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/ h»re wild rtie wa* hajf^arrl and ill, and veaterday Mrs. Holden told rue some- thing of his story. He was barely twen ty-two, the idol of the family and im mensely popniar in society. He was as sistant cashier in one of the big K-iuks here, and one day the sndden discovery was made that in some mysterious way quite a large sum was missing, money for which he was responsible, bnt he could not account for it; neither conid anybody else. The matter was investi- gated thoroughly. pony tracks pointed nnerrtngly whither the spoil had heeu driven. Meantime, while nothing conid be seen of the wily red man, every hour gave new proof that their own movements were closely observed. Signal smokes went puffing j skyward on almost every side, and the night sentries declared that twice juat before dawn of two successive morn- | inga they luut dimly seen shadowy, hiirsemen darting over the neighboring 1 ridgetvand had lieani the thndof nimble ' (^pyricHt, BT SHUAU AtWtmtdr wud TiUri < CHAPTER VIIL Letters from the front! What Joy anil comfort they bring!—for every writer seems lieut on convincing the anxious ones at home that there is no danger and little discomfort, after all. Telegrams and brief notes have been raining m ever since the deptulure of the regiment, bnt now the two bat talions are reunited under Farquhar's command; they have got shaken down into a species of winter cantonment with a goodly nuintier of comrade troops and troopers from the threatened de partment. The weather has not been unusually severe thus far. Men and horses stood the trip admirably, and no body growled at stiffened fingers and “Itu mai aniien piciui.j ir i coum out have authority to search one room at the post. It is my conviction still that the man who goes by the name of Ellis was the thief. He had a luck box at the post- office in town, number twenty-three, and letters have been forwarded to him here by the postmaster, two of which were not addressed to Sergeant Ellis or to G. B. Ellis, Twelfth cavalry, but to Ralph Errol], box twenty-three. When he returned from detached aery joe tiiia morning the sergeant major bunded him his mail and asked him if those addi tional letters were his. He turned red, then pale, but said yea. Both these were from Louisville, as I happen to know; laith were addressed in the same hand— that of an educated woman—and there red noses and benumbed feet as they rods is no doubt in my mind that this Ellis or in long column from the railway to the and. agency, and, now that fuel has been lugged up in abundance and fur ciqis and'"blizzard coals" are roaring ami the Indians hovering alsmt tile camps seem deeply impressed with the numliers and readiness of (be white soldiers and all promises well, the letters grow longer uinl more frequent. , Errol) baa a screw loose in his record. Brewster knows something of his past, but refuses to tell. It is of Vital impor- tanoe to me to Hud out who and what lie is, for I lielicvw |iim to have I sen guilty of a crime tie.-ide which the theft Of that picture is as nothing. "Now, I want you to do something for me. A man will rail on you within a few days, presenting u letter of intro duction from me. He is a detective hoofs. Even in the faded gray of the 1 , a)M J Runc.h grass, even on the hard frozen I “kjtfrtjly Botjrin^ould he bjxmgjitBp ironed, tuporienced eyes could find eor- BgaiBsti-ouni Guthrie. Hentwor (pur- i foUiration of the story, blril, iiRrer <'.M])ut«l in any Way, \«s a model son ami brother. KRu w as wild with ifidignuHbu «t his having bee-.i even suspected. Mr. Guthrie offered to \ make good the sum twice over if need j lie, and to bind himself for all his wealth to establish his boy's honor, and for three or four days all was excite- inent, and then, in the midst of it, poor Jack was found dead in his room, u i half empty 1 Kittle of chloral by his bed side. The world said suicide, guilty con- j science, etcetera, but Nita and others | ! knnw that b» had not slept a wink since the discovery of the loss and was crazed | with misery. They have always main- | tained it was an accidental overdose, j But it nearly broke Mr. Guthrie's heart, i and it was three years Is-fore Nita would ! go into society in 8t. Louis again. They | went to Europe and staid there ever so I long. "What makes it seem probable that \ j he was unjustly suspected was that the | bank dismissed its cashier. Jack’s most ! intimate friend, a man two or three | I year* oldor tli»n himself, aud a devoted I admirer of Nlta's. It was even siq)- I I posed that she was engaged to him. ! | He had no wealthy friends to stand np ; for him, and Jack's death made it ap ! pear as though there had been gin!!; ( and yet such a sum could not well have i been made away with except by the from Chicago. He has certain inquiries to make at the post and in | ow J i before | knowledge or collusion of the cashier going to Louisville, and it should not be himself known that be isa detective at all. Give] him every facility in your power. Intn Almost in flic face of the foremost Sil'Uj his rcrolrer blazes Us chntb-.yc. Daring Indian scouts were ever on their flanks and front and rear, making no overt move against them, bnt keep ing the hostile camp fully Informed of everything that was lieing done anil watching restlessly for opportunity to cut off every straying charger, to cut down every straggling man. Knowing all this full well, Berrien had given strict orders—neither officer nor trooper was permitted to leave the column by day nor the bivouac by night; and now* its mission accomplished, the column had started on return march, and up to this time no casualty hud occurred. • "ft fs mu brother.* 1 “We are doing Hrst rate, Bess dear wrote Berrien, “and all are hopeful Unit 1 with the surrounding of the big baud of liostiles in the Bad River valley the most uncertain feature of the business is at an end. If they can lie quietly ' herded in to the Reservation and induced to give up all their arms and ponies, \ there will be no further trouble. The health and spirit of the regiment are ex cellent, and, while 1 hope no emergency ! will arise, I can bet that if there should dure him to the postmaster as a friend of mine, if you prefer it, and let him oc cupy my quarters while at the garrison. H* will want to sec the tirehouse aud apparatus and all about Holden s quar ters. Kathleen is there in charge, and Hidden has no objection, though he |hjo!i poohs the efforts 1 am making tc get at the bottom of this stfSngl busi ness. I Imiie I am not asking too much of you. “I saw Hearn last evening, jnst in from a ten days’ scout with Lane's squadron over toward theWakpa Shicha. He asked after yon and sent cordial re gards. There are two other fellows here who were on their honeymoon tour when tjieir regiments were ordered to the field. It reconciles one to being a bachelor almost.” The major put the letter down and pondered long, perplexed and annoyed. He had known Rolfe but a short time, and had learned to know him mainly through Hidden. He knew him to be resolute, positive, even aggressive at times. He admired hi.-f suldierly qiuiii- ties and respectod bi* ability. Bat when finally he rose from his desk after stow ing that letter sway old Kenyon ex pressed himself about as fo'lows; "That fellow needs a wife. He is too much so So and though proofs were lin k-i long os the isolated battalion was mov ing, he was discharged Hie very day in£ toward the hostile camp, nearing pair Jack was buried. No one knows every hour the overwhelming array of whatever became of him afterward, and thi enemy and separating itself farther people settled down into the la-lief that and further from friendly supports, bo this Mr. Worden was the real thief. But J har had been put to its progress. But now eomes the strangest ;«i t of it all. , now the Indian scouts conid see that it TlUTpresiieiilttjf the hunk \ . it* n widow- | was turning back, probably in the ho[>e er who, for two years, liad ls«i a snitov j of regaining the cantonment uumo of Rita's, a peraiatent suitor, despite her I tested. lie a shindy flic Twelfth will give good t0 H vil « W»°w» way. I D .. i. „ , . be hamrec account of itself. Farquhar keeps us r t the alert and there is no rusting. Gor- j ham lias joined from leave, so that | Brewster, to his infinite disgust I doubt j not, has had to fall back to second place. | He and Rolfe are about the only gloomy spirits in the command, and of Brewster i I see very little. Ever since the episode ! of which l told you and her most signifi- \ cant appearance at the depot in town while we were being switched to the northbound track I have not felt like having anything to dp with him. How i do you suppose she heard of onr move, I since she left the hop before any one j knew of it? There were a few other ladies there, I admit, for they were still with ns when the orders came, and it had cleared by the time we reached the depot. She, however, seemed to hang on to him and nobody else to the very last. I am distressed at what you tell me about Winifred, aud the more 1 think of it the more 1 am disposed to urge your in stant acceptance of Miss Guthrie's in vitation. It will be the very best anti dote I know of—a few weefcs in St. Louis society—if she has indeed, as you fear, become interested in him. Go by all means; it will do you good-^do Win ifred a world of good (get her some new gowns, and take in all the parties and all the gayety you possibly can), and it will be a good thing for Miss Guthrie too. “Now, this is strictly entre nous. Holden is worried about her, and in course of a long talk we had last night he showed me a letter just received from Mrs. Holden. Of course she is all upset by his having to take the field, and wants to leave the children with her mother aud come up here to him, but she couldn’t be in camp and there isn't a room to be had at the railway station. The place is just crammed with newspaper men and quartermas ter's people. Mrs. Holden writes that ever since the night of that queer ad venture of hers at the fort Nita has lieen unlike herself—strange, nervous, almost hysterical at times. She will permit no allusion to it, and seems striving to forget it all. She goes every where, morning, noon and night, bnt looks haggard and ill. I gather from what Holden said that, as you once sur mised, there was an old affair which may have had something to do with her persistent refusal of every offer; bet what that could have had to do with her fright at Pawnee 1 cannot imagine. Holden agrees with me, however, that it would lie a capital thing if yon and Winnie would pay her the visit she urges; so again, 1 say, go by all means. “By the way, I wish you would run over and see Mrs. Thorjie as often as you can. Her letters have a depressing effect on the captain. He tells me Hie only insurance he has in all the world is in the Army mutual,but three thousand dollars would hardly pay their debts and take care of them for a year if any thing were to happen to him. Don’t be alarmed by newspaper stories of the lighted skies and howling ghost dancers, be hanged if 111 do any detective work for him or anybody else. If Holden wants his house searched, Holden can say so.” Two days later the major had the mournful pleasure of escorting Mrs. anil Miss Berrien to the train, and as it steamed away eastward a man who had stepped from the day car as Kenyon placed his fair charges on the sleciier came forward and -handed him a note addressed in Rolfe’s characteristte hand “I know who yon are,” said Kenyon. “You will find me at my office in the garrison when you get up there." Aud stepping into tlie waiting wagon he bade the driver go ahead, leaving the detect ive to come np in the (Hist stage. That evening he wrote a short letter to Rolfe, and the gentleman from Ciii- cago indited a long one—both of which would have served to surprise that calmly superior soldier not a little had they reached him in due course of mail, which, however, they diJ not. It was some time before lie saw th-m at all. for when they were unloaded from the mailbags at the wintry cantonment Rolfe, with Berrien’s battalion, was miles away. Getting no reply to his missives and little encouragement at the post, the strange civilian suddenly departed af;ei three days’ apparently aimless stay, and the next heard of him was in the shape of a letter from Louisville. Could Major Kenyon procure for him anyhow, any where, a photograph of Sergeant Ellis? No, Major Kenyon couldn’t, and was very short io saying so. And now December was come, and the air was crisp and keen in the valley of the Pawnee, the sunshine radiant and sparkling; but far to the north the win try winds were howling about the flimsy cantonment aud whirling the snow- through every cranny and crack, and the long uights on ontpost and picket were bitter cold. But through it all the various battalions of horse were sen; scouting IB torn around the reservation, and more Buff more the young warriors dribbled Bway from the agendes and were next heard of welcomed with ac clamations by the savage hosts in the fastnesses of the Bad Lauds, and every hour increased the prospect of sharp lighting in the near tutnre. Bnt all letters to the anxious hearts at h were full of hoiie and cheer,' full of prophecy that everythin# Would soon settled. The rem^pde tiands w “located" and being slowly heiBBlei! In. The Twelfth tRiuld-rert Its Christmas dinner at Pawnee after all, they hoped. And i» fit. Louis Miss Guthrie was ex erting herself to sec that her ctuirmiug guests were liaviug th< loveliest kind of a time. Dinners,'mncln-ons, cards, thea ters and dancing parties followed in quick succession. The new gowns were being made as fast as famous modistes could evolve and construct them, and Winifred was rushed from one scene of gayety to another, . “Nothing could luweberti morochartu- ing than our welcome,” wrote Mrs. Ber- marked ColdDeW and an rsiun. Four months ago rumors began to float as to the stability of the hank; then came a run, a panic; the bank had to close its doors; immediate investigation into its affairs was made, and then came the discovery that the president had been a heavy speculator and hail unquestion ably used the funds of the hank to cover/ his losses. They found his body in the river four days afterward, floating dowm by the old barracks, w-here yon aud I had such a happy winter twenty years ago. People say now that it was President Percival himself all the time, and that he threw suspicion on young Gathi-teGiecakse he knew the father would eagerly pay any sum to cover tin loss and hide the sluune; but Jack’s death balked Bio scheme. •‘Do you wonder now that Nita is sometimes overwrought and nervous? Poor*girl! who knows what she has suf-! fered? Who, to seo lier iu society, would dream that (lie had ever suffered at ail? Do you suppose Captain Rolfs did not , hear all about this when he was here en recruiting service? “Now you ask me to tell you every thing about Winifred. Is she happy? Is she getting over her disappointment? 1 do not know jnst what to say. She is always bright and apparently joyous In society; always grateful for every kind- I ness and attention shown her; but she is rarely alone one minute fr >m morning ; until late at night, and 1 cannot he sure. She never speaks of him; and in all the whirl of social gayety here, and the at- i tention she receives on every side, 1 think, 1 hope, she may forget her girl ish sentiment. Time will snow.” It was a sunshiny December after noon; the air was as clear as a hell, the clouds that obscured the eastern sky at dawn had long since drifted out of sight, and in all its broad expanse the pale blue vault of the heavens wore not so much as a feather of vapor. Who that rode in the laughing, chatting, jaunty column that sparkling day could realize the change a few hours might effect tin the silent, bre^zeleps solitudes around them? At noon the sun was so warm that many a trooper had stripped off his heavy overcoat and turned np the i flaps of the rough fur cap. Except in deep ravines hardly any snow was to lie seen. The dull gray surface of the \ rolling prairie, wave after wave, laj basking, and the leafless branches of the cottonwoods overhanging the frozen pools were glistening, sparkling in the lifegiviug rays. The advance guard after breaking the ice aud treating their horses to a mouthful of water at the stream, had moved on at brisk trot, and now the stalwart riders were spreading out in extended order as they breasted the slope. Out to the west, full five him dred yards, the wary flankers conid b< seen, some crossing the streiqn farthei down the valley, w'hile other comrades apjieared over the barren ridge behind that no sneaking foe might crawl up nn observed and send a long range bnllet from its shelter down into the swarm of troopers at the ford. So, too, the flank ers to the east and the sturdy little knot of rear guardsmen just popping up ovei the divide so recently crossed, all told ol ceaseless vigilance on every side. Ber rien lias not ridden the Sionx trail a score of years for nothing. Ho takes no TiBie might have shown, trot time was j chances where the security of his com not accorded. Coining home late one | tnand is concerned, and has small opin ion of the leader who subjects them to needless risk. And now one after another the four troops ride into close column on the northward bank; the men dismount, un saddle, and presently, with side lines in hand, each trooper leading his faithful steed, the four herds are guided to the taqiarate grazing grounds already chosen and “pre-empted” by wide awake subal terns or sergeants. There the side lines It was Jennie, with a grave, anxious I are carefully adjusted, the bridles slipped ce., at sight of which Mrs. Berrien 1 off. three or four men remain in sad- uight from a delightful dance their car riage stopped outside the massive porte- cochere of the Guthrie homestead in stead of driving right in. “What is it, James?" asked Miss Guth rie. “Another carriage here, miss. I think it’s Mrs. Holden just getting out." “Jennie here! W r liy, how odd! She went home half an hour before we started." Indians will dance aU night on any prov- ™n to he r ^ved Dick.^’notbiiigmi’r.- ocation, and onr fires light the skies quite as much as theirs. Sergeant Ellis, who volunteered to push through with dispatches to Boiler's command some where on the other side of the Bad Lands, got back all right this morning and says he had hardly any difficulty in delightful than the round of tuU rtaia mi nts to which we are bidden. Due has hardly time to think. As for writing, this in the itrot opportunity X have en joy Ri fn three flays, and wff are home from the theater hut half uu hour, Mrs. Holden covies over qvery day, and we working a way through the liostiles. J exchange such newt As we hare of the That fellow, I think, is going to make a ; dear old regiment ami the dearer ones face. fairly sprang from tire carriage “You have ill news, airs. Hold a. What is It? Tell me at once.” “This has jnst come from my hus band," was the trembling answer as she held forth a telegram: “Major Berrien’s wound serions, bnt not fatal. Mrs. Ber rien must not. be alarmed. Do not be lieve sensational newspaper reports of disaster. Wounded doing well." . . CHAPTER IX. Pursuant fo his orders, Major Berrien, with his battalion of the Twelfth, had been scouting the open country that lay to the northeastward of the cantonment. So alarming had the situation become, so significant if not actually defiant was the manner of the Indians whose lodges were pitched all over the prairie ■round the agency that the command hig general had 1 caused intrcnchmeuts to Be thrown up on every ridge ovi r- lookingthat threatened settlement. Ad ditkmal troops, including a strong fore* of infantry and detachments of light artillery, had been sent to the scene Hotchkiss aud field gnu* were placed in itioB copnuaiiflfaig B e Indian camp.' nil nijjkt and daythenarthworks were eavily AuBnned Jfid ■aentnna and out posts (Rtanlod tv#' ;i»irou J*. Meantime tnd main body of the bus tiles was still ghost dancing and liov I ing through V>e 'Vint*y night far over to the nortli mnoog Bm breaks and chasms of |ho Bud Lands, oo strong m numbers (Bid so secure from assault within the lines of their ualaral fortrt as to laugh to scorn all premonition disaster. Runnars had gone to eve.x tri6e urging concerted action and uniti revolt. Every day brought new nen • tdona, and all that was m r'ed to eiialdi thein to bid defianCe to ®e encircling force was the arrival of the great tiands that had broken away from the reoyrt* t|ons along the Missonri, followers tun Would be avengers'of the old ciileftam Bitting Bull, who bad died in Baruess, a rated to the bust. Brule and ligallail.i tfnepapa and Minneoonjou—here were the warriors, re-enforced by many a new grown son, who tnoMfought the white soldiers summer nf'Cr summer time and again, in the bloody days of die as lierdguard and the horses are let t to graze. Rich with nutriment is that crisp, dry bunch grasp—rich and plentiful. The mules of the pack train bray with impatience to shed their loads and join their envied four footed com rades, bat presently they, too, follow ing the bell, are streaming out upon the guarded prairie, rolling in luxury upon the frosty earth and kicking their legs in air in genuine delight. From a dozen little tires among the bare limbed cottonwoods the thin smoke is cnrling aloft, and the rattle of tin enp and plate and the jovial voices of the men seem to clamor for their soldier rations. In long rows the saddles and equipments were aligned upon the turf, each man's carbine and licit at his saddle. Hnge rolls of rolies and blankets are unstraje ped and spread to air, and all this time, while the troop officers are looking to the comfort and security of their horses. Major Berrien, followed by a single or derly, is riding about from point to point to satisfy himself that the guards are stationed where best they can se cure the bivouac against surprise. The ridge to the southwest is higher than those which limit the view at other points, and thither Berrien is now riding at easy lope. Rolfe and Hazlett, watch- preth once restrained by the wisdotji of old ^ jy( n g p rone where, unseen themselves. name for himself in this campaign. He who are our especial property. She is lb® dei-ade iiast—-the^Brul'‘S^eei»sdally is always ready for anything that turns what I coll a genuine woman, and I like n P- ' * 1 M ,a,^ j her more and more. 1 must tell you “I hear that Brewster and Ridgeway 1 something I learned through her. The have had a row and do not speak. Some ,) a y after our arrival we were in the of the boys know what it’s ijl about, but library, mid my attention was attracted won’t tell me. Do you know? Now, py a i ar ge portrait, apparently a crayon unless you wire to the contrary, I shall co py n f a photograph, that hung over address my next care of Hon. Warren L. the mantel. It was of a singularly j ration, hod spent a day or two explor Guthrie, St. Louis.” i bm.dsmne young man, and 1 knew id ing the lireaks and ravines of a dozen Then Kenyon got a letter. He was 1 once he mnst lie a Gutlfrle. ’It is my little streams flowing into the V\ aki a ^ trooper, too, trots ont to join them, now commanding officer of the post, and brother,'said Nita, in such a sail, con- Washtay, had located trail after trail'f and his party ara still out of was unremitting in his thoughtfulness ' strained tone, ‘taken jnst a few weeks 1 travois, pony aud lodge pole tracks, baa • iative ood as they bear from tl>« jg’onp of soldiers at the nearest camp 6re some brawny sou of the old sod re mark, "Just luck at tbsonld man now; sure it’s a smart redskin that will ever get through the pickets he posts." Not since the days of old “Major Slowtrot," old "Pap” Thomas, has there been a battalion commander better loved by the rank and file. They know nothing will ever induce him to forget one pre caution for their safety, and reward his care with a loyalty ff devotion good to see. Watching blu- ;“'.l further, Haz lett notes tliat a distant vedette has sig naled, aud that Berrien, slowly now, is riding up the slope to join him. A ser geant has some question to ask at the moment, and when Hazlett again looks ont to the southwest, major, orderly and vedettt have disappeared from view ajjpnnd a little shoulder of bluff. Other " 'ettes can be seer, at tbeir posts on all les, and a few dismounted sentries Bintogalieka, now ripe for any deviltry and well nigh uhanimous for war to the knife. Without noteworthy incident, Ber rien's command had circled around to the east of the sacred lines of the reset they can scan the country to their front. But F.azlett's curiosity is excited by the fact that two men, mere specas in the distance, are huddling together at the | crest hslf a mile away to the sonthwest and evidently watching something out at their front aud motioning to the set- geant back with the supports. Presently tnd attention to the households of the before his death six years ago.’- Of absent officers. It was Rolfe who wrote course I could ask no more, but Wini- to him, and Kenyon Wus well nigh at fred and I both noted how utterly her uis wits’ end in the endeavor to ooojec- i face changed, how unspeakably die- ture what it all meant. tressed a look came into her eyes. We "X9U remember gy spyjpg ( poult conid see then whv Mrs. Holden should scoured tlie wide valley of the main stream, but without sight of a ringle warrior, much less a war purty. The •till smoking ruins of two ranches told, however, of recent visitation, and the hoof marks of cattle miugliiuc with the ! right from camp. “Captain, may I borrow your field- glasses?" asked Mr. Brewster, swinging up to the fire where Hazlett stands. “1 have lent mine to the sergeant of the guard.” “Did von see whore the malar went? asks Hazlett by way of reply, as Be hands the desired instrument. “1 last saw him at the point yonder. He rode around it with Sergeant Ellis and a couple of men. and that vedette mnst have been calling to him. It I seems to ins ihey’vv been gone some lime; so Gorlmni says 1 can ride ont and find ont what it means.” “I’d go with you, Brewster, bnt my horse is ont at herd. Take the glasses with you, anyhow." Brewster's big him k is led up at the moment, and the lieutenant quickly mounts and canters easily away. Meantime, pld Berrien, who has noted the signals of the vedette referred to, has joined him, with the brief inquiry, “What is it, Scott?” “Why, sir, I was posted here by the sergeant, and he had no sooner gone than 1 saw what 1 took to be horsemen in the valley several miles out yonder to the southwest. The major can see the whole country from a butte that lies perhaps three hundred yards farther out beyond this ridge. But here comes the sergeant back, sir.” It is Ellis, cantering briskly from tlie advanced position Scott has designated, and coming to them now around the shoulder of the bluff a little to the right That Ellis has seen something is evi dent; his face shows it in an instant. ■An Indian war party, major, per haps a dozen, rode from behind a long ridge over to the west and down into the valley of what I take to be a branch of the Porcupine. That butte hides a good deal of the valley; but we can see it from there, though.” ‘You three men come with me,” says Berrien quietly. “We must look into this." Two minutes’ lope brings them to the bntte Ellis has pointed ont. Leaving their horses with the orderly, Berrien, the sergeant and the sentinel go crouch ing up the hither slope, throw them selves on the ground and crawl to the summit. As the vedette has said, the whole country for miles in every direc tion can be seen—a country of bold i o;i- tours, of bare, rounded bluffs and buttes, of deep, shadowy ravines and gulches— a country bare of trees save tlie ghostly, leafless cottonwoods perched by the banks of many a frozen stream. Miles and miles to the north and northwest the wild Indian land spreads liefore their eyes. Close at hand, tumbling, billowy and abrupt, the ridges follow or intei - cept one another in rapid succession. The face of the land is cut up into tor tuous “breaks,” the deep, narrow beds of countless little streams, all winding tributary to the river that flows placidly away to the northeast in the broad val ley from which the column marched at dawn. Beyond that, west of north, clearly, sharply defined in the distance, already alternating glaring surface and ghostly shade under the slanting rays of the westering sun, a tumbling mass of jagged, fantastic shapes, a tangle of vertical cliffs and seamed and furrowed walls, a labyrinth of gorges, gullies, washed ont channels, deep, black crev ices, and broad, yawning, impassable gulfs, the storied Bad Lands of Dakota, shunned by all except tlie renegade and outlaw in the past, now habitable only by the Indian. Beyond these, faint and dim in the distance, the snow covered, pine crested summits in the Black Hills. All the rest of the surface, east, west and south, a frozen sea of gray, glinting here and there in the declining rays; and there off to the southwest, perhaps five miles away, lies the valley into which the party of dusky warriors has gal loped so short a time before—the valley beyond which, a long, long day’s march away, stands the guarded camp of com rade soldiery awaiting their return. Berrien studies tlie scene long and care fully through his glasses. Intermediate ridges are not many, but they are sharp and clearly defined. "Who was it reported that the ad vance saw signal smokes south of us at noon?" he asks. “Corporal Waite, sir; he aud two of the men saw them plainly, and they seemed to be answered off here." And Ellis points miles away to the west. Berrien ponders a moment. “Where away would you locate the agency, sergeant, if you were going to take a bee line for it?” "Out off here, sir.” “And they crossed that line going into the valley?” “They certainly did, sir, and— Look, majorl look yonder! Another band, and from exactly the same place.” A little bevy of dark objects darts suddenly into view from behind a cur tainlike divide aud goes skimming over a level stretch toward the lowlands of the valley. Berrien’s glasses seem glued to his eyes. “Twenty of them in that party! What do they see? What's their hurry? They would not expose themselves to our view unless there were urgent need for haste." “The old road oonies in from that di rection, sir.” answers Ellis. “We left it a few hours out from tlie cantonment, as you remember. Can anything have been seen along that road to give rise to signal smokes?' Berrien turns half over and looks keenly into the sergeant’s intelligent face. “That road has been abandoned for weeks past. Everybody to the east of us has taken refuge at the railway long since. Nobody would be coming from that direction." “1 know that, sir; but would not any detachment coming from the agency to meet us, for instance, tie apt to keep the road? 1 understood we were to strike for it in the morning aud follow it in." Again Berrien gazes long and earnest ly through the binocular. "They are certainly heading for that road and riding at full speed. How many men have you at this front?” he quickly asks. "Just eight, sir. all told, but eight more are almost within call over on onr left flank. Yonder is the ridge where my men are |Hinted.” And Ellis points to their left rear where lies the low crest. “Just keep a good lookout here, ser geant. 1 will move them over this way and then ride to the left flank. My horse, orderly.” And, thinking deeply over the matter as he rides, Berrien spurs into a lively canter across an in tervening dip in the prairie. “Some mischief ahead,” he mutters. “They are not speeding up that valley for noth ing. We may have to saddle and get over there.” Not two hundred yards has he ridden when from the point which he has just quitted there comes a sudden yell of warning, followed almost instantly by two shots in quick succession. Then bang! bang! another two, and, as he whirls abont, the first object that meets his startled gaze is Ellis’ handsome black horse plunging to earth almost at the edge of a shallow ravine some distance out in front of the bntte. “My God, sir,” cries the orderly, “Ser geant Ellis is killed!” Berrien’s heart bounds. There, face ’ downward upon the sward, motionless, jnst a few feet away from the plunging, death stricken horse, lies the sergeant, 1 his carbine dropped from his nerveless hand. At the same instant red, glitter ing, bedaubed with paint, bespangled with cheap finery, two young Indian | braves lash their ponies into furious gal- 1 fov M they shoot m> out of the shfiUow ravine, ana nnes in nana, roupsticts advanced, race madly toward the strick en trooper in eager effort to secure the trophy of their prowess, the coveted scalp of the fallen foe. “Yonr carbine, man!" yells Berrien to his orderly, “t^niokl Shout that lead er!'’ And putting spurs to his snorting horse, reckless of the fact that he is armed only with revolver aud that the ravine may be full of Indians, the vet eran soldier drives full tilt at the charg ing braves. Hu thicks only of the fact that one of his men lies prostrate and LAW CARDS. W- F. DARGAN, Attorney at Law, Darlington, - • - S. C- Office ovrr Welling tS: Benoit's R. W. BOYD. GHO. W DROWN BOYD BROWN. Attorneys and Counselors at Law helpless before them They are almost , oft . j,, bri k bui l d j lg B0 Uth of upon Ellis before Be men has galloped a . _ ... rod. They are within twenty paces of him when, with a shout of delight, the major sees him whirl suddenly over. the Bank of Darlington. DA KL1SG TON V. fl , & V. PROMPT PERSONAL ATTENTION TO ALL BUSINESS. M 55^ X itiissA triC TTARTSVILLE RAILROAD. In effect Oct. 2. 1892 DAILY MIXED TRAIN Leave Hartsville 5.55 ft 'm J ova nu ..6.20 ft m m Darlington 9.00 a iu Palmetto . 9 25 a in Arrive Florence . 9.50 a IU Leave Florence 2.00 p in Palmetto 2.15 p m Darlington in Floyd's . 8.25 p in Jovann 3.45 p m Arrrive Hartsville 4.05 p m O- W. DAKOAN. H. T. THOMPSON. grasp his carbine, r.nd, all in a second, the Uaine leaps from the broneed muz zle, the foremost warrior drops his rifle, whirls up a clinching, convulsive hand and topples headforemost out of the saddle. Scott, tlie vedette, echoes with another shot that kicks up the dust close under the second pony's flashing heels. Its red rider veers in broad circle to the right, and in the twinkling of an eye tlie feathered war bonnet bows low over the pony’s stretching neck. Ber rien's bullet whizzes harmlessly above, and the major himself, borne by the rash of his half maddened steed, dashes on past Ellis, now kneeling for another shot, and goes crash into the midst of a little knot of yelling warriors just bounding np out of the gully to the res cue of their strickei comrade. "Bess, my wife; Winnie," are the only words he has time or thought to mutter, for DARLLVGTO.Y, C. H., S. C- instant death seems inevitable. But all the old fighting instinct is up- DARGAN & THOMPSON, Attorneys at Law, Office, Hewitt building (up stairs) north side of the Public Square. Darlington. S. C* T. H. SPIN. Attorney t.t I aw. j F. DIVINE, Gen. Supt. C HARLESTON, SUMTER NORTHERN RAILROAD AND permost, and almost in the face of the foremost Sioux his revolver blazes its challenge, and horse and pony meet in tremendous shock, and the lighter steed goes tumbling and rolling over the turf. There is chorus of yells, shots, soldier cheers, thundering hoofs. There is a vision of glittering steel in front of his eyes, of hideous painted face, a sudden sense of stumble and stunning fall, a shrill whoop of triumph, changing in stantly into the death cry, and while his Brule antagonist goes crashing down, pony and all, Berrien is conscious of the inperb leap of a big black charger over his own prostrate form, of a stentorian cheer from half a dozen trooper throats, and the next minute Brewster is kneel ing by his side, raising the honored gray head in his strong young arms, and tlie voice that thundered in battle cry but an instant agoue is trembling now as he calls for a canteen of water and bids his half stunned commander not to strive to move. “We’ve got two of them, sir, all right,” he whispers. bruathU is, but well know ing that to lie the bee news ho can give. “The rest got away and left a bullet hole in your shoulder.” (TO BE CO'TIMJRD.J Will practice in Circuit Courts and Supreme Court of South Carolina Prompt attention given to all busi ness, and special attention given* col lections. J. J. WAllD. K. O. WOODS. Desirable Let For Sale. WE off.-r L.r sale the lot of tlie late Mrs. A. A. Baker in tlie Town of Dar lington. PAUL WHIPPLE, J. GREGG McCALh, J. E. NETTLES, Executors. Aji 21—tf WARD & WOODS. Attorneys A Counselors at Law, DARLINGTON, 8. C. Will practice in the State and Federal Courts Special attention paid to all matter* pertaining to the buying, selling, renting nr leasiug -f real estate. Any party having bu 'ties* in this line would do well to call on the firm, who have control of some of tlie most de sirable property in the town and | county. — I J. K. NKTTLK8. C. S. NKTTIiKS Nettles & Nettles, Attorneys A Counselors at Law, llnrliiiKlmi <’• H-> N- Will practice in all tlieState and Fed- I eral Courts. Prompt personal at tention given to the collection of Claims. S.WOLFRAM RELIABLE Watchmaker and Jeweller. Dealer in DIAMONDS, GOLD i SILVER WATCHES, And a complete line of Jewelry and Clocks. Reliable Optical Goods a specialty ! Expert workman in Berlin and New York for years and all work guaran teed. Old gold and silver purchased for cash or taken in exchange. The patronage of the public is soli cited and reliable g aids, fair dealing, prompt and accurate work guaran teed Respectfully, 8. WOLFRAM, Next door to Joye A Handers. Sep 1—tin. P. Bishop Parrott, I Stenographer and Typewriter, HfOffice with Ward A WikmIb^J LEGAL AND OTHER COPYING SOLICITED. Testimony reported in short hand land type-written transcript of same furnished at reasonable rates. G<K>d Spelling, Correct Punctuation and Neat Work Guaranteed. Jan. 8-lvr. Cheap Wrapping Paper. Old newspapers, answering exceed ingly well for the purpose of wrapping paper, for sale at THB DARLINGTON N kwh office at 20 cents a hundred. IT TS A PTTTV you oweyonrurlf anil fam ily to gel the hfnt value lor your money* Kconomize in your fuo W . I.. DoiiglaN Shot'M, value for price* will teatify. Kcouumir.e in your footwear by purchimiiiir \V. Is. DougJaN Shoew, which represent the aaked, as thousaud* .*3. A 5.00 *4.00 *3.50 *2.50 *2.25 *2.00 H •nTTTO ’ J ii U1 rd Fleming, 276 East Bay, CHARLESTON, S. C., IMPORTEROF English Portland Cement AND DEALER IN LIME, CEMENT, PLASTER, It A 1R, &C., avd till BUI LI ING MATERIAL. Lowlst Prices. Best Satisfaction. CAR LOAD LOTS A SPECIALTY. Oct. 2a—tvr 00 *2.50 *2.00 FOft LAOIEt *2.00 *1.75 FOR BOYS *1.75 CHARLES E. KIMBALL Receiver. In Effect Oct. 2 1892 NORTH. SOUTH. 1 2 P. M. A M. 11.40 Charleston 4.00 1.10 Pregnair* .8.80 3 25 Sumter 12.20 4. lti| Lamar 11.27 | 4.30 Syracuse 11.14 4.45 Darlington 11.00 5.00 Mont Clare 10.46 5.11 Robin'* Neck 10.85 5.27 M&ndevjlle 10.13 6.40 HenuettsvlUe 10.5 ‘ 6.30 Gibson 9.10 A. M. P. M. Close connection is made at Gibson for all points reached by or via tlie Seaboi'.rd Air Line System ; at Ben- nettsv.lle for all iioints via C. F. A V. V R K J. H. -WERILL, General Miuitiger. g'N A 1). and C. A S. RAILROADS. In effect Oct. 2, 1892. Leave Wadesboro Morveu’s McFarland 5 27 a in Cheraw Cash’s 0.17 a in Society Hill 6.32 a in Dove's 6.50 a in Floyd’s .t .... 6.58 a m Darlington .... 7.12 am Palmetto 7.22 a m Arrive Florence Palmetto 9.13 p m Darlington ... 9.23 p IU Floyd’s 9.33 p m Dove's 9 0pm Society Hill Cash’s Cheraw McFarland .... 11.04 p m Morven’s .... 11.16pm Bennett’s ! Arrive Wadesboro F'reight Train. 1 I<eave Florence Arrive Darlington 8.30 a m j Leave Darlington Arrive Florence 5.00 p m A. F. RAVENEL President. mjORTHEASTERN RAILROAD. I* lu effect Get. i, 1892. SOUTH HOUND. No. 27. | Leave Florence 1 35 a m King* tree 2.32 a|m Lane* 2..oo a m Arrive Charleston No. 28. 1 Leave Florence 8.05 a m Kingstree 9.30 am Lanes 0.55 a m Arrive Charleston 11.59 a m No. 53. Leave Lanes Arrive Charleston Train on C. A I). R. R. connects at Florence with No. 23 Train. NORTH BOUND. No. 78. Leave Charleston I-anes 3.85 a m Kingstree 8 43am Arrive F'loreuce 4.45 a m No. 14. Ix'ave Charleston 5.16 pm Lanes 7.05 p m Kingstree 7.24 p m Arrive F'loreuce 3.30 p III No. 52. Leave Charleston 6.50 a in Arrive Lanes 8.27 am No. 52 runs through to Columbia via Central U. R. of 8. C. Nos. 78 and 14 run solid to Wilming- | ton, N. C., making close connection with W. A W. Ii. R. for all points North. J. F. DIVINE, Gen. Supt. AWTILMINGTON, COLUMBIA & P V AUGUSTA RALROAD. W. L. DOUGLAS S3 SHOE CEtuffi/lffEN, THE BEST SHOE IN THE WORLD FOR THE MONET. OTI1KK HPECI AlsTIEH lu footwear aro of the same high grade, und represent a money value far beyond the price* charged. See that u&mu ami price are stamped on bottom of each shoe. TAKE NO M BSTITI TK. W. L* Longing, ilrockluu, Mass* Sold to* For Sale by A. J, Broom, Darlington S. C, In effect October2 SOUTH BOUND. 1802. Leave Wilmington . No. 23. 6-25 p m Marion 9.35 p m Arrive F'loreuce 10.25 p m Leave Florence No. 59. 3.20 a m Sumter . Arrive Columbia 6.15 a m Leave Wilmington No. 27. Marion Arrive F’loreuce 1.20 a m Leave Sumter No. 52. Arrive Columbia 10.55 am Leave Florence No. 58. 7.57 a m Sumter 9 20 a m Arrive Columbia ( SUGAR COATKD) , Haydock’s New Liver Pills. A wonderful and extraordinary combination of concon* tx .tvA modlciao. '1 he Victories of Kcience—Llectrio T .leijraphs, Steam and Printing—revolutionised the whole system of tho globe, end made mankind wiser and Inttar. 80, although there are countless Pills used for disease, and claiming mneh as to their merit, tho re* n tr liable dl:. cover? ox Dr. Hay dock bus eclipsed them all, and has founded a # NEW MEDICAL SYSTEM. The Doctor*, whoso vast doses of four or five pills, en* facble the stomach and paralyse the bowels, must give way to the uum who restores health and aoneUte with one o** *wo ot his extraordinary Vegetable Pills. One or two Ok DR. H vYDOCK-’H NKVV LIVKR PILLSeufloe* to place the stomach in perfect order, creates an appe tite, and renders the spirit light and buoyant. If the Liver Is affected its functions are restored, and if the Nervous bystenc. is enfeebled, it is invigorated and suo* teiaed. SYMPTOMS OP BILIOt SXESS. 1. The patient complains of a fullness of the stemach. 2. Distension of the bowels by wind. 8. Heartburn. 4. A feeling of weariness, sleepiness after meals. ft. A bad tai.te in the mouth, and furred tongue. 6. Constipation, with an occasional diarrhoea. ^ J V _ _ a » , A _ M I J No. 52 runs through from Charles ton via Central Railroad; leaving Lane* 8.32 a m, Manning 0 00 a m. Train on C. and D. Railroad con nect* at Florence with No. 5 s . NORTH BOUND. No. 51. Leave Columbia 10.45 p m Sumter 12.04 a m Arrive Florence 1.15 am No. 78. Leave Florence 5.00 a m Marion 5.44 a m Arrive Wilmington 8.55 am No. 59. Leave Columbia ; Sumter 7.30 p m Arrive Florence 8.40 p m No. 53. Leave Columbia Arrive Sumter H.lo p m 7.30 p m No. 14. 8.50 p m 9.35 p m 12.20 a m —,1 Headache in front of head. A Depression of spirits and at lassitude. AH of the above symptoms go to show functional f the Liver: and Leave Florence Marion Arrive Wilmington No. 53 runs through to charleston via Central Railroad, arriving Man ning 8.00 n m Lanes 8.40 p ui, ' charleston 10.30 a m. No. 59 connect* ai Florence with C. I & D. train from cheraw and Wadee- boro. No*. 78 and 14 make close connec tion at Wilmington with W. A W. Railroad for all point* North. Train* on Florence Railroad leave Pee Dee daily except Sunday 8 35 a m, arrive Rowland 11.40 a m. Return ing leave Rowland 12.16 p m, arrive Pee Dee 4.00 p m. Trains on Manche*ter A Augusta GJ. HMffl & 80^! ixteSiiESai?*" Haydock’s New Liver Pill. Railroad leave Sumter daily except Life Sunday 10.50 a m arrive Rimini U.Ji# to a PiH. Dully e»pCTi-nce ■how, that this, wtan the Pill a IU. Returning leave Rimini is corapoundtad properly, is the readiest mode of inciting . m arrive 811 inter 1 40 n m od promoting IheYctfon of the Llver.and can be always U1 * “ rri ' c r tT ifAr. P ‘ rolled on. I have devoted many rears of my life in ooaa. I .1. r. L)I VljN fc*. lien Supt ling a PiU, that will act readilv and systematically ' •“ Remedy. I do not believe in groat nurga. 12 30p. Manutacturers —OP— Doors, Sash, Bliniis, Is/EOTTLIJIlSras —AND - Duilding Material. ESTABLISHED 1842. CHARLESTON, 8. 0. April, 20 1889—1 They are the true grains and essence of health, and tha greatest blessing that Science nas given to the world. For Nervous Prostration, Weakness, Gonaral Lft-'ai- £nde. Want of Appetite and Rick Headache, Dr. Ray* dock’s New JUv«r tills will bo found an Effectual KachVul ©oetair a Twenty PiUe. Price Twenty-five *EVT HI« I. RKZ Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting of the Board of County Commi**ioner* for Darling ton county will be held on Thursday, the 10th of November next. All persons holding bills, account* or demands of any kind against the Mmmm . ,... county which have not been present- MV. | <\ f l to the Board of County < omiui*- fb andTtTmystort.- n fnmtohc. in. | sioners at special meeting* held dur ing the year, are required to deposit the same with the Clerk of the Board on or before the first day of Novem ber next. HENRY E. P. SANDERS, Clerk of Hoard. Darlington October 5th 1892.—31 formation to all, HAYDOCK & CO., NEW YORK. U. 8. CAUTION! -Druggists aro desired to notice that the n&mo of J. H. Frauds, sole agent, is written across each dozen packages of Haydodt/a Liver Pills, AU withoui uus are counterfeits. April 14—ly iHH IKbI mm