good chance for some easy money. He
needed the papers, however, to ascertain exactly the terms of the will,
and what would be necessary for the identification. He never intended
to go into court, but hoped to either get Waite out of the way, or else
convince him that Christie was the girl, relying on her gratitude for
his profits. When Waite played into his hands by coming to Carson City,
the chance was too good to be lost. I'm not sure he meant to kill him,
but he did mean to have those papers at any cost. Probably you know the
rest--the girl was easy, because she was so ignorant of her parentage,
and nothing prevented Hawley from winning except that Waite got mad and
decided to fight. That knocked over the whole thing."

They were outside now, and the first touch of the cool night air, the
first glance up and down the noisy street, brought Keith to himself,
his mind ready to grapple with the problem of Hope's disappearance. It
seemed to him he had already looked everywhere, yet there was nothing to
do except to continue the search, only more systematically. The
sheriff assumed control--clear headed, and accustomed to that sort of
thing--calling in Hickock and his deputies to assist, and fairly
combing the town from one end to the other. Not a rat could have slipped
unobserved through the net he dragged down that long street, or its
intersecting alleys--but it was without result; nowhere was there found
a trace of either the gambler or his companion.

They dug into saloons, bagnios, dance-halls, searching back rooms
and questioning inmates; they routed out every occupant of the hotel,
invaded boarding houses, and explored shacks and tents, indifferent to
the protests of those disturbed,--but without result. They found several
who knew Hawley, others who had seen the two together passing by the
lighted windows of the Trocadero, but beyond that--nothing. Convinced,
at last, that the parties sought were not alive in Sheridan, and
beginning to fear the worst, the searchers separated, and began
spreading forth over the black surrounding prairie, and by the light of
lanterns seeking any semblance of trail. There was no lack of volunteers
for this work, but it was daylight before the slightest clue presented
itself. Keith, with the sheriff and two or three others, had groped
their way outward until, with the first flush of dawn, they found
themselves at the opening of a small rocky ravine, near the foot
of "Boots Hill." Pee