The Red Cloud chief. [volume] (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923, 1920-12-30

or savnges on the warpath. There had
| been no attempt to plumber, or de-
stroy. The very fact that the ponies
| remained undisturbed convinced him
that this was no deed of Indian raid
ers. That 1t might have been white out
laws was not quite so easily dis
missed. There were desperate men
hidSg out yOnder In the Bad Lands,
but he never had known Of their ven
turing to attack any settler, except oc-
casionally to run Off cattle on the
range. In tht case there was no ap-
parent obJect-they had taken moth
Ing, neither food nor stock. Then 1t
must have been Macklin.
His sudden disappearance was. ut
least. proof he must have had hand
In II. But why2 To what end? Shelby
Strengthened up, new flash OF intel
ligence In his eyes. Perhaps this all
harked back to that early mystery In
her life. She Ind told him that Cal
kins had taken her from place to
place, apparently always afraid that
he was being followed. Was 1t pos.
sible that he had been hunted down at
last; that he recognized the approach
Of the end. and had committed suicide
| on that account? And wns this strange
seizure Of Olga part Of the plot. either
II revenge. or restitution? This ex-
| olanatiOn seemed more probable than
any other; In a way II appeared to fit
the case. although he possessed no
more knowledge Of what 1t all meant
than he did before. Only. evidently
all that had been desired was possess
sion Of the girl, and that was deemed
Of sufficient Importance to even justify
murder. He had been left for dead
In order that she might be borne away
| alive.
No longer doubling but what this
theory ut least approximated the
truth. Shelby faced the facts frankly.
and with no further hesitation. 1t
was up to him to act promptly: there
was no one to whom he could turn for
help. His eyes darkened. and his jnws
set. All right then. he would certain
~ give the Kid run for his money.
There must be some trail left; such a
deed as this could never he accom-
plished without leaving some mark
behind. Whether they Travelled on
foot, or horseback, the party must
surely leave some trace Of passage
and Shelby. who had been the best
trailer. In his regiment. felt confident
Of being able to run the outfit down.
With this once settled In his mind.
and his plan Of pursuit outlined, shell
by threw Off his depression, ard be-
came cool and resOlute. Fist he
searched over every foot of ground
within quarter OF mile of the
house, seeking to discover just how
Macklin had operated. and. whether
or not, he was alone. The result was
only partially successful. The hard
packed earth revealed little of value.
Down below the cabin on the slOping
side of the hill. he found the mark Of
high-heeled boo. such as the Kid
wore. and. foot or so beyond, the
plain Impression OF mOCcasin. A
hundred yards to the north the I'm
prints were again visible. making II
clear to his mind that the fuGltives
were then making for the lower ford
The girl was evidently being carried
and two men must have been engaged
on the Job, one of them possibly an In
dian. He passed straight on to the
ford to verify this theAy, and here
the mud exhibited clearly the move
ments of both the fellows, while close
ut the waters edge he came upon a
narrow pink ribbon, which the girl
had evidently hurredly dropped In
guidance.
1t was clearly manifest now the d.
rectlon In which they had disappeared
but Shelby remained unsatistied. He
could not believe that they would nt-
tempt to escape thus on foot with
their burden. If Mncklin had one as
sistant, II was highly probable there
would be others also engaged In the
affair. The opposite shore was de.
serted, and he crossed over. wadlng to
his thighs in the swift water. with
rifle flung forward. and eyes intently
searching the further bank. The trail
was plain ut this point; he could
easily trace the steps OF both men
passing up narrow gully into the
first line OF bluffs. and there. In a lit
tie open glade. he found where horses
had been tethered and tramped the
turf. They had evidently been held
for some time; had entered from the
north down slight cOulee. and de-
parted westward along shelving
bank. There were five animals. all
mounted, to judge from the deep i'm
press of hOOfs. and he followed their
passage rs far as the crest OF the
biufr. They were well beyond view. Of
course by this time. across that rough,
broken country, but he satisfied him
self that they were heading straight
for the Bad Lands.
Shelby knew now something Of what
he must contend with. The act OF alb
duction. and attempted murder, was