e into his
back to the hilt.

It was an Indian's revenge. She had given him blood for blood.

Running Bear staggered backward, then suddenly wheeled, caught the knife
from the girl's hand, and was about to plunge it into her, when he fell
forward on his face and lay quite still.

Singing Bird weaved back and forth for a moment, then she, too, sank to
the ground.

When the horror of the sudden tragedy passed from them sufficiently, the
boys rushed to the side of the unhappy couple, but they both were dead.

That was the tragedy of the "Mother Lode Mine" on the upper Missouri,
which became the property of the Moon Valley Company, and which paid
enormously until it worked out, for it was only a pocket, thus putting
an end to the placer mining on the islands farther down the river.

The rest is soon told. Barrows was never heard of again, for he knew
that if he returned to take a court-martial for his misconduct, he would
have fared badly.

That fall the officers at the post sent word to Ted that if his cattle
were for sale they would be glad to buy them at his own figure, so that
his independence in repudiating the first contract was a good thing
after all, for, besides the profits which came from Stella's gold mine,
the herd paid handsomely. But Stella never forgot Singing Bird, whose
gentle life paid the penalty for the greed for gold. Not far from the
mine she was buried, and a stone carved with the story of her death
still marks the place where she was laid to rest.

THE END.

* * * * *

WESTERN STORY LIBRARY

For Everyone Who Likes Adventure.

"Ted Strong's Contract" is the title of the next volume in the
Western Story Library, No. 43, a story of wild adventure in the
far West written by Edward C. Taylor.

Ted Strong and his band of bronco-busters have most exciting adventures
in this line of attractive, big books, and furnish the reader with an
almost unlimited number of thrills.

If you like a really good Western cowboy story, then this line is made
expressly for you.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TED STRONG IN MONTANA***

******* This file should be named 19951.txt or 19951.zip *******

This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/9/5/19951

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editi