The Adair County news., 1922-02-28

was he anyway What had become of
the fellow all this time? He was no
where In sight when Shelby retraced
his steps up the path. Gould it be
that the Kid was the one guilty of this
deed? If So what was his object?
Not robbery, surely, for the place had
not been ranSacked, or anything re-
moved from his pockets. Yet surely
this was not Indian work; it bore no
resemblance to a savage raid. The
questions were unanswerable; no
mental effort gave him any clue, yet
his strength was rapidly coming back
and with it a grim, determined anger.
which urged him into action.
First he went through The deserted
house, room by room, seeking for the
slightest sign of guidance. bul finding
none. Everything remained precisely
as he remembered seeing it the nigh
before. He blew out the light. tool,
down one of the rifles from the wall
loaded it, and then, feeling his old
strength returning, cautiously stepped
out through the front door. The buck
board stood there. gaunt and stripped
except for the box between the rear
wheels. He peered into this, and
found it still half filled with bundles.
Macklin had not completed his job
other evidence being furnished by the
eXtinguished and overturned lantern
on the ground just beyond. But there
was no sign visible of any struggle.
Surely she had not left of her OWL
choice. That was unthinkable. She
had appeared cheerful and cOntented,
even actually interested in the new
life; besides, if she possessed the
slightest desire to escape, he had Of
fered her every opportunity on the
way out. and she had refused Surely
she would never have come way out
there to make her diSagreeable jour
ney over again at night. Even if crazy
enough for such an attempt the effort
would never he made upon foot, and
all three ponies were in the corral; he
had seen them while coming down.
No. that theory might be dismissed at
once, and secretly he was glad it was
so easily disposed Oft had vaguely
haunted him at first, causing him to
dread the discovery that it might be
true.
Then what was true? Who could be
guilty of such an outrage? Indians?
White outlaws? Joe Macklin? These
three possibilities alone remained, but
the first two seemed quite impossible
He was used to Indian fOray, but this
act bore no resemblance to the work
of savageS on the warpath. There had
been no attempt to plunder, or de-
Stroy. The very fact that the ponies
remained undisturbed convinced him
that this was no deed of Indian raid
erS. That it might have been white out
laws was not quite so easily dis
missed. There were desperate men
hiding out yonder in the Bad Lands,
hut he never had known of their ven
turing to attack any settler, except Oc-
casiOnally to run off cattle on the
range. In this case there was no ap-
parent Object-they had. taken moth
ing, neither food nor stock. Then it
must have been Macklin.
His sudden disappearance was. at
Least. proof he must have had hand
in it. But why? 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 had told him that Cal
kins had taken her from place to
place. apparently always afraid that
he was being followed. Was it 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 was 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 it appeared to fit
the case, although he possessed no
more knowledge of what it all meant
than he did before. Only, evidently
all that had been desired was posses
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 at 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 jaws
set. All right then, he would certain
ly give the Kid run for his money.
There must be some trail left; such a
deed as this could never be 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