Supplement to LAKE COUNTY EJttMiNER, Lahavicvi, Oregon
Rett, an English man, who said ho hnd
known mr mother nnd father mid
took a groat Interest In me on that ar
count. He paid that he was going to
Join an Immigrant train to cross th
plains and sked me If I did not wan
to ronie. It was the thing I most de
Hired, and I had no preparations
make, as I had nil that I possessed In
the world on ray hark.
"We joined the Immigrant train earl
In the soring nnd I worked my way h
driving stork, helnlng about camp an
doing whatever fell to my lot. We ha
many adventures, were attacked by
the Indians, some of the Immigrant
took sick and died, and the team
gave out. provisions run short. In fart
we had the usual mishaps of a trip
across this long stretch of uninhabit
ed country.
"When we reached the Boise City
military post my friend I.tggctt met
Martin Lyle and after a few minute'
conversation he got employment with
him and came on to the desert. They
seemed to know each other, or somo
thlng of each other, and after thev
met they were never separated before
they left for the plains. Liggett enme
and bade me good bye and said he
was sorry be could not get me em
ployment. too. but I did not care to
come to the desert then, did not wan
to work on a ranch, and remained
with the Immigrant train under the
protection of the military post.
"An old trapper y the name of
Mike Hone came Into Boise one day
with a fine load of furs. He wa
dressed In furs and was scarred and
nigged, and told of his adventures on
the desert. I followed him about the
post every day to hear him relate his
adventures and when he had finally
sold bis furs at a good price and
nought his supplies, among them be
Ing a number of large bear traps
ventured to approach him and remiest
that he take me along. He slxed me
up and after learning from some of
the Immigrants with whom I had
crossed the plains that I was what he
considered a true blue, he consented
we left and came to this very
place, and while he had prepared
great deal of the Improvements here
I assisted him in making more. But
be had found the secret chamber, and
It was always guarded as such ani
kept prepared as a refuge In case we
were ever attacked by the Indians
though he always treated them right
and often made them presents. On
account of this course we were never
attacked by them, though we often
met them when they were on the war
path.
''The second summer after I came
poor old Mike left me in charge of
the place and traps and he made an
other trip to Bo'se. That is the last
I ever saw of him. He got Into a
game of cards and then a flght and he
was killed alone with several others
In the fleht. Whn I finally became
alarmed T made the trip to Boise and
learned p facts of his death. I also
learned nat he did his part in the
fight.
"Left In this manner there was but
tne thing for me to do. I had learned
the trapping business and liked It.
There was money In It. and 1 return
ed and took charge of the place aa my
own. In a short time after my re
turn I found your father under the
circumstances doubtless that he has
already explained to you and since
t! at time I have had no occasion to
g t lcesome or give up the plains, as
T ".if e made hid cause my cause and
long to see him revenged against the
terrible deed of his brother and his
tompanion. Dan Follett."
"But did you ever meet your friend
Lleeett, again." inquired Bertha.
"No. not to talk with him. I only
saw him ence, but I do not think he
recoenized me. I stopped at the
Stone House once for water and saw
him there. I do not think he would
know me now," said the trapper.
"But you say he seemed to know
my uncle?" replied Bertha.
"No, I did not mean that," said the
trapper. "They appeared to know
something in common, or to un
derstand one another In some way.
But that id also like a dream and I
may have been mistaken."
After a few moments of silence the
trapper continued: "So that Is my
whole story, so far as I know It, and
there Is nothing out of the ordinary
about it. The 'novels I used to read
led me to believe that there was ro
mance about everything in the west
but it is all alike to me. The daily
attention to the traps, the curing of
furs, the passing band of Indians, all
except the unfortunate events con
nected with yourself and your father
are common-place to me."
Before the conversation wad re
newed there wag a pounding on the
outer door of the structure, for it was
getting on toward midnight and the
door had been closed.
The trapper rose and dosing all ev
idence of a room behind him wended
his way to the place of alarm.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Newg From the Stone House.
Oscar Metzger, one of the surviv
ing cowboys, and the one who had
been trusted with returning to the
Stone House on forming the compact,
was found at the door when the trap
per responded that night. He had
ridden the Journey In great haste and
considered that the circumstances de
manded It.
All was tumult at the Stone House.
Old Egan and his warriors had bur
rounded the place and would accept
no terms of peace. It was only
through an occasional gift by the
Lord of The Desert to the old chief
that he had kept on peaceful terms
with him so long for the old chief
had always considered the "White
Grizzly," as he called him, a menace
to the Indian's welfare and an en
croacher upon his rights; besides
this, the horses and cattle of the
Lord of The Desert had always been
considered a valuable prize and the
late Improved guns and revolvers
about the place had more than once
almost gotten the better of the chief's
good Intentions; and now that he had
caught Dan Follett, the Lord of The
Desert's right hand .man and hench
man, in the act of making away with
his horses, and then trailed him back
to the Stone House, he took it for
granted that it was a ruse on the
part of the "White Grizzly" to rob
lilm, and considered all obligation of
amity between them closed.
It was the blow that he had long hurry the final attack, and the he-
desired to strike nd he had come sieged felt much alarmed for four
fully prepared to strike It. that they might discover the tracks
After the capture of Follett the of Metzger, who hail borne the men
chief had pursued the Warm Springs sage to the trapper. There was also
Indians until he had killed or cap- some fear of delay in communicating
tn red a majority of them and retaken with the military post as ho trapper
all of his horses and several more Wo- was known to spend a great deal of
sides, and then returned to his camp his time nway from homo, working
at the foot of Ash Butte. In the among his trap In the rlmrocks.
meantime he had wrung from one of While It was considered best that the
the Warm Springs warriors the ron- trapper should make the Journey to
fesslon that Follett had come to the the fort. yet. Metzger had received In
Warm Springs camp and persuaded struotlons to go, should he be unable
them to embark In the enterprise to find Hamniersloy.
against the Piutos. The old chief : The besieged determined to die
suspected this, but he wished to as- rather than tall Into the hand of the
sure his warriors of the fact to make Snnkes, for they knew that Old Egan
them the more sanguine In the at-
tack upon the Stone House.
On the night of their arrival at Ash
Butte a strong guard had been placed
over Follett. but a stronger guard
had been placed about the horses,
which were also carefully corralod
that night. Both guards were Instructed-
to keep a vigilant watch, the
one to see that their prisoner escaped
and the other to see that he did not
secure a horse.
Late In the night Folletfs guard
"faked" sleep and the wily F'rench
man crawled away as lightly as a cat.
When once In the darkness and alone
he looked" about to secure a horse but
he saw the forms of Eean's warriors
silhoutted against the horizon when
ever he discovered the dark outline
of an animal. In maktng his last at
tempt to secure one of the anlmnls.
and when he thought he was about to
be rewarded for his trouble, a war -
rior shouted the Indian word for
coyote. ana a dozen arrows
"whished" In close proximity to him.
Then he saw them sneaking In his
direction as if to surround him. and
he made away tnrougn the sage
brush, striking boldly out across the
desert, guldeil by the north star.
To add to his discomfort the In
dians had removed his hat and coat
and boots that night and he was now
a fugitive on the desert without a
coat, hat or shoes.
Old Egan had arranged his plans.
and history itself records the fact
that this old chief always laid them
well. Couriers had already been sent
to other allies of his tribe, while
scouts were put on Dan Folletfs trail
to see that he went to the Stone
House.
These scouts had followed him.
climbing among the rlmrocks by day
and observing him as he picked his
way across the plain, and then fol
lowed by night. They had seen him
visit the trapper's abode, and had fol
lowed him on until he entered the
Stone House. In the meantime Oln
Egan had mustered his men and. two
hundred strong, had started for the
Stone House, while he expected as
many more allies to Join him there ,
sooner or later. There were maraud-1
ers among the Modocs and Klamaths
that he could count on, and he had
sent ror tnese aiso.
The destruction of the power of the
Lord of The Desert had long been
contemplated and the time had now
come.
Egan was not slow to look after his
own interests. To arrive first upon
the scene and select a few of the
choicest of the "White Grizzly's" cat
tle and horses and make way with
them before the arrival of his allies
was his purpose, and then besiege the
whites until his allies arrived and
then crush the enemy and divide the
remaining spoils.
And he was not slow In action.
Dan Follett reached the Stone House
just after dark one night, and the fol
lowing morning found Old Egan'3
warriors around the entire premises
at a safe distance from the loop-holes
of the outer walls, while a detachment
of his men had driven away select
bands of horses ad cattle.
The first cowboy to go without the
enclosure that morning received an
unmistakable warning in the form of
a feathered arrow which was battered
against the wall near his head. Then
he saw the war bonnets of the Plutes
protruding above the rocks and boul
ders in every direction and rushed
back Into the enclosure, followed by
a shower of arrows, and gave the
alarm.
There were about 50 of the Inmates
all told and all owned revolvers, but
there were not more than half that
number of rifles. They were well
prepared for defense against an or
dinary Indian attack, but It was not
thought safe to go Into the open
against the odds that appeared be
fore them In ambush. They made a
sally Just before night, but In the
open the Indians had an advantage
from behind the rocks and fences and
the cowboys returned with some loss
in wounded.
It was then that the Lord of The
Desert decided to send for relief.
General Crook had recently arrived
at old Fort Warner and, expecting
that the Indians would guard the
trail toward this point, Martin Lyle
knew but one man that be could trust
to reach the Fort, and that was Wil
liam Hammersley. He called for a
volunteer to carry a message to the
trapper and Metzker, anxious to re
turn to the trapper s abode was
quick to volunteer and was more
quickly selected to carry the mis
sive. He had slipped through the
enemy's lines without mishap and
made his way to the trapper's quar
ters bringing the trapper a request
from the Lord of The Desert to go to
the government fort for aid at once
and promising blm a liberal reward
for his trouble.
CHAPTER XIX.
Thieves "Fall Out."
Another morning finds the Indians
holding ttMiir ground. They are well
intrenched and the besieged in the
Stone House can only remain cooped
in until relief shall arrive from the
fort.
If they are even spared this privi
lege they will feel thankful for It
requires time to communicate with
the military authorities and then sol
diers move with deliberation and pre
pare before tbey move.
Old Egan's messages are already
sent out and his reinforcements are
doubtless on tne road. While sol
diers are preparing "rations" and
rolling their blankets and seeing to
their equipments generally, Indian
warriors are already In the saddle
and riding night and day toward the
seat of tbelr campaign.
If the Indiana should surmise that
relief bad been sent for they would
j would show no merry tiow. having
cmght the Lord of The IVsert In his
treachery, nnd they guarded the loop-
holes with close scrutiny never fall
ing to send n bullet at the slightest
exposed portion of an Indian's body.
They were well supplied with pro
visions, water and ammunition, ami
unless actually overpowered would
be able to withstand a siege Indefi
nitely. The Indians were likewise prepared
for the siege. Besides the pure water
that Mowed from the mountains above
the Stone House, they hnd the great
mendows for their stock to craze upon
and had the lord's choicest bullocks
to select from when they became
hunerv. To the sttrvlnc war'lor
from the rlmrocks and lava beds this
life was truly a dream: plenty to eat
ami drink, only desultory guard duty
lust exoitlne enonch to stimulate
' their enerev Old Eean's brnvs were
i In their element. But summer can-
not last nlwava even with the savnee.
While his warriors were reveling In
: the luxury of haxardless siege nnd
the hope of an old time assault and a
division of the rich booty. Old Eean
was scanning the desert for his re
inforcements. Intuition admonished
him that delay would not help his
cause; that the sooner he had taken
his prey and vanished among the lava
rocks of the far south, the better.
He hnd never yet been overtaken !
the "blue-birds" of the Great Father
and had no desire to encounter these
men of Iron and lead under the com
mand of General Crook. All who ha. I
met them so fnr had been routed or
captured and Egan's sins had been
too numerous for the wily chief to
even think of falling Into the hands
of the government. He knew full
well that his enemy wag well equip
ped and that to attack him. armed ami
protected as he was. that he must
meet with failure and a great loss,
but when his horde of warrlorr and
allies should arrive he expected by
force of numbers and by a simultane
ous attack from every direction to
take the Stone House and Its occu-
nant nnd its treasures, without great I
Ios9. The known wealth of the place
made it the most coveted place
mind of the savage on trie
In the
whole ,
ii:it.I
i-old
VV-i'i
western border. Arms a . I ;
tlon
tlon. provisions, "fire w:i: r.
I VaiUBDieS OI nil Kiuus, e
In the Indian Imagination u
the great wealth of Monte
would not have comrarei w
of the I-ord of The Desert.
The same humdrum proem,
preserved by the beneucd
1.
t von
I'l.U
t.r
siegers until about two o'clock in the
afternoon when the Indians tooit on nnd I)an Ko)ett the half-breed, will
new energy and there was Kon rnl ))e wpll on hg way t0 wnere ),e will
confidence and activity In their r;u ks. ,,, tne remainder of his days In
The outlook who had been p! ' cd on !UX,irT-"
the peak overlooking the dos-rt. 1 1 j' Tne' black walls of the rlmrocks
naled Old Egan that relnforc. ii.o.im . Mof)(, lke pnatonl Knnts In the dls
vrere coming. 1 tam e, the stifling dust rose up from
The chief could not resist dimMm- ljfM1Patn ns horse's feet and the hoi
to the summit of an adJoln'"g foothill j yeI,8 ot tno t.oyotes of the desert
and looking for hlmseJf. H- was re
warded by seeing ft ckwd Of iliut f'-r
out on the desert to tie south that,
from Its length along the plain,
knew a band of his warriors wf
romlng in single file as rabidly
their steeds could bring them.
little later another cloud of dust from
the southwest announced other rein
forcements on the way, and. though
the Indians preserved a silence while
In view of the occupants of the Stone
House, they could not resist chanting
their war songs in their concealment.
It was not until the firat war party
arrived that the whites fullv realized
their danger. They had felt Teason
ably safe against the enemy In his
former strength until reinforcements
could arrive from the fort, but now
that he was reinforced he mleht be
encouraeed to attack and might suc
ceed before succor could arrive for
them.
Just at nightfall another band of
reinforcements arrived, and, the
Indians now becoming more bold,
rent the air with their warwhoops. But
the new arrivals were hungry and
thirsty, and as darkness came on the
Lord of The Desert beheld their
campfires in every direction and he
saw them busily engaged In cooking
and feasting upon his choicest beeves,
which had been fattened for the pal
ates of a different race. Martin Lyle
was not a coward. He was a villain
and a thief and a drunkard, but with
all of this he was a man of courage
of the true Scotch stripe. When he
saw his property being sacrificed, his
home surrounded by an enemy, his
life and that of his companions
threatened, he rose from his big arm
chair, dressed and armed himself for
battle and took active command of
his men.
His long benumbed brain became
active, his eyes flashed with the fire
of excitement once more and his pon
derous form, as he moved among his
men, gave him the appearance of a
"grizzly." In courage at least.
Dan Follett had been watching the
proceedings with studious silence.
He came to the conclusion that a
crisis was at hand. Meeting the
Lord of The Desert In the front yard
be told him he would sneak with htm.
The Scotchman readily assented,
thinking the Frenchman doubtless
had some plan of defense to suggest.
When they had reached the room
always occupied by the owner of the
Stone House and where all business
conferences were held, Follett went
straight at his subject.
"Mr. Lyle," he said, "I think It high
time for a settlement between us. I
have performed all of my agreements
with you and you have put me off
from day to day, and now that I have
no obligations remaining unfulfilled I
demand that the deeds be signed and
that you pay the balance due me."
"Tut, man, this Is no time for set
tling business affairs, when our very
scalps are quivering on our heads.
There Is plenty of time. Walt until
we have repulsed this band of blood
thirsty savages, which your awkward
ness has brought to our door, and
then we will talk about settlement."
"Hut we must settle now!" de
manded Kollott. "You have thus put
me off from time to time and I now
must have a settlement without fur
ther delay "
An exultant shout rose from the
savages outside which did not have a
tendency to soften the temper of
either of fie men,
"I am a man of few words, na you
know, Kollott." responded I.yle. "nnd
I answer now, once and for all, wait
until I am ready to settle."
"So am I u man of few words and
also of quick action, your Lordship.
a title for which you are Indebted to
me, and another moment a delay on
your part will be the costliest net of
your life!" said Kollott In a low. de
termined tone.
"Do not tempt mo. half breed!
ficnwlod I.yle, its he walked awny to
look after the general defense of the
place.
Pan Follett was n man of action
ind of fc words, as the reader Is
aware, ami his conscience did not die
tato moral means nnd ends. Ho was
natnrnlly Inclined the other way. His
spirit- for revenge knew no bounds.
He bad already determined bis course
f lion Id the Lord delay settlement
i longer.
He had not been asleep all of
, these years, either. In regard to the
Lord's afLilrs. lie went straight to
the hiding place of Lyle's treasury
and helped himself. Ten thousand
! dollars in gold and bank notes he
took and secured safely In a belt nl
1 ready prepared next to his body.
i nen line a coyote no skuikou away.
T.-i
He gave her lianl an assuring clusp.
, ,hrouRh the Kunr( of exult
ant warriors, grown careless with
( tfldence In superior numbers, and
tt allng one of their best hordes
r a away In the darkness. As their
U -tdthlrsty war-whoopg chimed in
II ut the Ston House, he glanced
';i' k through the darkness and said:
"Oovour them, I.ord of The Desert
i tin all, hungry pack, I will see that
- are not molested In your work.
Hi'f.rA MnnimarulAV rrAotioa the tnrt
hiK .,, wii ,e silenced forever.
mii.eled with the savage war-whoops
la the rear,
CHAPTER XX.
"fountain Lion and Desert Coyote.
There was no time for hesitation
on the part of the trapper. Although
he bore no concern for the safety of
the Lord of The Desert, under ordi
nary circumstances, he would not
have him slain by Indians at the
present time. Besides, there were
those In his employ who deserved the
assistance of their fellowmen.
He announced bis Intention at once
upon the arrival of Metzger of going
to the fort but thought best to take
a few hours sleep before starting out
on so fatiguing a Journey. Before
lying down, however, all preparations
were made so that upon his waking
he would be able to start at once on
his mission. It was his purpose to
start before daylight that be might
get beyond the rlmrocks to the south
before dawn so that the scouts of
Egan, should they be watching the
desert might not discover him.
Three days' rations were prepared
and several extra rounds of ammuni
tion were placed In his belt. He de
cided to make the trip on foot, his ac
customed mode of traveling, as In
this manner he could scale the rlm
rocks and buttcs and travel where
horses could not go, thus making bet
ter time than If mounted.
In the preparations for the Journey
he had an able assistant In the per
son of Bertha Lyle. Her companion
ship, however, was more valuable to
the trapper than her assistance. lie
had grown accustomed to doing
everything himself and did not feei
safo In depending upon others.
Everything done by Bertha was either
superintended or Inspected by blm, to
his satisfaction and generally to her
f.mbarrassmcnt. Women think thev
know how to do things themselves,
and Bertha was no exception.
But still they did not quarrel. The
man of the desert knew how he want
ed things arranged and the woman
from Erilnburg only desired to please
him. While he was practically a child
of the desert, yet he was intelligent
and had not become one-sided In his
views. He saw the value of woman's
companionship, felt Its Influence and
had often chlded himself since Ber
tha's arrival for permitting bis am
bition to rise in certain directions.
"Calm, my boy," he would say. "You
are only a trapper make your living
In roaming the desert and climbing
the rlmrocks and trapping wild ani
mals and skinning them. She Is re
fined. She Is wealthy. While she Is
thrown In your company under most
unfortunate circumstances, she could
not be otherwise that grateful, she
will always be grateful will regard
you as a preserver and friend, but
nothing more, my boy. Do not build
up false hopes, young man. Remain
within your bounds and you will not
come to grief. So let the matter
drop." -
Thus would reason this man of the
frontier when nature awakened his
heart to love
After making preparations for the
trip he had given Inst ructions tn
Ma companions con rem tug their nc
tlon til his absence, lie suspected
that Itullaii scouts might visit his
abode and Impressed upon his friends
the Importance of not being discov
ered. "1 think this period of Isola
tion Is drnwlur near to a close," he
said. "I expect In the visit of Gen
eral Crook nnd his men not only to
put n stop to Kgnn's deviltry In Mils
country but to see the Isud of Th
Desert reduced to n commoner, and
see the real lord and the lady In
stalled In their proper station."
lint time was limited nnd the dlseu
rlon was cut short by the trapper bid
ding them n warm farewell nnd going
to his quarters fur a short sleep. His
glance, however, wandered to the
luce of Bertha ns he drew the curtain
behind hliu and he saw n flush on her
chock that broiiKht one to his own
that was soon bidden In the dim light
of his own cell like apartments.
As was his custom the trapper
wakened on time, nnd dressed him
self noiselessly to prevent disturbing
the other sleepers. He came forth
quietly and was about to take up the
equipments of his Journey when he
was astonished by finding Bertha
awaiting him.
"You. up too!" ho exclaimed In a
low tone.
"Yes, I wished to speak with you
before you left." she replied. "I had
a dream It Is a foolish thing I
know hut I laid down only for a few
moments, and I hnd such a vivid
dream, and It seemed so real, that I
could not resist telling It to you. Of
course then is nothing In d renins, but
It may put you on your guard theso
mnv be danger you know."
The trapper smiled, yet he fell hla
vanity rise In the fact that one and
such a fair one should feel such an
Interest tn his welfare.
"Does a coyote ever attack n lion
a mountain Hon?" Inquired Bertha.
"No." replied the trapper. "not
single handed; a pack might attack
one under proper conditions If they
were cornered, or hungry and they
thought they might benefit by It with
out too much risk."
"Would one coyote attack moun
tain lion alone?" she asked.
"Hardly. I think." he replied.
"It was a foolish dream, I know,"
she said, "but I will bo brief: I saw
n mountain Hon. such as you caught
In your trap, on a long Journey. It
climbed among the rlmrocks, then
passed along through rnnyons, and
then crossed stretches of the plulns. It
seemed to be very tired, but It wns
Intent on Its trip, nnd plodded on.
Behind It came coyote Just like
the coyotes you capture, except Its
hair wag dark; It was almost blm k
It would trail along the rocks behind
thA lion nH then cut across a near
way and He In wait for the Hon;
then It would skulk away on the ap
proach of the Hun. and follow ftgala(
It kept this up all through the day.
But at night It grew more hold and It
agnln hid behind the rocks on the
trnll. As the lion approached, tired
and leg-weary, the coyote attacked It
from the rear and the Hon turned and
a great fight ensued, and In the midst
of the fight I know It Is foolish, but
It was so exciting my heart leaped
Into my throat and I wakened the
mountain lion changed Into your own
person and the desert coyote assumed
the form of Dan Kollott. and you and
h were In desperate combat among
the rooks and cliffs of the fur away
desert."
"T:-ver fear little Bor Miss Lyle.
Dan Kollott Is surrounded In the
Stone House by Indians and I will be
on my guard against all enemies to
mankind that roam the desert." and
buckling his revolvers about his
waist, and throwing the other equip
ments of his Journey across his shoul
der, ho took her hand and giving It
an assuring clasp, stepped out Into
the darkness, taking ft course to the
southward.
Believing In dreams as a warning
was left with the ancients. Only the
most Ignorant and superstitious In
modern times are alarmed by dreams
that Is, when It corned to a public
acknowledgement. But there are
times when the most Intelligent, even
nowadays, are worried over their
IIummerHluv discovers a fresh track.
dreams on momentous occasions; and
many accept pleasant dreams on such
occasions as good omens and love to
tell them.
WJMle It Is the generally accepted
theory that dreams are not caused
from any of the conditions that con
front us and do not help us out of
our difficulties or warn ub of ap
proaching danger, yet every person
has had a dream to "come true" or
almost true, and this doubtless gives
rise to the inclination to still relate
dreams and fear them or feel elated
over them as they may appear to In
dicate a bad omen or a good one.
Bertha looked forward with alarm
and dread. She Imagined that some
thing terrible would happen. But
under the theory of modern Intelli
gence she would try to disabuse her
mind of evil omens and Imagine that
all would come out right.
The trapper looked upon the mat
ter differently. He thought more
about the dreamer than the dream.
As he picked his way over the plains
and among the rocks, her form be
came more beautiful to him and her
words of friendship echoed and re
echoed In his ears. And while he
did not believe that there was any
significance In dreams, yet he did not
forget the warning of the fair friend,
nnd kept n more guarded lookout for
his safely t linn ever before,
Ills trip so fnr bad been nn une
ventful one. Night ami day ho
pushed on, only sleeping n few hours)
at a time nnd stopping a few minutes
to lunch. The distance now did not
divide hint fur front the fort. It wuh
llio lust evening of his Journey when
h discovered fresh tracks of n horso
which had preceded hlni on the trnll.
The tracks led townrd thi fort nnd
ho concluded that It wn" mndo by
someone going to the fort. Thero
wore no shoes on the an I mill's feet,
but the soldiers frequently pressed
the plains hoiHos Into service, iimt
there was no reason to suspect any
thing out of the ordinary front a mere
horse's track.
But, as the render knows, llnm
titorsley was lionet by one of the most
unscrupulous villains of the plains.
The trapper hnd only used mill nary
cure on his trip from hoiue. while
Kollott had been on the scent like a
hungry wolf. AlthoiiKh compelled to
go long distances out of his way on
account of being mounted, to get
around the numerous walls of rlm
rocks. be had gotten the trapper's
course und wns determined to head
hint off ere he should tench the fort,
nnd kill him to prevent the Lord of
The Desert front receiving nld. H
had no hntred for HnmmerHley, but
he would hnve sacrificed ft bosom
friend to gratify his revengeful spirit.
Ho hnd alrendy discovered the trap
per's approach nnd had preceded him
to ft point near the fort where he ex
pected to hide among the boulders
nnd stop the trapper forever from tho
desert trnll. Hiding his horse In n
gulch In the background he secreted
himself near the trnll nnd wnlted th
appronch of the trapper.
It was lnte at night when Hammers
ley arrived. Hllenlly dragging one
foot after the other, ns was his cus
tom, which gnve him the nppcnrnnro
of being almost exhausted, the young
mnn plodded along In deep medita
tion, not thinking of himself or hl
condition, and fearing no one nt siicn
time of night.
When he was within a few pace
Follett leveled bis revolver nnd when
the trapper npproached within a few
feet of him the scoundrel pulled tho
trigger. But fortunately tho percus
sion enn did not explode. Drawing
his knife hurriedly the would be as
sassin rushed upon his Intended vic
tim front bxhlnd like nn lnfurlntef
tiger. The noise of the hammer of tho
revolver had aroused the trapper from
his meditation and when Kollott
rushed upon him he dropped tho
bundle from his shoulder nnd turning
received bis assnllnnt In nn unexpect
ed manner. He seised the half brood
by the updrawn wrist with one hand
and by the thront with the other and
then hand to hnnd struggle hetwrenr
two of the most determined men of.
the desert followed.
CHAITER XXI.
A Weasel Captive.
"What's up there? Surrender uponr
your lives!"
Th combat between Hammersley
nnd Kollott had reached a point at
which one or tho other must soon
yield. The trapper, fighting on the
defensive, fought desperately, having
released his grasp upon the Cana
dian's thront and drawn his knife.
Hut the half-breed was more desper
ate. With tho Ixrd of the Desert bow"
his enemy, his only hope was In ren
dering such service for Egan that the
latter would accept him Into his band
of marauders, a life that he really
coveted. When the trapper released
his throat he seized tho trapper's
hnnd as It drew the knlfa from tho
sheath and each, now on equal terms,
struggled desperately.
The right hand of each clasped an
ugly knife, while the left of each
held the other's rkht wrist with sr.
vice-like grip. It waK now a question
of strength and physical endurance..
The ono who first wenkened would'
forfeit his life! The trapper would"
not take life wantonly, but would
take It If necessary, and now stirred
to his uttermost only waited the op
portunity to plunge his weapon to
the hilt In his antagonist's breast.
Time and again a half triumphant
smile passed over the dark face of
the half-breed as he thought he saw
the trapper weakening. It was a
battle royal. Neither of theBO men
had ever been defeated In Blngle
combat. One had fought with the
fiercest animals of the desert, and Ihe
other had battled with the blood
thirstiest of men. Both In the prime
of life and possessing unflinching
couragn, such an encounter would
have been a prize-winner In the
arena's of old,
A cat-like movement of the hnlf
breed and the trapper dropped to hie
knee. A sudden lurch and a smile
came over the face of the Canadian
as he thought the battle was about to
end In his favor! But the trappor
waa an firm as the deep-set rocks
about him. He rose like a Samson,,
backed his antagonist against a boul
der by the trail, and grasping the
half-breed'B wrist which held the
murderous knife, until the bones
fairly ground together, he began
slowly to force the point of hla knife
to the Canadian's breast as the latter
began to weaken and give way.
It wa then that tho shout: "What's '
up there? surrender upon your
lives!" came.
General Crook and a squad of
picked scouts had been out on a re
connolterlnc expedition, and while on
their return to the fort had come
upon the combatants, who were too
busily engaged to bear them ap
proach. There was hut one thing to do and
that wag to obey orders. Each at
tempted to explain himself, but tho
stern old soldier ordered theai "for
ward!" and told them they' could ex
plain at the fort.
It was after midnight when they
reached the fort. General Crook had
the two prisoners brought to his
quarters. The half-breed succeeded
In getting the general's ear flrHt. Ho
explained that Martin Lyle, known
as the Lord of the Desert, was be
sieged In hla home by a large band
of Indians and that he had escaped
through their lines and waa on his
way to the fort to ask for relief when
he was assaulted from the roadside -by
the trapper.
(To b Cootlnutd.)