He was evidently seeking to
reach the mining district, where, among men as reckless as himself, he
hoped to evade the officers of law.
Manning lost no time in following up the clew he had obtained in
Minneapolis, and so, purchasing a ticket for Bismarck, he was soon
thundering on his way to the Missouri river. At Brainerd, at Fargo in
Minnesota, and at Jamestown in Dakota, during the time when the train
had stopped for some necessary purpose, he had made inquiries, and at
each place was rewarded by gleaning some information, however
fragmentary, of the fugitive. He was therefore assured that he was upon
the trail, and that unless something unforeseen occurred, he would
sooner or later overtake the object of his pursuit.
On the following day Manning arrived at Bismarck, a thrifty and growing
little town on the banks of the muddy Missouri. As the train left the
more thickly populated country and emerged into the region of this as
yet comparatively undeveloped west, the detective was surprised to
witness the rapid advancements that had been made within a few years.
The spirit of American energy and enterprise was reaching out into this
vast region, and already the influences of modern civilization and
thrift were manifesting themselves.
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