Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1921-01-06

ldNS huOWu VIA 1ldu OCCuITeu.
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
outfit was riding carelessly across the |
lonely prairie, seeking somewhere a
safe rendezvous.
Shelby refined his horse to the left,
and sought a water hole he remem-
bered, himself drinking first, and then
standing by while the animal q~uenched
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. It was a trackless waste, ,drear
and deserted of all life. Not a 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
meridian. and he felt convinced those
he followed could not be far from the
trail he was endeavoring to locate. He
came upon 1t in less than an hour,
leading straight down a narrow val
ley, whose general course was directly
west. He ~dismounted, and studied the
tracks with care. This was his party,
beyond q doubt-fve horses, one with
a split hoof.
An hour later he found where the
party had halted. made a 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
no 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
to proceed. Shelby studied the foot
prints, satisfying himself that four
were Indian, and one white, unques-
tionably Macklin. With only five
horses this meant that the girl rode
with n of the men, probably the Kid.
He discovered where she probably
was sitting during the meal, a torn
piece of crumpled sacking bearing
mute testimony that her hands had
been bound, and released so that she
might eat. The fellows were evident
ly unafraid of her any longer, and
had not tied her up again when they
resumed the journey.
1t was nearly shutdown when the
trail he followed swerved to the right
up a steep bank, where the ponies
hoofs slipped in their struggle to at
tain the top. Shelby gave the buck
kin his head, and the game little
devil went scrambling up. until they
came forth on a fiat plain above. Shell
by dropped his rein, and climbed to
a higher point of rock, lying concealed
behind its summit, while he swept the
scene below through the field glasses.
he never had been there before, yet
he knew about where he was; this
must be Dragon creek, and lot far
below would be Wolves hole, of which
he often had heard-a famous hiding
place for cattle thieves and border
outlaws. These fellows evidently were
heading for there, but would they try
to complete the journey? His hope
centered or their camping somewhere
until morning; if sufficiently assured
of safety this would probably be their
choice. Through the field glasses he
studied the course of the stream, and
the little patches of.wood ~intently. At
last he was rewarded faint spiral
of blue smoke arose above some dis
tant trees, the evidence Of a camp
fire. He lay there m%otionless, silent,
his eyes glued to the glass, planning
his action. andewaiting for the night.
AS the gloom slowly deepened Shell
by was able to distinguish the flicker
of that far-off fire. but the distance
was too great to permit any knowl-
edge of its surroundings. The trail
leading down was narrow, and rock
strewn, and he determined to try the
passage while a faint glimmer of twi.
light yet fingered. Leading the buck.
skin, and moving with the utmost eau
ton, he began the descent.
The gloom did not greatly retard his
movements, for, through the glasses,
he had mapped out the salient fea.
lures, and so impressed them upon his
memory as to go forward now con,
fidently. The camp fire was located in
the third grove OF trees, and there
were no signs of human presence be.
tween, However. he took no chance,
but advanced quietly on foot, leading
his horse, and using every p~recaution
against discovery.
He circled the TWO groves. keeping
close IN their shadow, and searching
their depths a~nxiously for any sign Of
life, They were des0late and desert
ed, but, from the outer frieee ~ ~.