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Molly McDonald
A TALE or s TEE FRONTIER
By-' : jj'
sic
CHAPTER
An Unpleasant Situation
When late In Hay 1868 Major
Daniel McDonald Sixth Infantry was
first assigned to command the new
three company post established south-
west of Fort Dodge designed to pro-
tect the newly discovered Cimarron
trail leading t? Santa Fe across the
desert and purely by courtesy of-
ficially termed Fort Devere he nat-
urally considered It perfectly safe to
Invite his only daughter to Join him
there' for her summer vacation In-
deed at that time there was ap-
parently no valid reason why he
- should deny himself this pleasure
Except for certain vague rumors re-
garding uneasiness among the Sioux
warriors north of the Platte the vari-
ous tribes of the plains were causing
no unusual trouble to military authori-
ties although of course there was
no time in the history of that country
utterly devoid of peril from young
raiders usually aided and abetted by
outcast whites However the Santa
Fe route by this date had become a
well-traveled trail protected by scat-
tered posts along its entire route fre-
quently patrolled by troops and mere-
ly considered dangerous for small par-
ties south of the Cimarron where rov-
ing Comanches in bad humor might
be encountered ‘
Fully assured as to this by officers
met at Fort Ripley McDonald who
had never before served west of the
Mississippi wrote his daughter a long
letter describing In careful detail the
route set an exact date for her de-
parture and then satisfied all was
- well arranged set forth with his
small command on the long march
overland He had not seen his daugh-
ter for over two years as during her
vacation time (she was attending
Bunnycrest school on the Hudson)
she made her home with an aunt in
Connecticut This year the aunt was
In Europe not expecting to return un-
til fall and the father had hopefully
counted on having the girl with him
once again in Kentucky Then came
his sudden unexpected transfer west
and the final decision to have her Join
him there Why not? If she remain-
ed the same high-spirited army girl
aho would thoroughly enjoy the un-
usual experience of a few months of
real frontier life and the only hard-
ship Involved would be the long stage
ride from Ripley This however was
altogether prairie travel monotonous
- enough surely but without special
danger and he could doubtless ar-
range to meet her himself at Kansas
City or send one of his officers for
that purpose ' " '
This was the situation in May but
by the middle of June conditions had
greatly changed throughout all the
broad plains country The spirit of
savage war had spread rapidly from
the Platte to the Rio Pecos and
scaroely a wild tribe remained disaf-
fected Arapahoe Cheyenne Pawnee
Cbmanclie and Apache alike espoused
the cause of the Sioux and their
young warriors breaking away from
the control of older chiefs became
ugly and warlike Devere isolated as
it was from the main route of travel
(the Santa Fe stages still following
the more northern trail) heard mere-
ly rumors of the prevailing condition
through tarrying hunters and possi-
bly an occasional army courier yet
- soon realized the gravity of the situ-
allo because of the almost total
'cessation of travel by way of the
Cimarron and- the growing insolence
of the surrounding Comanches De-
tails from the small garrison were
under urgent orders from headquar-
ters at Fort Wallace kept constantly
'scouting as far south as the fork of
- the Red river and then west to the
mountains Squads from the single
cavalry company guarded the few
caravans venturing still to cross the
Cimarron desert or bore dispatches
to Fort Dodge Thus the few soldiers
remaining on duty at the home sta-
tion became slowly aware that this
outburst of savagery was no longer a
mere tribal affair Outrages were re-
ported from the Solomon the Repub-
lican the Arkansas valleys A settle-
ment wae raided on Smoky Fork
stages were attacked near the Caches
and one burned a wagon train was
ambushed in the Raton pass and only
escaped after desperate fighting Al-
together the situation appeared ex-
tremely serious and summer promised
war in earnest
- McDonald was rather slow to ap-
precftte the real facta His knowl-
edge of Indian tactics was exceedlnf
BY ACMcCtUQ
ly small and the utter isolation of bis
post kept him ignorant At first he
was convinced that it was merely a
local disturbance and would end as
suddenly as begun Then when
realization finally came it was al-
ready too late to stop the girl She
would be already on ber long £urney
Wbat could he do? What immediate
steps could he hope to take for her
protection? Ordinarily he would not
have hesitated but now a decision
was not so easily made Of Ms com-
mand scarcely thirty men remained
at Devere a mere Infantry guard to-
gether with a small squad cf cavalry-
men retained for courier service His
only remaining commissioned officer
at the post was the partially disabled
cavalry captain acting temporarily as
adjutant because incapacitated for
taking the field He had waited until
the last possible moment trusting
that a shift in conditions might bring
back some available officer Now be
bad to choose between his duty as
commander and as father Further
delay was impossible
Devere was a fort merely -by cour-
tesy In reality it consisted only of
a small stockade hastily built of cot-
tonwood timber surrounding In partial
protection a half dozen shacks and
one fairly decent log house The
situation was upon a slight elevation
overlooking the ford some low bluffs
bare of timber but green with June
grass to the northward while in qv
ery other direction extended an in-
terminable sand-desert-ever shifting
beneath wind blasts presenting as
desolate a scene as eye could witness
The yellow flood of the river still
swollen by melting mountain snow
was a hundred feet from the stockade
gate and on its bank stood the log
cavalry stables Below a scant half
mile away were the only trees visible
a scraggiy grove of cottonwoods
while down the face of the bluff and
across the flat ran the slender rib-
bon of trail Monotonous unchang-
ing it was a desolate picture to watch
day after day In the hot summer
In the gloom following an early
supper the two officers sat together
in the single room of the cabin a
candle sputtering on the table behind
them smoking silently or moodily dis-
cussing the situation McDonald was
florid-and heavily built his gray mus-
tache hanging heavily over a firm
mouth while the Captain was of an-
other type (all with dark eyes and
hair The latter by chance opened
the important topic
"By the way major” he said care-
lessly "I guess It is just as well you
stopped your daughter from coming
out to this hole Lord but it would
be an awful place for a woman'
“But I didn’t” returned the other
moodily "I put it off too long'
"Put it oft! Cood heavens man
“Damme I Haven’t Thought of Any-
thing Els for‘a Week”
didn't you write when you spoke about
doing so? Do you actually mean the
girl is coming — here?”
McDonald groaned
“That is exactly what I mean
Travers Damme I haven’t thought
of anything else for a week Oh 1
know now I was an old fool even to
conceive of such a trip but when i
wrote her I had no conception of
what it was going to be like out here
There was not a rumor of Indian
trouble a month ago and when the
tribes did break out it was too late
for me to get word back east The
(act is I am in the devil of a fix —
without even an officer whom I can
send to meet ber or turn her back
If 1 should go myself It would mean
g court-martial”
Travers stared into the ‘ darkness
through the open door sucking at bis
pipe
'By George you are in a pickle”
he acknowledged slowly "I supposed
she had teen headed off long ago
Haven’t heard you mention the mat-
ter since we first got here Where
do you suppose the lasals by now?”
‘Near as I can tell she would leave
Ripley the lSth
‘Humph! Then starting tonight a
good rider might intercept her at
Fort Dodge She would be In no dan-
ger traveling alone for that distance
The regular stages are running yet
I suppose?"
“YeB so far as I know”
“Under guard?”
“Only from the Caches to Fort
Union there has been no trouble
along the lower Arkansas yet The
troops from Dodge are scouting the
country north and we are supposed
to keep things clear of bostlles down
this way”
"Supposed to — yes but we can’t
patrol five hundred miles of desert
with- a hundred men most of them
dough-boys The devils can break
through any time they get ready —
you know that At this minute there
isn’t a mile of safe country between
Dodge and Unio4 If she was my
daughter — ”
"You'd de what?” broke in McDon-
ald jumping to his feet “I’d give my
life to know what to do!” t
“Why I'd 'sent somebody to meet
her — to turn her back if that was pos-
sible Peyton would look after her
there at Ripley until you could ar-
range ” '
"That’s easy enough to say Travers
but tell me who is there to send? Do
you chance to know an 'enliBted man
out yonder who would do— whom you
would trust to take care of a young
girl alone?” - —
'The captain bent his head on one
hand silent for some minutes
“They are a tough lot major that’s
a fact when you stop to call the roll
Those recruitB we got at Leavenworth
were mostly rough-necks — seven of
them in the guard-house tonight Our
best men are all out” with a wave
ol his hand to the south “It’s only
the riff-raff we’ve got left at De-
vere” "You can’t go?” '
The captain rubbed his lame leg
regretfully
“No rd risk it if I could only ride
but I couldn't sit a saddle”
“And my duty is here it would cost
me my commission”
' There was a long thoughtful silence
both men moodily staring out
through the door Away in the dark-
ness unseen sentinels called the hour
Then Travers dropped one hand on
the other's knee
“Dan” be said swiftly “how about
that fellow who came in with dispatch-
es from Union just before dark? He
looked like a real man”
“I didn't see him I was down river
with the wood-cutters all day”
Travers got up and paced the floor
“I remember now What do you
say? Let's have him in anyhow They
never would have trusted him for that
ride if be hadn’t been the right sort'
He strode over to the door without
waiting an answer “Here Carter'
he called “do you know where tbat
cavalryman is who rode in from Fort
Union this afternoon?”
A face appeared in the glow oi
light and a gloved hand rose to sa-
lute “He's asleep in B's’ shack sir'
the orderly replied “Said he'd been
on the trail two nights and a day ”
"Reckon he had and some riding at
that Rout him out will you? Teil him
the major wants to see him here at
once”
The man wheeled as if on a pivot
and disappeared
“If Carter could only rid' began
McDonald but Travers interrupted
impatiently -“If!
But we all know be can't
Worst I ever saw must have original-
ly been a sailor" He Blowly refilled
his pipe “Now see here Dan it’s
your daughter that’s to be looked af-
ter and therefore I want you to size
this man up for yourself Idon’t pre-
tend to know anything about him only
be looks like a soldier and they must
think well of him at Union”
McDonald nodded but without en-
thusiasm then dropped his head into
bis hands In the silence a coyote
howled mournfully not tar away then
a shadow appeared on the log step
the light of the candle flashing on a
row of buttons
“This is the man sir ” said the or-
derly and stood aside to permit the
other to enter
CHAPTER II
“Brick” Hamlin
The two officers looked up with
some eagerness McDonald straighten
Ing In his chair and returning the
cavalryman's salute Instinctively his
eyes expressing surprise He was a
straight-limbed fellow slenderly built
and appearing taller than he really
was by reason of his erect soldierly
carriage thin of waist broad of
chest dressed in rough service uni
form without jacket just as be had
rolled out of tbs saddle rough shirt
open at the throat patched discolored
trousers with broad yellow stripes
down the seam stuck into service rid-
ing boots a revolver da-gllng at his
left hip and a soft hat faded sadly
crushed In one band
The major saw all this yet it was
at the man’s uncovered face be gazed
most Intently He looked upon a
countenance browned by sun and al-
kali Intelligent sober heavily brow-
ed with eyes of dark gray rather
deeply set firm lips a chin somewhat
prominent and a broad forehead tb
light colored hair above closely
trimmed the cheeks were darkened
by two days' growth of beard Mc-
Donald unclosed then clenched hit
hand
“You are from Fort Union Captain
Travers tells me?” -
’Yes sir” the reply slow deliber-
ate as though the speaker had no de
sire to waste words -“I brought
despatches they were delivered tc
Captain Travers"
‘Yes 1 know but I may require
you for other service What were
your orders?”
‘To return at convenience”
‘Good I know Hawley and do not
think he would object What is your
regiment?”
’Seventh cavalry”
‘Oh yes just organized ’ before
that?”
The Third”
‘I see you are a non-com — cor-
poral?” - ’
‘Sergeant sir since my transfer”
‘Second enlistment?”
‘No first in the regulars — the
He Wae a Straight Limbed Fellow
Seventh was picked from other com-
mands” ' "
“I understand You say first in the
regulars Does that mean you saw
volunteer service?”
“Three years sir”
“Ah!" his eyes brightening Instant-
ly “Then how does it happen you
failed to try for a commission after
the war? You appear to be lntelli
gent educated?” -
Tbe sergeant smiled
“Unfortunately my previous serv-
ice bad been performed In the wrong
uniform sii" he said quietly “I was
in a Texas regiment”
There was a moment’s silence dur-
ing which Travers smoked and the
major seemed to hesitate Finally
the latter asked:
“What is your name sergeant?”
“Hamlin sir”
The pipe came out of Travers'
mouth and be half arose to his feet
“By all tbe gods!” he exclaimed
“That’s it! Now I've got you placed
— you’re — you’re ‘Brick’ Hamlin!”
The man unconsciously put one hand
to his hair bis eyes laughing
“Some of the boys call me that—
yes ” he confessed apologetically
Travers was on his feet now ges-
ticulating with bis pipe
“Damn! I knew I’d seen your face
somewhere It was two years ago at
Washita Say Dan this is tbe right
man for you better than any fledgling
West Pointer Why be is tbs -same
lad who brought In Dugan— you heard
about tbat!”
Tbe major shook his head
(TO BE CONTINUED)
Looking for Owner of Fingers
A farmer near Kansas City Mo
Is looking for tbe owner of a couple
of fingers be has In his possession
He went to market with a load of
potatoes and started to sleep in bis
wagon during tbe night before market
opened He was disturbed by the
moving of the canvas over the load
and waking saw a hand slip beneath
the canvas and abstract a couple ol
tbs tubers Tbe operation was re-
peated so many times tbat ne could
foresee nothing but the disappearance
of tbe entire load unless he took sum
mary action Raising a sharp hatchet
he bad with him the fanner smote
tbe band the next time It appeared
and tbe 'next morning found tw
guilty fingers In the wagon "rtie re
mainder of bis potatoes were not
molested 7
Backache Is aWarning
Thousands suffer
kidney ills unawares
—not knowing tbat
the backache head-
aches and dull nerv-
ous dizzy all tired
condition are often
due to kidney weak-
ness alone
Anybody who suf-
fers constantly from
backacheshould sus-
pect the kidneys
Some irregularity
of the secretions may
give just the needed
proof
Doan's Kidney
Pills have been cur-
ing backache and
sick kidneys for over
fifty yean
Every Pitta
Tdits Smy" I
A North Dakota Cooo
and limbo were awollcn end 1 couldn't sleep on
ocoonnt of kidney weekneoo Mr bock woo (erne
ond sore and I felt miserable Unont Kidney
Pills enred me end when I have bod oocnaloa to
use Ibem since tbej tovt never tolled Mr'
Cat Dees’s et Aar State SOe a Baa
DOAN'S SWl5t
fOSTEJt-MILBURN CO Brfflo New Yeafc
TEtTIS'SiNGUE
WstfiS BINDER
SK22I&CISA2 ALWAYS BLL1ABLB
JAKEY’S FAULT VERY SERIOUS
Father Rightly Felt He Could Never
Bo Captain of Industry Unless Ho
Was Taught to Improve
Mr and - Mrs Isaacs took great
pride in their young son son Jakey
Father was determined to ma)te him a
great business man a veritable cap-
tain of Industry One day mother
beard loud screams coming from an
adjoining room and rushed in to in-
vestigate tbe cause of tbe trouble
Father was vigorously administering
a dose of “strap oil” to tbe young
hopeful
“Ikey! Ikey! Vy for you are lick-
ing liddle Jakey?”
“Because I caught him in a lie
dot's vy” replied father continuing
the chastisement
“A lie? You say a lie?”
“Yes I vill teach him to lie better
as dot eef I halt to break effery bone
In bees body’f— Exchange
Incompetent Georgia
- Little George was six years old and
the family was much interested in
having him start to school but be In-
sisted that be was not going
One day bis grandmother said to
him: “Georgie yon are going to school
with sister this winter aren't you?” --
“No grandma I’m not going to
school at all I can’t read nor I can’t
write nor I can’t sing and I'd like to
know what good I'd do at achooL”
Determined to Be Observed
"You may announce that I intend
to retire to private life” said the
industrious salesman
“What for?”
“It seems to be the only method just
now by which I can attract public at-
tention” The best cure for kleptomania may
be the arrest cure
The love of money is the easiest
of all roots to cultivate
Shivery
Mornings
You can Have a taste of the
summer sunshine of the com
fields by serving a dish of
Post
Toasties
These crisp flavoury bits
of toasted white com make
an appetizing dish at any
time of year
Try them in February
and taste die delicate true
maize flavour
A dish of Toasties served
either with cream or milk
or -fruit is stnprisingly good
The Memory Linger
Grocers everywhere sell
Toasties
Battle Crash Mich
t
S '
r