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loves as she does the sunshine, the trees, the
birds. the rivers. He has a false tongue, so
let the White Rose beware. Red Bud of the
Forest has spoken,” and without another word
the Indian girl turned and glided away, turn-
ing no ear to the call'of Rose Carter, who
plead for her to return. V

Long sat the lovely girl, pondering over
what she had heard, and wondering if she could
refer to one whom she loved most dearly, and
who was then absent, and had been for
months, gone to the Eastern settlements for
awhile ere he returned to make her his wife.

Then over her face stole a look of distrust
of him who had won her young heart, for the
words of the Forest Red Bud had left a deep
impression.

Presently her mother returned from milk—
ing the cows, and Alfred Carter from a day’s
hunt, loaded down with game, while her bro-
ther, two years the junior of Rose, came up
from the river with a long string of ﬁsh.

Then night-shades fell upon the earth, and
around the well~spread board gathered the
settler’s family—the cheerful ﬁre, comfortable
room, and pleasant faces presenting a happy
and homelike scene, and yet the same feeling
of dread, of coming evil, clutched at the heart
of Rose Carter, and the smile upon her face
was forced. '

Presently there was a loud bark from the
watchful dog without, a shot followed, a
yelp, and then heavy blows upon the door.

Springing to their feet, the father and son
seized their riﬂes, while the mother and
daughter in considerable alarm awaited the
result.

“th0 is it that thus comes to my cabin?”
cried Alfred Carter, in a stern voice.

“ Open your door, old man, or it will be the
worse for you,” replied a coarse voice outside.

“And why should I open my door to you;
Had you come as a friend you would have
been welcome; but as you come as a foe I will
meet you as you deserve.”

“The Branded Brotherhood parley not long,
old man,” suddenly rung out in a clear, stern
voice, and with a few heavy blows from
without the door crashed in, and one of the
Brotherhood rushed across the threshold, to
fall dead with a shot from Edgar’s riﬂe through
his heart. 1

Another shared the same fate, at the hands
of Alfred Carter, and then into the cabin
poured a score of desperate men, and the
brave old settler fell beneath a sweeping blow
of Ricardo’s knife, just as Red Burke brought
the butt ‘of his pistol down upon the head of
Edgar.

“ Ha! spare the women!” cried Ricardo; but,
alas! the order was too late to save poor Mrs.
Carter, who, with a shriek of terror and agony,
met her death at the hands of one ofthe band,
while another seized the fainting Ross around
the waist, crying: - - , .

“ I’ve got the richest prime; the al’s mine."

One glance into the beautiful as, and RI.
cardo, the bandit chief, , back, his
hand upon his head, while he cried aloudz‘

“ God in heaven! who is that girl!”

“ It don’t make no difference, chief, who sh‘e
mout be, but she’s my prize,”insolently replied
the ruﬂlan, who still held her in his arms.

“Release that maiden instantly, sir,” cried
Ricardo, his face strangely pale “3! stern.

“You bet I won’t do it!”rep ' the man.

A quick shot followed, acry of agony, and a
stream of hot blood burst from a bullet-wound
in the head of the renegade, as hefell dead, still
clutching in his strong arms the fainting form
of Rose Carter. 1

“Take that girl from that hound’s grasp,
and see to it, Red Burke, that no harm befa'll
her, for if there does there shall be weep-
ing and wailing in this band,”and thus saying,-
the robber chief set to work to examine the
contents of the cabin, for, to gain booty had
this raid been made by the Branded Brother-
hood upon the quiet home of poor  Car-
ter. " ‘

It did not take long for those experienced
hands to go through the humble cabin, and
then the order was given to mount. The band
departed, Ricardo at their head, and by his
side, mounted upon her own horse, which the
chief had ordered saddled for her, was the
weeping Rose, who had returned to conscious-
ness to ﬁnd her parents and broﬂssr
herself in the power of thebandit chi I fl :3,

Strangely soft and kind was  “8 ﬂag.
ner toward the sorrowing ﬂrl, blit‘dle “navy
ertheless so ﬁrm in his purpose that she had to
accompany him to his stronghold. What
would- be her fate she dared not think, “she
rode ' along withmlho‘ﬁtter ﬂ  .
tears oo'E' was down be? ﬁt. (3933“. has as;
anemone hér heart. ‘1‘  * " rm“

Swiftly on rode the band of the Branded
Brotherhood, taking a course down the river,
until the quick ear of the chief detected distant
ﬁring, and he suddenly drew rein.

“What can that mean?" he cried, striving
to pierce the darkness of the prairie in the di-
rection of the sound

“ I’ll tell you, chief: it’s the train being
pitched into by some roving band of Injuns,
and ef we wants any of the goods we’d better
ride for it, kase you see We a host of red-
skins whar all that shootin’ is going on.”

“You are right, Long Dave, and the train is
bearing to the southward, contrary to our ex-
pectations; so come on, and we’ll drive of! the
red-skins and then whip out the settlers.”

A yell of joy answered the words of the
chief, for the men were anxious to get a
chance to make a capture of the wagon-
train, which Long Dave had reported to
be an exceedingly rich one in supplies of all
kinds, and money.

Almost with the speed of the wind the cav-
alcede spurred on, Ricardo leaving Rose with
a guard and the led horses bearing the booty
taken in the recent foraging expeditions of the
band.

An hour’s ride, and the ﬂashes of distant ﬂr-
ing were visible, and the rapid discharges
proved that the battle was raging most savage-
ly, and that the defenders of the wagon-train
were holding out most bravely against the
overwhelming numbers that were attacking
them. '

 

CHAPTER VI.
THE BATTLE FOR VICTORY.

As Long Dave had said, the settlers’ train
had been attacked by the Indiansmthe same
band that had besieged them all day, awaiting
for night to come on so that they could attack
them with greater safety to themselves and
less danger of defeat, for Red Dick, having re-
covered partially from the effects of his severe
fall, was determined that he would yet be 're-
venged upon all who had witnessed his dis-
graceful departure from his position as guide.

\Vistfully had the eyes of the emigrants
scanned the prairie all that long day, in hopes
of seeing the coming of the Unknown Scout and
reinforcements; but night came and no succor
was visible, and with determined manner the
men set to work to defend to the end of their
lives their families and their riches.

As soon as it was dark the Indians commenc—
ed the attack, and charged boldly down upon

the train; but during the day the emigrants

a sharp and short ﬁght the attacking party fell
back. .

Yet they did not dream of defeat, and their
savage minds began to plot various methods of
taking the settlers at a disadvantage, for the
Indian never caresto ﬁght an open battle if he
can gain his ends by cunning and strategy.

Failing in one plan after the other, Red Dick
at length determined to lead one desperate
charge, in column, hoping to break through the
line by mere weight and numbers, and he was
preparing his red allies for the work, when
suddenly a cry of alarm was heard in their
rear, and up dashed the Branded Brotherhood,
with their desperate chief at their head.

The Sioux warriors at ﬁrst thought they
were attacked by a troop of soldiers, and be—
gan to scatter in all directions, when the loud
voice of Red Dick recalled them, for he recog»
nized the commanding form of Ricardo, and
riding up to him, cried:

“ Hallo, chief ! have you come to aid me in a
division of the spoils?”

Ricardo turned his keen look upon the rene
gade, and apparently recognizing him, replied:

“ You are then leading this attack upon my
wagon-'train, renegade?”

“ Your train, chief ? Not so fast—for I
guided this train from Kansas City,” replied
Red Dick.

“Yes, guided them into a trap, for you are
backed by your band of Dog Soldier Sioux, 1
see. ”

“ And they’ll stick by me too, you bet, chief.
Once, I owed allegiance to you, but I got tired
of hard knocks and little pay, so I sided with
these Injuns and they made me their chief, and
they‘ve been waiting for me to bring out this
train for weeks. Now, I tell you, they are a
leetle too strong for me, I admit, for we’ve
tried ’em for some time; but there’s honor
among thieves, you know, chief, and I’ll share
squarely with you and the boys if you give me
a lift.”

“ Red Dick, you are a fool, to think I would
share a prize with you and your red hounds.
True, there was a truce between your band
of red devils and my men; but you are a des-
erter from my ranks, and if you do not imme-
diately draw of! your band, I’ll shoot you
.down as I would a dog, and then scalp every
one of your gang that Ican catch,” and Ricardo
spoke sternly, and taming to Red Burke, his
lieutenant, gave an order in a low voice.

“ Now, look here, boss, you don’t hold the
ace as much as you think, ’cause my red—skins
ain’t a—going to ’low no foolishness, if we has
to ﬁght for it, and as to killing a fellow like a
dog, why, two kin play at that game, and no
questions axed.”

As Red Dick spoke, he gave a loud war-
whoop, and leveled his pistol at Ricardo, who
asun as ligthning had his own weapon cover-
ing the head of the renegade, and quietly, but
threateningly, the two men stood at bay,
while around them gathered their separate

bands.

i? What might have? been the result of this
impromptu duel between the two chiefs, it
would be hard to say, for, just at that moment
there was a terriﬁc discharge of ﬁrearms, ﬁred
in regular order, a loud cheering, a rushing of
hoofs, and ere the surprised Indians and bandits
oould oﬂer any resistance, a squadron. of
cavalry charged through their line, ﬁring as
they rods, and dashing swiftly toward the
camp, the next moment were safe within the
fortiﬁcations, while cheer after cheer rung out
from the rejoicing emigrants.

“Cusses onit, chief ! ' While ws’s quarreling
here like two tomcats on a fence, tint cussed
Captain La Clyde and his has gotten
throughout line and  the emigrants, ”
growled Red Dick savagelyfat the same time
lowering his pistol. ‘ ‘ ._

“That is true,de Dick,and after-all,“
had better unite our foreman} wage a com-
mon war upon the train,” rcponded Ricardo;
but it was modarkforhisfoetoseetheevil
look of mischief that ﬂashed in his eyes.

“I’m agreed, boss, knee you see it’s no use
talking about us rooting out that nest of hor-
nets unless we jine forces,” , V I ‘_ '

“Very manned“ Dick: Naw’, hay-piss is,
that you take the greater part of your red-

landed and give the signal, I will charge with
my men, aided by those you leave with me.”
“It’s a good plan, Ricardo, and we’ll set out

he mod and. meme A A as 
the r number of ' “In 6‘ H the L;
guard '

b
dispdedo"mods away; lea g a
over his horses.

As cunning as was Red Dick, and as wicked,
he was no match for Ricardo, for he had not
anticipated that the chief would betray him;
but hardly had the renegade and his red allies
been‘ gone ﬁfteen minutes,‘when the remain-
ing Indians had been quietly surrounded by
the Branded Brotherhood, and wholly unsus-
pecting treachery, were suddenly terriﬁed by
being unexpectedly set upon by those whom
they behaved their friends.

Without warning, the Brotherhood instantly
rushed upon the Indian warriors, and ere the
slightest resistance could be offered, a score of
them lay dead upon the prairie; but still the
work of slaughter went on, until the few re-
maining savages crouched together in dismay,
not knowing which way to turn, for, although
it was the Indian method to surprise and
massacre defenseless victims, they ,had never
before had the tables turned upon them.

“ Kill every cursed red heathen; leave not
one to escape, and warn his companions,"
cried Ricardo. In vain did the terriﬁed
wretches attempt to break through the human
barrier that surrounded them, for everywhere
they were met by steel and bullet.

At length the slaughter ended, and with a
grim and cruel smile, Ricardo turned to Red
Burke, and said:

“ Burke, yonder come the maiden and led
horses, and I wish you to collect these Indian
ponies, and with a guard of ten men move
down the river to the next motte and await
until you hear from me.”

“That will leave you only forty men, chief,
with which to tackle the camp and the Ingins
too. if

“ True, but I intend Red Dick and his crew,
shall play Kilkenny cats with the set'lers, and
when they have about used each other up, I
will be on hand to reap the spoils. Now be
off at once, and mind you, Burke, ti eat that
girl with every respect.”

“ I hear you chief.”

“ And see that you heed; now I will be off
with the men to the river-bank, and aid the
settlers in driving of! Red Dick and his devils.”

“ You wouldn’t ﬁre upon the red-skins,
chief?”

“Certainly; each one I slay is one out of
my way to eventual success.”

So saying, Ricardo called to his band to fol-
low him, mounted his horse, and rode slowly
in the direction of the camp.

 

Approaching within a hundred yards, under

had strongly fortiﬁed their position, and after

  

skinsup 'ver- , the  ,j,
bithe water swim  an'd  em filo I ’,:
tut _ ,, while 1 heepvupa‘ tgut el

updn‘" hern'dn our inset,  when you h v!’

cover of a few straggling trees, he sent 
Dave and his Indian scout on abreast, to creep
up the river bank, and give [warning when ‘Red
Dick and his followers should attempt a land.
in . , . ,
Iie had not lougto wait befomthe 
returned, and rop‘trted‘ﬂle giver  with
the heads of the attaglng  ,‘uﬂ than,
lest the settlers shoal "rea y,hoi surprised,
and the Indians t'ake the'camp. without his a“,
Ricardo gave a low order, and under cover of
the bank the Brotherhood approached until
they could indlstinctly see the dark mass
upon the water, which they knew to be the
swimming warriors.

In the encampment all was as quiet as the
grave, and every glimmer of light had disap-
peered; but, whether it was from negligence
in keeping guard, or from watchfulness, none
knew, and the chief felt that he had to be
wary, for Captain La Clyde was known to be
an expert and daring ﬁghter, and might, be
setting some trap in which to catch his one
mles.

Slowly and steadily the moving mass of
heads swerved shoreward, the waters undis~
turbed by a single ripple, so quietly did the
Indians swim, and at last several tall forms
reached the shore and stood upright.

Others followed, and the braves were pre—
paring for the deadly rush, the‘7 1‘ hearts beat-
1-ing with joy at the hope of success _ -‘

“ Aim true, men; let every shot tall. Fire!"

In answer to the low, stern order of the
bandit chief, a terriﬁc volley rung forth from
the river-bank, and a withering hail of lead
was poured upon the human mass, who
seemed to sink beneath the deadly assault,

Then rung out the stentorian voice of Red
Dick.

“ At them, you red devils!
pieces.”

Rallying around their brave but wicked
chief, the Dog Soldier Sioux, in spite of their
deadly greeting, and fully relying upon the
support of the Branded Brotherhood, rushed
up the embankment, to be again and again
driven back by the terrible ﬁre poured upon
them by the settlers.

Coolly, and with a cruel smile upon his
lips, and deadly hatred in the glitter of his
eyes, Ricardo, the chief, stood with folded
arms, gazing upon the combat unmoved by the
scene of bloodshed his double treachery was
causing.

“ Ha, ha, ha, ” he laughed. “ Did Red Dick
think I, Ricardo, chief of the Branded Brother-
hood, would share a prize with him and his
red hounds. Little does he know me.”

For some moments the ﬁght continued, the
red-skins encouraged by Red Dick and his con~
spicuous courage", ﬁghting as seldom men ﬁght
in a badcause,an_d theneven Indian human
nature could stand no more, for half of their
number had fallen; yut no cheering cry came
from the other side of the camp to show that
Ricardo had attacked ﬁlm had promised.

Suddenly the tall form of a warrior glided
to the side of Red Dick, and said a few words
in a hastyand excited tone, and the renegade’s
voice rung out loud and clear. - ,

u Back, warriors! ‘to the wateraliof you.
for the'Branded Brotherhood  
us, and are laughing at us now.”_:‘   '3- 

Red Dick spoke in the Sioux”
well did his dusky braves ,
Seized with a panic of fear, is,
long into the river, uttering yells

Then again was heard the  other
from Bicardo’s trumpeter voice. . , ,

“Fire upon them,‘lnen! Kill every
hound!” ' .  _

Again the riﬂes of the Brotherhood ﬁsshsd
forth in livid ﬂame, and, Wasn'two ﬁres
the Sioux warriors meltedaway, and the river
wasstdineddark while only,
a few succeeded in the other shore;
and most of that number were bleeding from
wounds received.

Among those few was Red Dick, and the
rising moon showed upon his face a look of
ﬁendish hatred and thirst for revonge, a re-
venge which he intended to devote his life to

' for at.last,h f .x ) rs e
Lm’d‘i‘d‘m of me evﬁ‘eillylvr’uqq' 
“ me, braves; we

Cut them into

  
    

are outcasts now, and

        
  
 
  

moonlit prairie.
(To be continued—comm in No. 287.)

 

 

Idaho Tom,
THE YOUNG OUTLAW OF SILVERtm;

OR. . .
The Hunters of the Wild West.

BY OLL ooouns,

AUTHOR or “DAKOTA DAN,” “sowm-Kmn
BEN,” "nan nos,” nrc., are.

 

 

CHAPTER XVI.
lenLY mas AT 'rnn WOLF-PEN.

“ BOLD Haanr, by J udesl” exclaimed Frank
Caselton, in astonishment. '

“ How’s this, old pardl” asked Wild Dick,
both pleased and surprised by his appearance
there.

“ Blarst me eyes if they don’t see athraitor!”
put in Billy, rubbing his optics as though he
doubted what he saw.

“ Bold Heart is still the friend of the pale-
faces,” the Indian said, with his old—time gra-
vity, and speaking of himself in that true In-
dian way, the third person. “He has come to
save you. Nearly all of the bad pale-face men
who live here, have gone away. Bold Heart
followed them a long ways. When they stop
to talk,’then Bold Heart creep up—hear ’um
talk. Only one man left below, hear ’um say.
That tickled Bold Heart. Then he more tickled
when he heard ’um say white boys were here.
Go steal three long lariats then—tie ’um to-
gether—make long rope—tie one end to tree on
cliff—slip down rope—then swing, swing over
wolf-pen and drop dab on Wigwam - roof.
Waugh! Bold Heart here now—proud Ingin.”

All readily understood this brief, disjointed
story, for all had seen the daring youth swing-
ing in mid-air over the wolf-pen—saw him
spring through space, when he had gained mo-
mentum sufﬁcient to carry him to the roof.
But why he had run all this risk after desert-
ing them and joining the foe, seemed a little
strange to the boys.

“We saw your daring feat, Bold Heart,”
said Dick; “ but what surprises me the most is
your coming here after deserting us.”

“ Didn’t desert,” was the laconic reply.

“ What did you leave us for, then?”

“ Me go to git ’em,” said the youth, drawing
agreasypack of cards fromthebosomofhis

 

._ 1.; is:
w“ 
often-or

  

hunting-shirt: “ jist git ’em all picked up where
Billyvboy scatter ’em, when badlngins come
and catch me—take off my (SW—one put
’em on—look like me—julnp upon stone and
about much loud—make ou beligve ," I
But mo git awayb-hide ' ' ;
wolf-man —hsas: him tell all'bout ate.

. i‘ I the iti-"ﬁrankh Bold  said,
Dick, ‘Hih i'you’df‘ilesqgt us; but nﬂ‘lsee‘
through it all. If , .ve‘ every word , have
told us,,and hope . Iﬁver have occasion to
suspect you of treachery again.” -
, “Begob, and y'oss are-a jewil, Bol'd Heart,
me b’y; but, how the nanhin are wees' going to
git out av this hole?” demanded Billy.

“ Climb reps—climb way up on top of rock,”
responded the Indian, proudly.

“But suppose the man whom you say is be-
low, should discover and shoot us?”

“ ’Tend to him ﬁrst—now,” was the rejoind-
er, and seizing the dangling rope, the Indian
youth glided up to the roof, handover-hand,
like a sailor. Billy, who had spent years at
sea, and had not forgotten his learning, nor
lost any of his dexterity in climbing a rope,
followed Bold Heart’s example, and scampered
up the slender cord to the roof, with remarka—
ble ease.

The Indian made no objection to the brave
lad’s company, and drawing up the rope from
the room, he dropped it over the eve of the
roof, when he and Billy carefully lowered
themselves to the ground.

Bold Heart was provided with a hatchet and
pair of revolvers. The latter he gave to Billy,
and, thus armed, the two crept around the
house and entered the building.

The man left to guard the place lay upon the
ﬂoor hr‘a half—drunken sleep, and by his side
crouched four ﬁerce-looking hounds that might
have been a cross between the wolf and blood—
hound.

The dogs started up as the boys entered,
and manifested a disposition to dispute further
intrusion. Their growling awoke the man,
who, rising to a sitting posture, bade them be
still, before he could fully take in the situa-
tion.

This gave the boys an advantage that proved
the death of the outlaw. Bold Heart sprung
forward and dealt him a blow that felled him
to the ﬂoor. Then the Indian youth sprung
quickly up the ladder, and was followed by
Billy. This latter movement was made to es
cape the fangs of the dogs, which now charged
upon them. -

Fortunately they succeeded in the
loft with no other damage than thatMsinsd
by the seat of Billy’s pantaloons. ;

Seating himself upon the topmnd of the
ladder, and leaning his elbows on his knees, the
young Celt amused himself by emptying chums
her after chamber of his revolver at the .
that were making frantic, score. lower ‘
from his perch. Nearly every shot wither kill-
ed or wounded, and by the time the second
weapon had beadhalf emptied,  lay;
dead beside their master.  ‘

This left the coast clear. Bold
Heart unfastened. thedoor ' sethia '
at liberty, when alIwent below and ﬂ .
gploration of the house; They fo_j,  of

on weapons, which they at on ' ism ',
Then they broke into the  
themselves to what they  ﬁnd. They
 thehouse over and over, ill—Mk
of ‘  they I " of'the “

, ,MoftheWolb _ . Theyf
manythings that. went to establish the fact
that the place was the rendezvous of a band of
 as wellas the *0qu 0f the Wolf-
Herdsr. ‘ In a little rosawood box, inlaid with;
pearl, that Frank found under a pellet of 
in" one corner, was a set. of lady’s jswélry of
ineetimable worth. . 4
‘0.“ There is no doubt some dark secret con~
nested with this jewelry," Frank said; “my
heart shudders to think of what suffering and
torture some fair, one—the owner of these
jewels—might have undergone in the power of
the demon Molock. I shall take these diamonds;
not that I want them myself, but in hopes that
they may be restored to their owner; and if
that owner is dead, that they may tell to
anion. waitins. WWW the WT“: - Pk the
One’s disappearance.” ‘ ' ' ’

   

     

beloved
After the Boy Hunters had fully

their “my )0" I ’ tho
short  athld co
booty. ,lto hd‘gtgd ‘ 
o " ' d-prbpbiss‘ X, ‘
that, ut as no two could agree upon the same
plan, it was ﬁnally left for Bold Heart to say

from   : I :

   

  

then robbers never know how we get away,”
was the quick decision of the referee.

All'proceedsd to act upon this decision at
once. The little party hastily ascended to the
roof of the house, when the shingles, removed
by Bold Heart, were all carefully replaced.

The preliminaries for the ascent of the cliff
having been arranged, Bold Heart proposed
go up ﬁrst. '

It was thirty feet or more from the roof to
the top of the cliff,’ and all of twenty from the
house to a perpendicular line with the point
where the rope hungover the edge of the shelv-
ing hights. This ' made it necsmary, in‘ the
ﬁrst place, to swing on the reof before begin-
ning the ascent, and also made it a dangerous
undertaking for those not so skillful in climb-
ing the reps as were Billy Brown and Bold
Heart.

The quick, inventive mind of Bold Heart,
however, soon conceived an idea that would
entirely” overcome this difﬁculty. An addi-
tional rope, or lariat, was procured from the
room below and attached to the end of the
other. This made the slender ladder long
enough for one remaining on the roof to let
the rope with its burden slowly out until it
came to a rest. ’ ' ‘

Bold Heart grasped the rope and was eased
of! the roof by Frank, who held the check-
rope; and as soon as the Indian youth came to
a rest, he began climbing up the rope with cat-
like ease and rapidity. ’

In half a minute he stood upon the top of
the ledge—safe. '

Frank drew the rope back to the roof and
Perry went next. His ascent was attended
with some difﬁculty, and at one time all hopes
of his reaching the top wore given up by those
below. But the boy was plucky, and strug-
gling onward and upward with a brave heart,
he ﬁnally succeeded in reaching the summit of
the ledge; but now that the danger was over,
there came a reaction and he lfell faint at the
feet of Bold Heart.

Frank went next and Wild 'Dick followed
him. Then their weapons were all attached
to the rope and drawn up.

Billy was the only one now upon the roof,
and the rope being returned to him, be grasped
it and swung off the house. For full a minute
he swung to and fro over the wolf-pen, every
sway of his body being watched by a hundred
pairs of hungry, burning eyes below; but, as
soon as he came to a rest, the youth ran up

 

the rope with the ease of a born sailor.

.wnd newsman

 

 

   
    
 

had been attached a snowy little
 ‘ Idaho Tom

 

The little band wore ﬁfe once more; and to ~

Bold Heart's “Home”,  and bravery
did Billy, Frank, has; warm-5r owe their
lives. » V . 1. v ,{2 ,
Drawing up the rope .‘ concealing it in
case of future need, the Hunters shoulder-
ed their riﬂesand marched any toward Lake

Tahoe. _ - ‘ ‘

CHAPTER xvii.

Lovn unseaons.

Tun birds of morning sunglwir sweetest
songs, and the cool, fresh breeze came laden
with the rich breath of the pine forest.

The cabin of the Mad Trapper, alone in the
mountain vale, showed no signs of recent
habitation save in the thin white column of
smoke curling lazily up from the capacious
chimney. The door was closed; the windows
barred, and the whole pervaded with an air of
silent desolation.

Buzzards wheeled in the air overhead—rising
and falling in spiral circles, their naked coral
necks outstretched, and their eyes ﬁxed on the
valley, as though by instinct they knew the
prevailing silence boded the presence of death
—-something upon which to feast their ﬁlthy
maws.

Idaho Tom, the Outlaw of Silverland, noted
all this from his concealment on the northern
bluff overlooking the valley, and a vague feel-
ing of horror seized upon him.

“Something is wrong at the cabin of the
Mad Trapper,” the youth mused to himself.
“ The silence of death broods over and around
all. I hadn't ought to leave here without ﬁrst
inquiring into the mystery that hangs over the
cabin; nor I won’t. But I will run down to
t2).- lake ﬁrst. If she is well and safe, how
thankful I will be!"

So saying, he passed from his concealment,
and keeping around to the left of the cabin,
moved briskly down to Lake Tahoe. He
never paused until he stood upon the northern
shore of Silver Bay.

Wildly beat his heart with joy, when he
caught sight of the ﬂoating island; and wilder
still beat the pulses when he caught a glimpse
of a female form among the green shrubbery
upon that island.

“Oh! if I couldbe permitted tospeak but
one word to her,” the young outlaw sighed,
“one word to hen—the idol of my heart! I
must let her know by some means or other
that I am near. I will make’n fool of myself
in doing so, but :I can’t help it, if I lose all.
Perhaps some would call this a boyish infatua—
tion-«Tack Hill does, come to think. They
my all boys of my age are fools in their ﬁrst
love,- and I reckon that’s what’s ailing me.
$3 I’ll send her a token of my—my—yes, by

; y r {of Caesar—my love!”

Rs  around the y in order to get
the wind  against the d. As he went
akpg he  some light twigs and wove
did into a kind of a wicker bas-
ket. t’ll'lhis he“, V with ﬂakes of moss plucked
frinn e  Then he gathered some
, .  into a tasteful
bouquet, and  he phcsd in. the basket
along withs’mf paper upon  he had
written  these  "

“For  of Isis, fro ' H n , who
is vgry'gzlgw'ofxs token sin b“ me

. a _. " ' I on."

" the basket on  freight-
dwithi , of 19mm winddrove
it slowly outﬁpédl the bpsom

  
 

, ;  . The beautiful
bay, straight toward the little island.

-  youth threw himselt'beneath the um-

 boughs of a great pins to watch the
me of the little craft scross'the waters
that g g  him from his heart’s idol.

1  by. To the impatient boy it
seemed as though the drifting message-boat
would never reach its deethiation.

Suddenly it occurred to him that if his note
was answered by thesame little transport, he
would have to ﬁnd it on the opposite shore, for
the wind would driVe it south of the island.

Feeling as though his hopes must be realized,
he arose and made his way around the lake to
a point due south of the island. Here he
waited and watched for fully another hour,
and his heart gave a great throb of joy when
he discovered a little white object ﬂutter out

t ' , Ldrift rapidly t0ward him.
and distended eyes, the

1 _  itt‘ proach.
‘ “e sax, he saw that it was his

own little craft of twigs and leaves to which
sail made of

are

hite handkerchief.

. - x

“W 'WW"
w: joy— “.  e' 
touched shore the longs-(£31m missive.
He whistled and danced to keep down the ex—
uberance of spirit that threatened to burst
forth in joyous demonstrations.

Ga.in the little craft sailed down with the
wind, bearing its Cupid arrow aboard, while
to and fro beneath the branches of a great
pine paced the impatient boy.

At length the little sail “put into harbor,”
and with a single bound Tom stood at the
water’s brink by the tinyboat of twigs.

His eyes caught sight of d neatly folded
paper lying in‘lt. ‘ Snatching it up, he retreated
into the shade and unfolded a delicate missive,
written in a neat hand, and read‘ﬂlus: ‘

“Your note, Mr. Idaho Tom, came‘ duly to hand,
three cents ostsg‘e due. Accept my'thanks for the
bouquet. '12) you I owe a debt of akitude that I
can never repay. My best wishes or your safety
and pleasure are all that I can extend to y‘céuﬁ’ "

Tom fairly danced with joy. He read and
re-read the note, It was written in the un-
mi V "ble hand of a woman—there was no
deception about it.

“And Zoo is her name,” he mused, “a real
pretty name too; but now, another question
arises—one thing leads to another. What
secret is connected with that islandi—what
mystery with yonder canoe! Is it anything
that will prevent me from boarding that
islandL—from ever standing face to face with
Zoe?” ’

Thus musing he spent an hour by the shore;
but being suddenly reminded that time was
passing rapidly, he stepped down to the
water's brink, and lifting the little craft from
the water, concealed it in a clump of manzanll
ital. '

“Rest there, little boat, till I come‘again.‘
You have borne to me a treasure worth more

4—, ,y.
c -anl—. \g;e A, .{
u \v\ I. r,"

thanhllfthe gold of the Paciﬁc shOre;'and'I‘

may want you to goagain with love’s message
to the island.” ' I
He turned and moved around the bay and

away toward the cabin of the'Mad Trapper. .

When he came in sight of the cabin, he paused
and scanned the valley and the lonely hut.
There was still no sign of life about; that
same deathlike solitude brooded over the val-
ley like the angel of death.
“ Something is wrong there, sure as the sun

shines. And it wouldn’t be right for me to.

leave without looking into the matter. It’s
singular they don’t know all about it down at
the lake, for I know they are related, in some
way or other. But then, maybe they do—
maybe they have deserted the cabin for good,