s caused the belief
that these letters had been mailed from some small Missouri town, but no
name was mentioned. They were invariably signed "Mary." The only other
paper Keith discovered was a brief itinerary of the Santa Fe trail
extending as far west as the Raton Mountains, giving the usual camping
spots and places where water was accessible. He slipped the papers back
into his pocket with a distinct feeling of disappointment, and lay back
staring up at the little strip of blue sky. The silence was profound,
even his horse standing motionless, and finally he fell asleep.

The sun had disappeared, and even the gray of twilight was fading out
of the sky, when Keith returned again to consciousness, aroused by his
horse rolling on the soft turf. He awoke thoroughly refreshed, and eager
to get away on his long night's ride. A cold lunch, hastily eaten, for a
fire would have been dangerous, and he saddled up and was off, trotting
out of the narrow ravine and into the broad trail, which could be
followed without difficulty under the dull gleam of the stars. Horse
and rider were soon at their best, the animal swinging unurged into the
long, easy lope of prairie travel, the fresh air fanning the man's face
as he leaned forward. Once they halted to drink from a narrow stream,
and then pushed on, hour after hour, through the deserted night. Keith
had little fear of Indian raiders in that darkness, and every stride of
his horse brought him closer to the settlements and further removed from
danger. Yet eyes and ears were alert to every shadow and sound. Once, it
must have been after midnight, he drew his pony sharply back into a rock
shadow at the noise of something approaching from the east. The stage
to Santa Fe rattled past, the four mules trotting swiftly, a squad of
troopers riding hard behind. It was merely a lumping shadow sweeping
swiftly past; he could perceive the dim outlines of driver and guard,
the soldiers swaying in their saddles, heard the pounding of hoofs, the
creak of axles, and then the apparition disappeared into the black void.
He had not called out--what was the use? Those people would never pause
to hunt down prairie outlaws, and their guard was sufficient to prevent
attack. They acknowledged but one duty--to get the mail through on time.

The dust of their passing still in the air, Keith rode on, the noise
dying away in his rear. As the hours passed, his horse wearied and had
to be spurred into the swifter