The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1920-05-13

the manner IN which our tran had been
SO relentlessly followed; the strange
emblem found pinned to the blanket.
l seemed to grasp the entire truth
the willy, cowardly scheme OF treachery
he was endeavoring to perpctrate. My
blood boiled In my veins, and yet I
felt cold as ice, as I swung about and
faced the fellow, my rife flung for
ward.
"Kirby, stand up! Drop that rifle
take it, Eloise. Now raise your hands.
Tim"
"Whut's up?'
us there anything serious going on
outsider"
"No; nuthin' much-just pow
wowin'. Yer want me?"
SEARCH that scoundrel for weapons.
Don't ask questions; do what I say"
He made short work of it, using no
gentle methods.
oval the gent wasn't exactly harm
less" he reported, grinning cheerfully,
"considerin' this yere knife an canno
Now, maybe yen tell me whut the
his upT'
Kirby stood erect, his dark eyes
searching our faces, his lips scornful.
And perhaps, Mr.. Lieutenant
Knox," he added sarcastically. "Yon
might condescend to explain to me
also the purpose Of this outrage"
with pleasure" but without lower.
Ing my rifle. "This boy here belonged
to the company of soldiers massacred
yesterday morning. You know where I
mean. He was the only one to escape
alive, and he saw you there among the
s~avages-free, and one Of them"
HE tells you that? And you accept
the word of that half-wit?"
HE described your appearance to
Us exactly twenty-four hours ago. I
v thought of you at the time, al
though the description was accurate
enough, because it seemed SO impOs-
sible for you to have been there. But
that isn't all, Kirby. What has become
Of the emblem pin you in your
de? It is gone, 1 see."
His hand went up involuntarily. 1t
ts possible he had never missed it be-
fore, for a look of indecision came into
the mans face-the first symptom of
weakness I had yer detected there.
1T must have been lOst-mislaid-"
1T was; and l chance to be able to
tell you wherein this very room.
Here is your pin, you incarnate devil.
I found 1t caught in those blankets
yonder. This is not your first visit to
this cabin; you were here with Indian
murderers."
cts a id lie"
But Kennedy had him, locked in a
vise-like grip. It was we'll he had, for
the fellow had burst into a frantic
rage, yet was bound so utterly helpless
as to appear almost pitiful. The
knowledge of what he had planned, of
his despicable treachery, left us mer-
CHESS. In spite of his struggles we
bore him to the floor, and pinned him
there, cursing and swapping like a
wild beast.
"Tear up one of those blankets" I
called back over my shoulder to Hall.
eyes, into strips, of course; now bring
them here. Tim, you tie the fellow
yes. do a good job; I'll hold him. Lie
still, Kirby, or I shall have to give you
the butt of this gun in the face"
He made n last effort to break
free, and, as my hand attempted to
close on his throat, the clutching fing-
ers caught the band of his shirt, and
ripped it wide open. There, directly
before me, a scar across his hairy, ex-
posed chest, was a broad, black mark,
a tribal totem. I stared down at it,
recognizing it's significance.
by Heaven, Tim, look at this !" I
cried. "He is an Indian himself-a
black Sacw
X y
I do not know what delayed the
attack Of the savages, unless they were
waiting for some signal which never
came. I passed from loophole to l3op-
hole, thus assuring myself not only
that they still remained, but that the
cabin was completely surrounded, al
though the manner IN which the war
riors had been distributed left the
great mas of them opposite the front.
The others evidently composed a mere
guard to prevent escape. No move
ment I could observe indicated an i'm
mediate assault; they rather appeared
to be awaiting something.
Those I saw were all dismounted,
and had advanced toward the cabin as
closely as possible without coming
within the range of guns. They had
also sheltered themselves as far as
possible behind clumps of brush, or
ridges of rock, so that Z found it diff
cult to estimate their number. Only
occasionally would a venturesome
warrior appear for a moment in the
open, as he glided stealthily from the
protection of n covert to another.
No doubt some were brought within
range of our rifles, as these efforts
were usually made to more advanced
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