Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-01-13


nuther, but he'd q gun. an talked ter
BLACK Hawk. most like he wus a chief
hissslf. After the KILN wus all over.
hs wus The one whit cot EN- ter 20 OF
thar to the south, the whole hit an
kaboodle."
IT don't doubt that There have al
ways been white renesades among the
Sacs and plenty OF half.breeds. II
Black Hawk. and this other fellow are
leading this band. they are after big
game somewhere. and We had better
keep out Of their way. I favor sad
ding up Immediately, and travelling all
night"
$50 DO T." and Tim flung half.filled
bag from his shoulder to the ground.
;''But vote we eat furst. Tain't much,
only a few scraps found out thar:
but it's a way better then nuthin'.
Here you. Hall, give me a hand. an
then wen 20 out, an round up them
hosses."
II the party Of Riding Indians,
whose foul deed we had discovered.
had departed In a southerly direction,
Is their trail would plainly seem to In.
ticate, then our safest course would
seemingly be directed eastward up the
valley. This would give Us the pro-
lection Of the bluffs, and take US moro
and moro out Of the territory they
would be likely to cover. Within
twenty minutes we were IN saddle, de-
scending the steep hillside through the
darkness, Tim walking ahead with the
lad, his horse trailing behind. and the
long rife across his shoulder.
do not recall feeling any special
fear. In the first place was convinced
that we must already be at the ex-
IRENE limit Of Black Hawks radius,
and that, travelling as we were east
ward, must before morning be well be-
yond any possible danger OF falling
into the hands Of his warriors. The
other pursuers I had practically dis
missed from thought. Shortly after
midnight my horse strained tendon.
and could no longer uphold my weight.
On foot, with the poor beast limping
painfully behind me, I pressed on be-
side Eloise, both Of US silent, too ut
terly wearied with the strain for any
attempt at speech
The rising sun topped the summit
Of the blufr. its red rays seeming to
bridge with spans Of gossamer the lit
tie valley up which we toiled. had
lost my interest, and was walking dog
gediy on. with eyes bent upon the
ground. when the girl beside me cried
out suddenly, new excitement In her
voice.
"Oh, there Is q cabin! Seei Over
yonder; just beyond that big oak.
where the blum turns"
Her eager face was aglow, her out
stretched hand pointing eagerly.
The logs Of which the little building
had been constructed. still in their ma
tive bark. blended so perfectly with
the drab hillside beyond, that for the
moment none Of US caught the distant
outlines. Tim possessed the keenest
sight, and his voice was FIRST to speak.
"Sure, miss, thet's q cabin, all right"
he said grimty. "OAs room. an new
built; likely 'nouyh sum settler Just
com in yere don't see no move
ment, ner smoke"
Filed to the nearest fort probably"
I replied, able myself by this time to
dec,pher the spot. BE too risky to
stay out here alone. Wen look it
over; there might be food left behind,
even II the people have gone"
We must have been half m hour IN
covering the distance. The cabin stood
wen up above the stream, within the
shade of the great oak. and we were
confirmed, long before We reached 1t,
in our former judgment that 1t was
BILE about the place; 1t had the APP
pearance Of desertion, no smoke even
curling from out the chimney. A faint
trail, evidently little used. led down
toward the creek. and we followed this
as it wound around the base Of the
big tree. Then II was that the truth
dawned suddenly upon us-there to
our right lay q dead mule, harnessed
for work, but with throat cut; while
directly In front Of the cabin door was
Q dog, an ugly, massive brute, his
mouth open, prone on his back. with
stiffened legs pointing 70 the sky. I
dropped my rein, and strobe forward.
"Wait where you are" I called back.
"There have been savages here: let
me see first what has happened In
side"
The dog had been shot, stricken By
two bullets, and I was obliged to drag
his huge body to one side before I
could press my why IN through the
door. The open doorway and window
afforded ample light and a single
glance WAS sufficient to reveal most
Of the story. The table had been
smashed az by the blow Of an az. and
pewter dishes were everywhere. The
bed IN one cornes had been stripped OF
Its coyerlets, many Of them slaShed
BY 4 knife. and the straw tick had
been ripped open In . dozen places.
Goals from the fireplace lay wide
spread some Of them having eaten
deeply into the hard woed before they
ceased smoldering.
/ saw all this, yet my eyes rested
upon something else. 4 man lay. bent
double across an overturned bench. In
a posture which hid his face from
view, His body was there alone. al
though a eht1d's shos lay on the
floor, and Q woman's linsey dress
dangled from hook against the wall.
I crept forward, my heart pounding
madly. until I could gain sight Of his