Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1855-03-15

/ At length the hounds ceased thelI
noise, and all was quiet. An hour
passed away, and SO did another. II
must have been nearly midnight
] when the men movedsagain, and the
Had, Philip, saw the rays.of a candle
| fash up through the cracks of the
floor on which stood bis bed. He
would have. moved to.tbe crack where
|he could peep down, but at that mo-
ment he heard a man. upon the lad
der. He uttered a quick whisper to
his brother, and they lay perfectly
still. The man came to the top OF
the ladder, and held his light up SO
he could look upon the boys. The
fellow seemed to be perfectly satisfied
that they were asleep, for he soon
returned to the ground floor, and
then Philip crept to the crack. He
saw the men, take. knives, and he
heard them whispering. s9s rs
We'll kill the old man and woman
first, said one Of them, sthen we'll
hunt for the money. IT those little
brats up there {pointing TO the scaf-
fold) wake up, we can easily take
care of them
F But we must kill them ALL said
another Of the villains a'a '''i
yes, returned the speaker, .but
the young ones first; they may make
a noise, and start the old man up.
Philips heart beat with horror.
Down the ladder outside! quickF
he whisperedto his brother. Down,
and start up the dogs. Run for the
front door and throw it open-itisn't
fastened! o. do let the dogs in the
house, be as quick as you can. III
look out for father whilst you CO.
Daniel quickly crawled out through
the little window, and Philip seized
a rife and crept to- the head of the
scafold. Two Of the villains were
just approaching the door Of his fa-
ther's ROOM. They had set the can
die down on the floor; so that its
light would fall into the bedroom as
the door WIS opened. Philip drew
the hammer Of his rife back, and
rested the muzzle upon the edge of
the boards. One Of the men had bis
hand upon the latch. The boy he
70 uttered single word of heart
felt prayer, and then he pulled the
trigger. The villain whose hand was
upon the latch, uttered one sharp,
quick cry, and then fell upon the
floor. The bullet had passed through
his brain.
For an instant the two remaining
villains were confounded, but they
quickly comprehenGed the nature and
position Of their enemy, and they
sprang for the ladder. They did not
reach it, however, for at that instant
the outer door was flung open and
the hounds-four in number, sprang
into the house. With a deep, wild
yell, the animals leaped upon the
villains, and they bad drawn them
upon the floor just rs the old hunter
came from his room. Help US! help
us!:father,' cried Philip, as be hur-
ried down the ladder. I've shot
one Of them! They are murderers!
robbers. Hold 'em!' the boy con-
tinued, clspping his hands 70 the
dogs Old Slater comprehended the
nature Of the scene in moment and
sprang TO the spot where the hounds
had the two men upon the floor
The villains had both lost their
knives, and the dog had so wounded
them that they we're incapable of re-
sistance. With much difficulty the
animals we're called of, and the two
men we're lifted to, a seat. There,
was . no need Of binding them, for
they needed some restorative agent.
as the dogs bad made quick work in
disabling them.
After they had been looked to, the |
q - a