The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1913-10-16
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men on foot. rssaias - they traapsd
forward. their hsaAs lowered in utter
vsastnass. TAs Eiri alone vas In sd
die. - wrappo1 abost In blankets ~
to - foFnle0s. ov9a her face con-
osaIsd- TAs manner In which she
svayed . The Dovsmsat Of the pony.
urged on by enc Of ths Indians. vas
evidence that sAs vas bound fast, and
helpleea At sight Of her condition
Hamlin felt his old relentless purpose
return. He vas plainsman enough to
realise what suffering those men had
passed through before reaching such
extremity. and vas quick to appreci-
ate the full meaning Of their exhaus-
ton. and to sympathise with It He
had passed through . similar baptism.
and remembered the dsspsrsts eluteA
OF the storm-king.
But the sight Of that poor girl sway.
ing helplessly in the saddle, . bound
prisoner in the midst Of those rufians,
who had murdered her father before
her eyes and who were bearing her
to all the unspeakable horrors Of In
dian captivity. instantly stifed within
him every plea Of mercy. No matter
what they had suffered. they were
ruthless. merciless gang of cut
throats. and thieves. fleeing from jus-
tice, deserving Of no consideration.
Yet their distressed appearance. their
lack Of vigilance. rendered him care
less. They seemed too weak to resist,
too exhausted to fight; the cold pluck
Ing at their hearts had seemingly al
ready conquered. 1t was this impress
sion which caused him to act reckless
ly. rising to his feet, rife In hand. d.
rectly in their track. hating their ad-
vance with stern command.
Hands up! Quick now, the three
Of you! Don't wait. Dupont; I've got
the drop!"
The white man was in 'front.' huge,
shapeless figure in his furs. his black
beard frosted oddly. He stood motion.
less. astounded at this strange appa.
rition In blue cavalry overcoat, which
had sprung up so suddenly In that
wilderness. For an instant he must
have deemed the vision confronting
him some Illusion of the desert, for he
never stirred except to rub . gloved
hand across his eyes.
BY all the gods. Dupont" roared
the Sergeant impatiently. do you
want me to shoot? Damn you. throw
up your hands," !.
Slowly. as though his mind was still
In dream, the mans hands were lift.
ed above his head. one graspine 4
short. sawed-oh gun. The expression
upon his face was ugly. as he began to
dtmly understand what this unexpect.
ed hold-up meant. There followed an
instant Of silence. in which Hamlin
forsetful of Hughes, who still re-
mained lying quiet in the snow, took
a step or two forward, rifle at shoul-
der. The two Indians, swathed in
blankets, but with arms upraised
were in direct line, motionless as stat.
ues. He could see the CLEAN of their
dark eyes. and even noticed the figure
OF the girl straighten in the saddle.
Dupont gave fierce utterance to an
oath. Apparently he failed to recog-
nize the soldier, but as Hughes rose to
his knees, suspicion leaped Instantly
to his brain.
"A hold-up. hey!" he said cooI,v
Hughes. you sneaklng old coward
come out into the open once. What
is 1t you want?"
Nothing to that, Dupont" returned
the Sergeant. glancing back question.
ingly toward his companion. Your
old partner is here under nv order.
l am Sergeant Hamlin, Seventh Cav.
airy Throw down that gun!"
What! You"
Yes. you are my prisoner. I've fol-
lowed you from Dodge. Throw down
the gum"
1t dropped sullenly into the snow
Now. Hughes. go ahead, and dis.
arm those Indians"
The cowman shuff1ed forward. re.
voiver in hand. circling to keep safe
ly beyond the reach of Dupont, who
eyed him maliciously. The latter was
30 outtoned up In buffalo coat as to
make 1t impossible for him to reach
a weapon. and Hamlin permitted hfs
eyes to waver slightly. as he watched
the Indians. What occurred the next
instant came so suddenly as scarcely
TO leave an impression. It was swift.
instructive action. primitive impulse.
An Indian hand fell beneath its blan-
ket covering: there was a Hash of
name across pony's saddle; Hughes
sprang backward. and went reelinE in
to the snow. Hamlin fired, as the saw.
age lodged between the horses legs,
sending him sprawling. and, ignoring
the other Indian, swung about to GOV.
er Dupont. Swift as he moved, he
was too late With one desnorato