d strangely, saying he
had received orders to go at once to Ripley on the stage; that he might
be gone several days. There was nothing about all that to startle a
soldier's daughter, but Dupont kept his hand on my father's arm, urging
him to hurry. The actions of the man aroused my suspicions. I knew my
father was acting paymaster, and I could perceive the outlines of a
leather bag bulging beneath his overcoat. If this contained money,
then I grasped Dupont's purpose. My plan of action occurred to me in a
flash--I would accompany him until--until he was safely in the stage,
and find opportunity to whisper warning. I remember asking him to wait
a moment for me, and rushing to the cloak room after my coat. But when
I returned they were gone. I ran out into the street, but they were
not to be seen; they had not gone toward the stage office, for the
lights revealed that distance clearly, and they had had no time in
which to disappear within. With the one thought that Dupont had lured
my father out of sight for purposes of robbery, I started to run down
the little alley-way next the hotel. I know now how foolish I was, but
then I was reckless. It was dark and I saw and heard nothing to warn
me of danger. It was in my mind that my father had been lured on to
the open prairie behind the hotel. Suddenly I was seized roughly, and
a cloth whipped over my face before I could even scream. I heard a
voice say: 'Damned if it ain't the girl! What will we do with her?'
and then Dupont's voice answered gruffly: 'Hell, there ain't anything
to do, but take the little hussy along. She 'd queer the whole game,
an' we 've got an extra horse. They jerked me forward so roughly, and
I was so frightened that--that I must have fainted. At any rate I
remember nothing more distinctly until we had crossed the river, and I
was on horseback wrapped in a blanket, and tied to the saddle. Some
one was holding me erect; I could not move my arms, but could see and
hear. It was dark, and we were moving slowly; there were two Indians
ahead, and a white man riding each side of me. They thought me
unconscious still, and spoke occasionally; little by little I
recognized their voices, and understood their words."

Her voice broke into a sob, but the Sergeant's eyes were still gazing
vigilantly out over the snow-clad hills.

"It is hard to tell the rest," she said finally, "but I learned that it
was not robbery, but the betrayal of trust. M