The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1913-08-14

| pockets turned inside out" he said.
glancing back. "The poor devil!"
Had quite a row here" returned
the scout. THAT stain over thar Is |
blood, an 1t never come from him, fer
he died whar he fell. Most likely he
shot furst, or used knife. The girls
with em anyhow; reckon this yere
was her ribbon; that footprint is
sure"
! He stirred up the scattered ashes,
and then passed over and looked at
the dead man.
What do yer think, Sergeant?'
They stopped here to eat, maybe
fivs hours ago." pushing the ashes
about with his toe. 1.-The fire has been
out that long. Then they got into a
quarrel-Connors and Dupont-for he
was shot with Colt AS; no Indian
ever did that Then they struck out
again with two led horses. l should
say they were three or four hours
ahead, travelling SLOW"
Good enough and WATSON patted
his arm. you're a plainsman all
i right. Brick You kin sure read signs.
Thet's Just bout the whole story, as L
make 1t. Nuthin' fer us to do but
snatch bite an go on. Our bosses
J re fresher'n theirs. No sense our
stoppin' to bury Connors; he amt
} worth it, an the birdsll take care o
him. The outfit was still headin'
south-see!"
There could be no doubt of this. as
the shelter of the sand ridge had pre-
served plain trail, although few
, yards beyond the sweeping wind had
, already almost obliterated every sign
:, of passage. The four men ate heartily
, Of their cold provender, discussing the
, situation in few brief sentences
i WATSON argued that Dupont was head
, ing for some Indian winter encamp-
ment thinking to Shift responsibility
o for the crime upon the savages, thus
). permitting him to return once more
q original theory. Of hide-out upon Du-
a points old cattle-range, and that a pur-
4 pose other than the mere robbery Of
v Mcdonald was In view. All alike, how.
=. ever. were convinced that the fugi
y. tives were seeking the wild bluffs OF
n, the Canadian river for concealment.
"a It was not yet dark when they agair
70 picked up the trail, rode around the
ID dead body of Connors, and pushed for
rs ward into the maze of sand For al
ID hour the advance was without Incl
~ dent, the scout in the lead not ever
"a dismounting his keen eyes picking VI
~ the faint sign" unerr1ngly. Thel
r. darkness shut down, the lowering BAN
60 of clouds completely plotting the stars
~ although the white glisten of the san
under foot yielded slight guidance
Up to this time there had been no DE-
NC Walton in direction, and now when tn
10, trail could be no longer distinguished
Nv the little party decided on ridin
W straight southwark until they struc
ai the Cimarron. An hour or two late
- the moon arose, hardly visible and ye
Frightening the cloud canopy, so tina
~ the riders could see each other an
~ proceed more rapidly. Suddenly Wa
= ~ son lifted his hand, and turned hi
:, face up to the sky.
az Snow" he announced soberl,
-. Thought felt it afore. and the wind
NV changed"
~ Hamlin turned in the saddle, feelin
NV already the sharp sting of snow DC
90, lets on his face. Before he could eve
NV answer the air was full of whitenes
CO. fierce gust of wind hurting the fl
Ing particles against them. In a
[ly. other instant they were in the We
'ss heart of the storm, almost hurled fl
ter ward by the force Of the wind, al
zen blinded by the icy deluge The petit
an of the hail startled the horses, and
ght spite of every effort of the riders, tn
ke- drifted to the right, tails to the stor
Tin The swift change was magical T
v sharp particles of icy snow seemed
his swirl upon them from every directie
me sucking their very breath, bewild
EN- ing them, robbing them of all sense
lite direction. Within two minutes t
an men found it impossible to penetr;
ses. the wintry shroud except for f
ure, feet ahead of them.
be The Sergeant knew what 1t mea
for he had had experience of the
pro- plains storms before.
title Haiti" he cried, his voice bar
ute audible in the blast. "Close up, me
bout come here to me-lively now! II
light you, Wade? WATSON; oh, all rig
out SAM Here, pass that lariat ba,
Vas now get grip on it, every one of y
and and hold to 1t for your lives Let
y of take the lead. Sam; We'll have to
was by compass. Now, then, are
yeen ready?"
with The lariat rope, tied to Haml
ross, pommel, Strengthened out and
M. grasped desperately by the glo