Keith of the Border

is mind once again active. The eyes of the black man had the patient look of a dog as they watched; ev

le, he ran over the circumstances which had brought him there, putting the situation clear enough for the negro's understanding, with

n wid a gray beard, an' de odder 'bout thirty? Am dat it, Ma

es

far out

sixty

his hands dramatically. "Dat sutt'nly am my

with whom you came he

overcome by

isk?" Keith insisted. "Didn't they kn

git movin'. He didn't 'pear to be 'fraid ob no Injuns; reck'ned dey'd nebber

e so anxious to

, an' 'bout some gal dey wanted ter fin', but I didn't git

Whom do you me

y done call

d at the countenance revealed, with new intelligence. There could be no doubt-it was the face of her who had cared for him so tenderly in that tent at Manassas before the fever came and he had lost consciousness. And that, then, was Willis Waite lying in that shallow grave near the Cimmaron Crossing, and for whose death he had been arrested. 'T was a strange world, and a small one. What a miserable ending to a life like his-a division commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, a Lieutenant-Governor of his State. What strange combination of circumstances could ever have brought such a man to this place, and sent him forth across those

her from despair, and hand over to justice the murderers of her husband. It was up to him alone to accomplish this-no one else knew what he knew, suspected what he suspected. And there was but one way-through escape. To remain there in weak surrender to fate could have but one ending, and that swift and sudden. He

fight you put up at the camp spoiled their game for once, and led to your arrest. They failed to get what was wanted in Carson, and so they trailed the party to the Cimmaron Crossing. Then I got on their track, and fearing the result, they've landed me also. Now the

very much in evidence, his hands g

Jack, I sho' does. I corr

lling to take a

ain't gwine leave yer no mo'. I'se sho' gwi

the walls, carefully n

every log to discover some way out. Just the moment it grows dark enough to slip away without being seen we've got

over to him,

nd," he whispered hoarsely, "back ob de bench, but I co

re i

ere, Mas

eith managed to get a grip next to the black fingers, and the two pressed it up far enough f

"The back part of this building must be set up on piles. I reckon we could pry that plank up with the b

tightly spiked down. Nor did the walls offer any better encouragement. Keith lifted himself to the grated window, getting a glimpse of the world

he perspiration from his face. "Get down there, and work it as loose as you can witho

set it down on the bench without a word, but on his return with supper, the marshal accompanied him, and remained while they ate, talking to Keith, and staring about the room. Fortunately, the single window was to the west, and the last rays of the sun struck the oppo

in' 'bout it, an' so thar wouldn't be no row. He didn't even think thar'd be enny need o' keepin' a special guard ter-night, but I reckon

-rings into the air, heard the heavy clang of the iron bar falling into place across the door, and sat looking into one another's faces

is yere Bart pusson am mighty anxi

t 'Bart pusson' is going to find an empty coop. We'll get out, Neb, just as soon as it gets dark enough. Hicks isn't likely to put on his extra guard for an hour yet, and the 'Red Light' bunc

's eyes s

protested, "dat'd sho' be a hang

ocking out the as

will be the least of my t