: The body had
been carried away in the direction of Shanty Town; a white man would
have taken so much trouble, not an Indian, who would have left his
handiwork for all to see. And again, when Shanty Town was searched, one
of the huts was found to contain evidence of late occupancy--scraps of
food that were not yet stale, and, in a rusty stove, fresh coals. But
though the coulee, the road, the prairie and the timber edging the river
were all faithfully scanned, one thing concerning the murderer's doings
remained a mystery. At Shanty Town, the traces of him began and ended.
But how had he reached Shanty Town?

Old Michael furnished the clue of time. He related how he had heard the
crack of a gun to the eastward the previous evening, "about th' ind av
th' furst dog-watch."

Captain Oliver stayed until the last rod had been travelled and the last
stone turned. Then, he was ferried to Brannon. On landing, he went at
once to the wife of his colonel, who had vacated her home when the
command left and was now living with Mrs. Martin at Major Appleton's.

"Mrs. Cummings," he said, "the old man on the Bend is missing. It looks
like murder. His two girls are left, orphaned and heart-broken. They
need a woman's comfort, ma'am. Will you not go to them, and will you
find a woman to stay with them for a few nights?"

"Oh, how very sad!" exclaimed that lady; then, turned away as if
suddenly perplexed. "I--I--really don't care to go myself," she went on,
when she had given his request a moment's thought. "I know these country
people--so touchy and taciturn, always ready to think one is patronising
them."

"_One_ usually is," retorted the captain, sharply. "Then, I must ask
somebody else?"

"One of the troopers' wives would probably be glad to go."

"You are evidently quite mistaken regarding these young women," declared
Oliver, with some heat. "Mrs. Oliver will think differently."

"Really, I haven't thought of them," she answered petulantly. "But why,
may I ask, don't they come to the post?"

"They prefer to stay in their own little home. In their present trouble
and grief, it is particularly dear to them--would be to anyone."

"I think it odd, Captain, that they should choose to stay over there
alone. Can--can they be--eh--quite nice?"

"Madame," replied Oliver, sternly, "they wish to do what would please
their father; they wish to be independent."

"Ah!" Mrs. Cummings threw up her head.

"And let me say that I hearti