out on to the pla-
teau. and came around that way to
warn those fellows at Low Water. But
when I got sight of that station from
of the bluffs yonder it had been wiped
out. Then thought about this stage
going west today. and came on TO meet
you. Must have ridden a hundred an
twenty miles since yesterday; the
mustang is all In
Moylan stuck his head out the near
est window.
Look like they had much Of fight
at the Crossing!" he asked.
Not much: more like q night raid:
two whites killed. and scalped. The
third man either was taken away. or
his body got burnt in the building.
Horses all gone"
What tribe?"
"Arapahoes. from the way they
scalped: that's what made It SO seri-
ous-if those Northern Indians have
broken loose there II going to be war
this time for sure"
The men on the box looked at each
other questioningly.
Il don't see no use tryin' to go on.
Jake. do your" asked the driver sober
ly. Even II we do git through, thar
amt no hosses to be had"
The other shook his head. rubbing
his gun-stock.
Most likely those same red devils
are layin' for us now somewhar be-
tween yere an Low Water; whar the
trail runs In between them two big
rocks. most probable" he concluded.
Not havin' no ha'r to lose, I'm fer
goin' back"
With an oath Of relief, the driver re-
leased his brake and skilfully swung
the leaders around. the coach groan-
ing AS 1t took the sharp turn. The
man on the ground caught a swiftly
passing glimpse Of the young wom-
ans face within, and strode hurriedly
forward az the coach started.
Hold on there, pardner." he COM
manded sternly, This poor bronze
won't travel another mile. There's
plenty Of room for me inside, and I'll
turn the tired devil loose. Hold on,
say!"
The driver once again slapped on
the brake. growing and reluctant, his
anxious eyes searching the trail In
both directions. Hamlin quietly un-
cinched his saddle, finging 1t to the
coach roof; the bride followed. and
then, with slap on the haunch of the
released animal, he strode to the stage
door. thrust his Henry rifle within,
and took the vacant seat beside Con-
zales. With a sudden crack of the
drivers whip the four horses leaped
forward. and the coach careened on
the slope of the trail, causing the pas
sengers to clutch wildly to keep from
being precipitated into mass on the
floor. AS the traces Strengthened,
Miss Molly, clinging desperately to q
strap. caught her first fair glance at
| the newcomer. His hat was tilted
back. the light revealing lines OF
weariness and coating of the gray.
powdery dust of the alkali desert, but
beneath 1t appeared the brown. SUM-
scorched skin. while the gray eyes
looking straight at her. were resolute
and smiling. His rough shirt, open at
the throat. might have been the prod
uct OF any suffers counter; he wore
no Jacket. and the broad yellow stripe
down the leg of the faded blue trou-
sers alone proclaimed him a soldier
He smiled across at her. and she low
cred her eyes, while his glance wan
dered on toward the others.