Polk County news. [volume] (Benton, Tenn.) 191?-1983, 1920-12-16
CHAPTER VII-Continued.

Yet 1t was actually true; impossible
as 1t seemed, it was nevertheless an
incontrOvertible fact. He had never
spoken to her a single word of love
he had never even kissed her, and
still, before both God and man, she
was his wife. The strangeness of the
situation bewildered him. Why, he
did not even know who she was /;
what right she had to claim the family
name under which he had married
her; what strange story of crime
might shadow her history. 1t was all
mystery, a mystery in which he was
becoming deeply involved. Calkins
some fate, but whether of good or
evil, could not yet be determined. This
present abduction, beyond question,
had to do with that concealed past,
perhaps with some happening before
she was even born. These fellows
were not robbers; their raid was not
intended for any such purpose; they
had touched nothing, even the horses
were left undisturbed in the corral,
and the moment they gained posses
sion Of her they had hurriedly depart
ed. 1t had all been carefully planned,
with Macklin to choose the time, and
then executed quietly. Their only mis-
take was in leaving him behind alive.
But for that one error no one ever
would have known what had occurred,
or dreamed of her fate. And now, as
'sured of safety, believing the dead
would tell no tales, that they had left
behind no evidence of their crime, the
lonely prairie, seeking somewhere
safe rendezvous.
Shelby reined his horse to the left,
and sought a water hole he remem-
bered, himself drinking first, and then
standing by while the animal quenched
its thirst. Leaving the buckskin there,
with rein trailing on the ground, he
climbed the steep side of a butte and
swept the distant horizon with a field
glass. 1t was trackless waste, drear
and deserted of all life Not thing
that moved crossed his range of
vision; and, at last, he snapped the
field glasses back into their case,
slipped down the steep face of the
butte, and silently remounted.
The sun was some time past the |
and he felt convinced those
he followed could not be far from the
trail he was endeavoring to locate. He
came upon it in less than an hour,
leading straight down a narrow val
ley, whose general course was directly
west. He dlsmounted, and studied the
tracks with care. This was his party
beyond a doubt-five horses, one with
q split hoof.
An hour later he found where the
party had halted, made fire among
some rocks and prepared food. He
studied every sign with care, hoping
for some message of guidance from
her; but there was none Either she
had been too carefully watched by her
captOrs, or had given up in despair
any thought of rescue. Doubtless she
believed him dead also; perhaps had
even witnessed the blow struck, but If
not would assuredly have been in
formed of what had happened. The
stamping of the ponies hoofs indi-
Gated that the party had remained in
that spot for some time, in no hurry
% proceed. Shelby studied the foot
prints, satisfying himself that four
we're Indian, and one white, unques-
lonably Macklin. With only five
lorses this meant that the girl rode
With one of the men, probably the Kid
lie discovered where she probably
Vas sitting during the meal, torn
'iece of crumpled sacking bearing
mute testimony that her hands had
'een bound, and released so that she
night eat. The fellows were evident
y unafraid of her any longer, and
lad not tied her up again when they
esnmed the journey.
Il was nearly shutdown when the |
ran he followed swerved to the right ! |