St. Joseph County Independent, Volume 17, Number 18, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 21 November 1891 — Page 3

ROYAL RANGER RALPH; The Waif of the Western Prairies. BY WELDON J. COBB. CH IPTEK fV. THE PURSUIT. On and on with the speed of the wind J dashed the two horses, bearing in flight to safety the intrepid Darrel Grey and ; the courageous and lovely Inez Tracey. I Before them, mile after mile, spread ; the broad, level prairie, in places like an emerald carpet dotted with spangles of flowers of the rarest hue and beauty, and again grown high with rank, heavy grass. The horses they ro lo were rapid travelers, and within an hour, as they glanced backward, they saw no sign of I their pursuers. “Your enemies have either abandoned | the chase, or the long grass hides them,” I remarked Darrel, as he allowed the horses to proceed more s owly and glanced over the fair moonlit picture spread before them, and then at the girl at his side. Darrel Grey had led an adventurous life and had seen many fair women in [ many climes, but, ho confessed, as be | gazed at the lovely creature who was his companion in flight, none so beauti- i ful as Inez Tracey. Perhaps it was the novelty and excitement of the ; r situation; perhaps it was because two earnest, ingenuous spirits had met and recognized a magnetic congeniality in youth and beauty; but at all events, as their eyes met, love became mutual though unexpressed Inez Tracey found an interested listener in Darrel Grey, when sho briefly related her past and the events that had culminated in the adventure of the night. In return, Darrel told her who he was—a surveyor sent West on business. He had become fascinated with a wild Western life, and had for some years been engaged in the law and mining business in California. He was about to return East in a few ■weeks, and quite by accident had come to the little station at Ten Spot, crossing thither in a stage coach from a mining settlement located in the mountains that day. Darrel briefly related the episode of the wounded messenger, and modestly referred to his adventure at the trestle. The deep blue eyes of Inez Tracey looked into his own, as she listened breathlessly to his story of the attempted signal to the train. “We have been proceeding aimlessly, : thinking only of evading our foes,” said Darrel, finally. “I am, In a measure, unacquainted in this locality except at the mining camps in the hills.” “I wished to reach Miner’s Gulch, if possible,” said Inez, “but 1 am at a loss to locate it.” “Then you have been here before?” asked Darrel. . “Yes; T ca.m« to soo mV father about —tmwiiiaittwa week when I received a letter directing me to come here, and th it a friend of my dead father would meet and care for me. ” “And this man whom you call Despard —he is a re'ative, you say?” inquired Darrel, curiously. “A very distant one of my father, who never liked him and warned ire against him Last summer he met me at a summer resort, whither our tea hers had taken us for a week’s vacation. I had met him at my Sather’s ram h. be yond Miner’s Gulch, and I never liked him. He annoyed me with his att nvons, and le t m » very angry when I avoided h m, and told him finally that I did not wish to continue the acquaintance, for I receiv d a letter from my father warning m: aga nst him, and telling m ■ th t Dyke Despard was plotting against him and myseif, and that he was a re’ ezade and an outlaw. “And since then?” asked Darrel. “I have never met him until to-night, when you heard what he said, and know that he must have some deep object in preventing my going to the Gu’ch.” “Then he will be disappoint 1 for once, Miss Tracey. ” said Darrel; “for we can find the place by morning. Ch, it just occurred to me! You say you expected a friend to meet you at the depot?” “Yes; an old friend of my father: a man who has been known in this region for years as a scout. His name is Ranger Ralph. ” “I have heard of him. Do you know him—that is, well enough to recognize him from description?” “I have not seen him since I was a child. Ido not think I would. Why do you ask?” “Because I have an idea that these horses belong to him, and that he is the man who to'd me first of the trainwreckers. If this is so, the hones probably came f-om Miner’s Gnlch. and wo win allow them to proceed their own way. They may lead us to tho - ry 1 place to which you desire to go.” Darrel loosened the rudely improvised bridle and allowed the steeds to take their own course. They now began to leave the prairie and finally entered a canyon, fol.owing the course of a little stream. “There seems to be a regular trail here,” said Darrel. “I believe we are on the right road at last, Miss Tracey.” “You are taking a great deal of trouble for me,” murmured Inez, gratefully. “What! in running away from the outlaw myself to a place of safety?” laughed L’arrel, banteringly. “No, no; we were paiVhers in peri, at the railroad train, and but for you I might have remained and been killed as it is, as soon as I have placed you out of danger, I will return and learn the fate of those who were attacked by the train wreckers. ” As they rode on, however, Darrel wished that such charming companionship could last always. The dawn had come while they were riding through the canyon. It was scarcely distinguishable from the moonlight as yet, but soon they knew the full day would break, enabling them more accurately to determine their whereabouts. J That the horses were leading them direct to Miners’ Gulch Darrel did not doubt; but a new discovery soon caused the faithful animals to come under the guidance of Darrel again. For at a point where the canyon divided into several'minor branches, the girl startled him with a low cry of alarm.

“What Is it?” asked Darrel quickly. “Look!” He repeated her own ejaculation of concern, as the advancing daylight showed an obstacle to their onward progress down the main canyon. Coming rapidly toward them from the direction in which they were going were four horsemen. They were some distance away, but as Inez shuddered and paled”, her escort knew that, like himself, she had recognized the leader of the quartette “It is Despard and his men!” she gasped, in tones of horror and alarm. “I fear so, Miss Tracey.” “And they are coming straight toward us. Oh, what shall we do!” Darrei Grey had taken a revolver | from his belt and a determined look came into his face. i “Drive the horses around the rocks yonder so you will be sheltered, ” he said, as he prepared to dismount. A trembling hand detained his own. “No, no! Mr Grey, you must not meet these men, they are armed and desperate, and four to one ” “1 see no way except to meet and repel them,” said Darnel, stanchiy; “these men have not come across us again by accident. ” i “By design?” “Evident.y. They know the country I and knew we would probably come this ' way, and have intercepted us by reaeh- । ing the canyon here in advance of us.” “Are we discover d?” j “They cannot but have seen us. Miss I Tracey, I beg oi you to obey me, and i leave me here alone.” “But your peril—for my sake!” “I will not invite any unnecessary risk, i Ride as rapidly as you can down one of i the side canyons, and do not wait for me nor delay on my account. 1 will cover your escape and, once satisfied you are out of danger of recapture, will rejoin you unless you reach the gulch before I do so.” Darrel cut loose the connecting strip of lasso as he spoke. Inez cast an anxious, longing glance at her brave protector “Heaven g ant you may not be forced to meet Despard ami his men!” sho breathed fervently. “Fly!” spoke Darrel, excitedly. He cou d see that the horsemen down the canyon were winding in and out the rocks as rapidly as they could, and would soon reach the spot where he was. Darrel dismounted and led the horse toward the shelter of a small c ump of high, thick bushes Then he hi self sole-ted a place of I espionage and defense behind some rocks. The four riders came into view as he ! cast a qu ck glance down the canyon wheie Inez had gone. To his surprise he could observe no trace of her. “She mu t have reached some diverg- : ing gulch and have pursued a new ' coune," i.e decided. “At all events, she I is not in sight for the bandits to dls- | cover ” Darrel ie-o ved to force no encounter l with the latter unless necessity demandj ed it: for his single revolver would be a poor match for the full accouterments of : his enemies The hoofs of horses rang out sharply , on the ch ar morning air, and iho qua: - ’ j tette roundel the last of the rocks] which had temporarily shut out a view . “Nowhere in sight, Despard." spoke . one of the mon. - ••wm cruiny saw them here,” remarked Danton. “Then they have taken the side canyons,” spo .e Despard. I anton laughed triumphantly. “They are our game if they have.” he said hy so?” asked one of the men. “Because every last one of them cuds in a blank wall.” Darr”! Grey, from his place of concealment, started violently. “What shall we do, Captain?” asked | one of the men of Despard “Divide. Here are f ur of these side canyons Down on • of them our people have certainly gone.” “They are nowhere in sight.” “They could have gone nowhere else Let each man follow one of these side branches and signal when ho discovers them.” “They will be found, never fear," said ; ] Danton. “They th night to escape, but i they are in a trap this time. Hold on, Vance ” . ' The man he had addressed had started ’ his horse toward the side canyon down i which Inez had disappeared a few mo ments before “Why, what’s the matter?’’ ’ ’ “You needn’t sear h that pass.” « “Not search it?’’ ■ j “No. ” 5 “Why not?” “It would be no use. and dangerous to । yourself. That is Quicksand Gully. ” । “I never heard of it before,” said > Vance. “That’s because you don't know the r country as I do. The man who rides * into the shifting sands at the end ot that gul y never comes out again. ” । : The heart of the horrimd watcher be 1 hind the rocks stood still. An appal ed sense of peril overwhelmed the startled Darrei Grey. “Quicksand Gully! Great heavens!” he gasped wildly. “t an this be true? The , quicksands! Is that the meaning of the sudden disappearance of Inez Tracey?” chaptfr v THE Ip H KSASM. “Help!” Th" cry rang out wild and alarmed, but it met no responsive echo from the gloomy depths of Quicksand Gully. It emanated from the lii sos Inez Tracey, and announced precisely the peril to which Danton had alluded—the quicksands! When Inez had left Darrel Grey she • started down the side canyon, satisfied that to delay or disobey her brave proi tector would be only to enhance her own peril and t > obstru t his movements ; against their enemies. I “When he sees I am at a safe distance ■ he will fol ow me, and a conflict with > Despard and his men may be avoided,” , murmured Inez hopefully. s The horse she rode made rapid prog- • ress, but when she came to a point wher ■ the road bed of the gully nar I rowed and descended, th ■ animal seemed ■ loath to pro -ced It was with difficulty that sho induced ! the steed to pro reed, and. when he did i so, she noticed that h's footing was in- ■ secure and that there seemed no outlet I beyond the narrow cut she had cni . tered. A little stream seemed to lose its way by a sinuous course around a sharp ■ curve in her path, and, hopeful that ; beyond that the canyon might widen I again, Inez urged the horse over a sandy s stretc iof soil. i Above her the ledges of rocks frowned i down ominously, and she felt a vague I sense of uneasiness, as once or twice the horse came to a dead stop and

neighed and trembled with a strange terror she could not comprehend. At last his fore feet sank deep in the sand; he made a desperate effort to lift his hoofs, aud then, stumbling, came to a second stop, panting with fright and inability to proceed. “This is strange,” murmured Inez, concernedly. “The horse must be exhausted with the long drive.” Her face became white as marble the next moment, however. Sho had giade a sudden discovery, so startling and appalling that a low cry of dread escaped her lips. “The horse is sinking!” Merciful heavens! I understand now!” sho gasped. “We aro in the quicksands!” . For a single moment tho thought paralyzed every energy. She saw the bore flounder and try to free himself vainly, she felt tho shifting sands incase her own feet, and then sho made a desperate effort at escape. A blank despair settled down over her mind as she did so. BehinU and on all sides ot her tM dawning day showed plainly tho full extent of her awful peril. A sickening dread puo»o Sße rt her, and her eyes closed in prayer as th oy fell upon the changing mass of sand, to step upon which meant to ensnare heis^/ more deeply in its grasp. “Help!" B One single cry for aid, one last pray& to heaven, and Inez Tracey resign^ herself to a fate that seemed inevitable*# Meanwhile, in tho main canyon, Des*, pard and his men were searching ever^ poo c and corner in the branch gullies for tho missing girl and her companion. The latter, Darrel Grey, knew but one impulse as he recalled the terriblewords of \ ance. Inez Tracey had rode on to peril, perhaps to death itself, and he knew that every moment of delay might bo fatal to tho devoted life of the girl ho was fast learning to love. He could not secure tho horse and leave the spot unpercelvcd, however, for Despard and his men were in the vicinity. Tuere was only one way to gain tho side guily, down which Inez Tracey had disappeared. This wa; to crawl along the ground, and, roa lung the dense undergiowth which abounded in the place, reach tho o ige of the roadway, ascend tho deep side of the canyon which was not high at this point, and drop down on tho other side. This Darrel started to do at once, and suce- eded so far that five minutes later, with some few bruises, ho dropped into Quicksand Gully. His gait was a rapid one as ho sped down the gully, taking the same course followed by Inez a few moments previously. A cry of mingled hope and suspense bro i« from his lips as ho turned a point in tho gully which enabled a view of tho stream. Across tho treacherous sandy bottom of th-- guily he saw the missit g girl. Tho her o had sunk deep into tho shifting sands, and held the animal Mid its rider secure prisoners. “Inez.! Miss Tracey.” cried Darrol, in agl ate I tones. A glad cry broke from the ips of tho ] imperiled girl. Darrel comprehended the situation at a glance. Ho .new that to rush toward# I be Ui ' He therefore UcgauW i of rocks by the side oftho p ae', eag> ] scanning tho ground as he did so ' Thon, with his hunting knife, he c | a long length of heavy trailing vino “Do not despair." he cried down U> I Inez, as he caned over the edge of tho j rocks “I am about to lower a vine to i you, seize it. and hold firmly to it" The girl grasped tho extended means ]of escape a minute later With prodig* | ions strength. nerved by love and cour age, Darrel Grey pullel at the other o. d He thrilled with w d delight as ho observed that the effort freed Inez fr<>m the encroaching -and she clutched at the shrubs on the roeay wa I as she began to ascend. “Thank heaven, you are safe!" It was a wild, grateful aspiration i that os aped Darrel’s lips, a- he ihled . Inez over tho le Ige and felt her soft ' clinging touch, and saw tho light of lovo and devotion in her grateful eyes 'rhe h rse. relie veil of the weight of i(- rider. : made one last effort t > fro • hitnsoif, floundered and turned Then with a wild neigh of delight at escape the steed da-hed down the cany, n road in the direction whence it had coinn |TO HE CONTINUED ] Foolish ne of Bhrrp “No animal that walks on four leg; is as big a fool as a sheep,” says a sheep-raiser. “We have to watch them every minute, and if vigilance is re axed for an instant the entire flock is likely to practically commit suicide. , In handling most animals some degree of self help or intelligence can be re lied on to aid the owner in saving their lives, bit sheep set deliberately to work to kill themselves. If caught in a storm on the plains they will drift before the wind and die of cold and exposure rather than move 10J yards to windwaid to o'tain shelter in their corral. To drive sheep against ths wind is absolute!v impossible. I on<^ not drive them to a corral not 21)0 feet away. In the corral they are still more foolish. If a storm comes up they all move ’ down wind ’ until stopped by the fence. Thea begins the proceeding ;o much dreaded bv | sheepmen, known as ‘ piling.’ The ' sheep will climb over ea h other’s backs until they are heaped up ten feet high. Os conr/e all those at the bottom are smo hered. Not one has i sense enough to seek shelter under tho lee of the fenc?, as a horse or a dog would do. Again, if a sheep gets into a quicksand its into teaches nothing to those that come immediately after, but the whole flock will follow its leader to destruction. No more exasperatingly stupid brute than a sheep walks.’ Aetv York Tribune. When the time conics for us to wake out of the dreams of the world’s sleep, why should it be otherwise than out of dreams o the night? Singing of birds, first broken and low. as, not to ‘dying eyes,” but to eyes that wake to lif< “the casement slowly grows a glimmer- , ing square,” and then the gray, and then the rose of dawn; and last the light, whose going forth is to be the ends of the heaven — liutsklii. The difference between an ordinary balloon and a “flying machine” is that the former does ascend and the latter does not.

ROYAL RANGER RALPH; The Waif of the Western Prairies, BY WELDON J. COBB. ( CHAPTER V—Continued. pt,or animal has es taped,” breathed Inez. “It means danger to us.” Danger to us?” l. . X OB, Ltespard will seo tho horse and tnlnk we aro hero. ” Inez looked distressed dare not return to tho main canyon, and wo will bo found if he and his mon come this way. ” “What shall wj do?" Darrel surveyed their situation critically. Mo observed that across the little sir am tho canyon seemed to afford a largo number of secure hitMig-p aces. “Beyond the quieksands yonder wo might cross tho river,” ho said. . “Will l.Ot Despard follow us there?" * un,,, M... .»■•«< win be a birrier.” “And ho u ay think we have perished in the quicksand-i. ” “X’os; wo can at least conceal ourSo ves for a tintx ” They traversed the lodge to tho verge of tho stream. It was shallow at one place, and lifting tim u rl in his arms Dar.el forded it in safety. Just as they reached tho opposite shore an ominous shout echoed down tho valley. “Do you hoar that?” asked Inez in a terrified tone. “Yes. ” “It is Despard and his men.” “Probably. We will go farther down tho stream. See! there seems to bo some kind of a eave yonder.” A few minutes later they reached a large cavern like aperture in tho rocks. Here they stood silently for some minutes, watching the stream and the quieksands beyond and awaiting developments. They camo a few minutes later Suddenly, some distance away, several forms came into view. “Despard and his men,” murmured Darrei. “They will discover us.” “No. Retreat into tho cave where they will not s e you. ” Inez, diii so and Darrel, observing that the outlaws were nearing tho spot, followed her. The cave seemed to have been occu- : pled hy some human being at some time, for it boro marks of habitation in the i ashes of a tire and several broken Indian arrows. Darrel looked back from Its shadows toward the quicksands. He could observe the outlaws without ] boina seen, and saw them pause as th 'y reached tho quicksands. Despard seemed to converse in an , oni nous manner with his associates. Theo Um uMaituUe reUeaUid from tho » ... ler a- -fin sate,' ho spoke to In -t I. “I ndiscuv< red; supposed be engulfed I in the quicksands ” & A nttdJon ■r» "t a arm tr-nn tn. ? In terriipU'd him. i “We are lost!" she cried, wildly. Darrel Grey turned to fam a new and * terrible peril. G vwering upon them : with ravenous, fiery eyes, there appeared nt he entrance of the eave thioe i enormous panthers. CH AI*I F.K I I. IS IHK CAVE. The truth camo to the mind "f l’arrel I Grey In a moment of time, as he faced the new foes which s> strangely con- , fronted him. “A panther’s den," he mutt-red trimly. | "Quick, Ine-! Miss Tia y, get behind I me. ” With alow cry of dismay and dread I the girl glided to the side of the cave The panthers had aivameiiso as to , ; rover the entire exit from the cave, and i rouclifng there, they g ar d ferociously at the startled intruders Darrel saw that a terrific combat with 1 the infuriated brutes was imminent, and ‘ ' quickly drew hi- knife and placed bimi se f on the defen-he, Inez, shuddering and shrinking be- । hind hi n, stood asdnated at the u-rrlble j pose of their new foea For the next few mom mts the scene was one of intense int r st and silence. ■ broken only by the low, ominous growi- ' ing of the panthers. i Slowly, steadhy they began toclr ’ e ' toward their intended victims, their ] fangs showing hideously, their eyes giarb«g with horrible ferocity Suddenly one of them made a spring. , i It was only to receive a shot from the ■ revolver which Darrel had drawn ' । Tho weapon contained but one carti ridge. As he notice J that the bullet had i barely wounded the beast, but driven It j to a l< mporary retreat, Darrel flung the i revolver to the ground ’ Thon, alone and a med only with the unite, he sto > I at bay. g* Again the tierce brutes croucUud lor a ring This time one of them sprang boldly upon Darrel ■ The others circled around close at the , 1 side of the large animal, while Darrel 1 p ie;l th- vigorously. | In "Z had recoiled In terror as sho witI ue-sed the attack of th' panther. As her foot stumbled over swine object on ; th ‘ ground she seized it. “An ax,” she murmured, “left hero by ' some hunter or Indian. 1 can help him' now. ” She summoned all her courage as she saw that Darrei Grey was engaged in a ’ terrible struggle with the panther. Tho ax in her hand, the intrepid girl hasten- ! e l to the aid of her imperiled friend I Tho three | authors now entirely surrounded Darre , harassing him on every side. Inez, lifted the ax. It descend il with all the fore of her frai arm upon tho head of one of the attacking animals. That strengih, however, was sufficient to se«d tho panther to the ground with a howl of pain. Sho fol- ] lowed up the attack. One of the panthers had already been dispatched by Darre'. and lay dying on the floor of the . cave. A second blow of the ax killed one of tho remaining ones, but the larger animal clung to Darrel, endeavoring to tear ] his face and hands The knife de- | scended at last in a vital spat of the ' panther’s frame, and it fell dying at Darrel’s feet. It was all he cou'd do to stagger to the , I open air, weak with tho loss of blood ] i and exhausted from the terrible struggle ! I Ui the cave. j

Inez bent over him with anxious, solicitous eyes. “You are not seriously injured?" she asked, in a tremulous tone. “No; only a few trifling bruises.” Within half an hour Darrel was fully recuperated. “We will try to leave the gully,” he said. “By the way wo came?” inquired Ine'.. “No; I fear our enemies might be in the vicinity of the canyon.” “But there seems to be no outlet this way. ” “Then we will remain here until night. ” It was late in tho afternoon when they gained a narrow gulch which they found led into the main canyon. Two hours later, just at dusk, after traveling cautiously for some miles, they came out on a plateau A mile beyond them x the lights of a village showed plainly. “Miner’s Gulch, at last!” remarked Darrel. They descended toward the settle-

ment, but paused as at tho edge of an intervening thicket they heard human voices in the distance. “Remain here for a few minutes,” spoke Darrel. “It may be our enemies yonder. ” Ho penetrated the thicket by a wide detour and reconnoitered for some time. Despard and Danton wore conversing near a largo tree, while their two comrades were at some distance. Sheltered by the darkness and the dense foliage, Darrol could distinctly overhear their conversation. “We had better leave here at once, ” Despard was saying. “Wo lost two of our men at the train, but tho girl’s fate is settled. ” “Yes, that is certain.” “Wo have learned one disastrous fact, however, our worst enemy has escaped. ” “Bangor Ralph?” “Exactly. Ho is at tho village yonder, wounded but ready to give us trouble as i soon as he recovers We will get the horses and leave. Then for the fortune to which I am now s >le heir. Wo are ’ Ranger Rube’s two liorscs ahead any- | way.” Darrel crept from tho spot at these words. Ho reached a place a minute later where six horses were tied. Two of them he recognized as the same ones that had borne Inez and himself to safety. The bandits had evidently found them in the canjon. Darrel se- : cured them and b'vgan to lead them I toward the spot where he had 1 ft Ino', by a circuitous route. Suddenly he starte 1. A wil'd scream of a arin echoed | through tho silence of tho scene. “Hor voice! Sho is in trouble again. I Oh, why did I leave her!” ejaeu ated ' Darre’, wildly. He urged forward the horses, having

10-t much t me in endeavoring to evade the outlaws. He reached tho spot where ho had loft Inez. Sho was gone! His eye swept tho scene beyond he thick t. Some distance away he . de : out a body of horsemen driving rapidly i I toward Iho h’Ha 1 rom their midst a second scream for help confirmed Darnd’s worst fears. Inez Tracey was again a prisoner in tho i l»au<G of h -r enemies. For a moment he determ’ned to start In immed ate pursuit As he realized i hi« ip armed condition, how ver, 1.0 -aw ; th*’ <»f «»i< li an 'iHiJny ti» N Inir “I will hasten t<> the villa:<■ y nd< r." he decided; “secure he p. and rtart in immediate pursuit of those scoundrels.” ] Leading on' h >rso and riding the oth« r. i arrel Grey ha<t 'nod towards Um : settlement. He did not pause until h? 1 ha I reacho I a tavern b fore whl h stood , a do cn mon ovitodh discussing some; event, evidently of recent occurr' > ncc. He caught the words “train wickers” and “Banger Ralph” several t mes. “Helio, the e!” he cried, without dis- : m Hinting, “t an 1 speak to some of I you?" Hl-lu'cnt on was to arouse tho mon to instant pursuit of 1 espa;d. Before h ■ could speak, how. ver, one of the men*] -prang to th" head of the horses and I seized the bridle. ■WI ere di i you get those horses?” he i demanded, gru.liy “1 found them " “You did, eli? Il’ys, our game has ’ come into camp by mistake ” “What do you mean?” demanded tho ■ astonished Darrel. “You know well enough. Down with I him, b»ys. Iler ’s a case for Judge Lyncii. for these are Bangor Ralph's horses, and this man is one of the train I wreckers " Without being able to speak a word in > defei>s<> amid the angry, excited crowd, Darrel Grey was dragged to the nearest tree. “A rope! A rope!” shouted the loader of the throng “One moment! You aro leaking a j terrible mistake. lam no thief or train wrecker." “Oh, no, of cour o not!” jeered the i crowd. “Send for Ranger Ralph. He is here. A-k him if he knows me.” “He is wounded—dying, for all we > know. He’s one of them, boys He's i the very man the depot agent de- . scribed. ” Ami.! that mail, unreasonable crowd Darrel Grey struggled vainly. It seemed j all some terrible dream as the rope en- I circled h s n ck and was thrown over the i limb of a tree. “Up with him, boys!” shouted the | leader of the men. j ihe next moment with a choking, i blinded sensation, Darrel Grey felt him-I self dangling between heaven and earth, i < HAI’TEK VII. AT MIXERS’ GULCH. “Hold!” Ami i the confusion and horror of his ! supreme moment of peril, Darrel Grey ] was dimly conscious that this word was pronounced in a tone that rfirilled him j with iami iar accents. Then, too, in the Hare of a tor h ear- ! ; ried by a man n ar the tree from which I I he hung suspendeff, th.Aform of a new- I i comer on the s ene was vaguely visible. | j “Cut him down!” “He's a lioss thief, Ranger Ralph.” “Cut him down, 1 say!” “An - a train-wrecker. He answers the | i very description ” “Os the depot agent, who thought this I j one was in with the outlaws. This man j wasn t; I know him.” The rope was quickly slacked. Darrel ‘ : fell in a heap to the ground, living, but ] insensible. The man who had saved his life spoke peremptorily to the lynchers. “Now get him to my cabin and take care of him, and don't make any mis- | takes next time,” he remarked. । It was Banger Ralph who thus inter- ; posed in so timely a manner in behalf.of I his acquaintance of the Ten Spot depot, i j Ho had returned to Miners’ Gulch that

afternoon, still, suffering from the wound in the head the cowardly Dyke Despard had dealt him. Several time* its effects had driven him to his couch, and it was only by the mer st accident that, in a moment of temporary recuperation, he had wandered to the scene of the hanging. Thus it was that, in less than an hour 1 after the recapture of Inez Tracey by the bandits, Darrel Grey awoke to find himself an inmate of Ranger Ralph’s cabin. His senses were bewildered, his brow fevered, his neck and body in pain from his rough experience with the lynchers. Gradually, however, he realized it all, and recognized the man who sat by his side holding a cup of liquor in his hand. “Drink it, lad. It’s got some roots and herbs in it that have made a new man ot me already. ” Darrel obeyed him, and thou sat up on the couch of skins, staring mutely at the scout. “The man I saw at the depot?” “The same ” “Who told me about the train wreck-

ers?” “Yes, stranger; Ranger Ralph, that’s me, and lucky for you I strolled down to the tavern a little wliile ago.” Darrel’s hand went involuntarily to his'nock and he shuddered. “They tried to hang me,” he said huskily. “Yes, and almost succeeded. ” “And you saved me?” “In the nick of time, lad. There, you're getting back your color already. It was all a miserable mistake. ” “The lynching?” “Yes. The people are so excited over tho train robbery that they act impulsively. ” “Th i train robbery!” ejaculated Darrel. “Tell mo about It. ” “They beat off the robbers and kiWed two of the out'aws. They pursued tho others to the norths and the vigilantes are after them now. ” “To tho north?” repeated Darrel, disappointedly. “They have gone fn tho wrong direction. ” “How do you know?” “IJust left their trail.” “You!” excla med the scout, In tonss of the deepest amazement and interest. “Not two hours since It was io warn tho pe >ple here to hasten in pursuit of them that I came to tho tavern.” Ranger Ralph’s face became serious. “It’s too late now,” he muttered. “Which way did they go?” “To the east. ” “Tow ard their Indian allies. The trail will be lost among f the hills. See he»e, stranger—let mo see; what is your I name?” i “Darrel Grey." “Well, friend Darrol—for you’ve acted ! the friend to mo in bringing back my horses —I’ve a question to ask you.” “What is it?”

“There "’%s a deep motive for wrecking the railroad train at Ten Spot.” “I know it." Tho scout started. “You do?” “Yes." “What was it?” “First, robbery; next, to secure possession of a beautiful orphan heiress, a distant relative to the leader of tho band. Dyke Dospard—lnez Tracey.” Banner Ralph regarded Darrol in profound bewilderment. His face became intensely anxious and excited. “Then you saw the girl?” ho asked. “I did I.t't mo t«d) my story, and you will know all about it." Briefly, graphically, Darrel related all j that had happened to him since Le‘had left the scout at the railroad station. Ho found an Interested listener in Banger Ralph, and when he had con- ! eluded his recital, the latter grasped his hand heartily. “Darrel Grey.” he said, in tones husky with emotion, “you have done me a great service in protecting the poor orphan child fate threw in your way.. She was the object of my coming to the depot I am her father s oldest friend, and her own; while her enemies! —they aro numerous and desperate. Theue's a fortune beyond it. and Dyke Despard is determined to secure it ” “Ho shall not if I can prevent him!” cried Darrel, with flashing, determined eyes “HaJ” cried the scout, as he read the । enthusiasm of courage and the promptings of love in Darrel's handsome face. “I think 1 understand you: Inez Tracey has capture 1 your heart a^ she did mine | when she was a baby girl. What is it, | friend Darrol? Du we abandon tho fortune and the girl to that renegade ami assassin. Dyke Despard?” I “Never!” “No, never!” cried the ranger, “until > his blood has w ashed out the cowardly blow he gave me last night. I don't know you, except that you are a true, earnest man: but I'd rather have you aid me in hunting down Despard and recovering the girl Inez than all the vigilantes in the settlement” “Then it is a compact?” asked Darrel eagerly “Yes." [to be continued.] Th n and Now. A magazine published in Philadelphia in 1818 gave the following as an item of news: “In the course of the ; twelve months of 1817, 12,U00 wagons I passed the Allegheny Mountains from Philadelphia and Baltimore, each with i from four to six horses, carrying from ! thirty-five to forty hundred weight. The cost of cariiage was- about $7 per hundred-weight, in some cases as high ] as $lO, to Philadelphia. The aggregate sum paid for the convey nee of , goods exceeded $1,500,000.” To move a ton of f eight between Pittsburg and i Philadelphia, therefore, cost not less than $l4O, and took probably two i weeks’ time. In ISB6, the average i amount received by the Pennsylvania road for the carriage of freight was ; three-quarters of one cent per ton per. ] mile. Ihe distance from Philadelphia to Pittsburg is 385 miles, so that the ton which cost SAO in 1817 was i carried in 1880 for $2.87. At the former time the workingman in Philadelphia had to pay sl4 for moving a barrel of flour from Pittsbugh, against twenty-eight cents now. The Pittsburg consumer paid $7 freight upon every 100 pounds of dry goods brought from Philadelphia, while 100 pounds is now hauled in two daw at a cost of fourteen cents. — Scientific American. Irene— Do you mean to say Maud is going to marry that ugly, fat old man who took her out to supper just now ? Laura—That’s what everybody says. “ W hat a bitter pill he must, be!” “No, he's sugar-coated. He is a wealthy confectioner.”