The Kanzas news., 1859-05-07
. The Boy Heroes.

L 80 Z
her giant forests, there lived upon a branch
of the Green river, an Old hunter by the
name of Slatef.aE His hut was upon the
lsouthernsbank3 Of the stream, land save a
small patehIiof some dozen acres ethat( had
been seleared by his own axe, he was shut
up by dense forests Slater. had two chill
dren at home With him4-tWo sons Philip
and1Daniel-ths former fourteen aud the
dfen had gone Sohth. - His wife was With
him, but she had been for several years an
4lPos; hslplfss cripple from the es effect Of Sc
twas early In the spring. and the old
hunteIehad Just returned ,fbom Columbia.
where he had beer to carry the produce of
his winters labor. which consisted mostly
of fnrs. He had received quite sum of
money and had brought. it home with him.
The old man had for several years been ac-
,cemulatingr moneys for eivilizatien wasrap-
idly agproaching him. and he meant that bis
children should start on fair terms J With TIT the N
world.
One evening Just as the family we're St
ting down to the frugal supper, they were
attracted by sudden howiihg of the dogs
and az Slater went to the door to see what
was the matter, he2saw three men approach-
He q quickly ikly'aqlii aqqluiieted the dog" s"a and the
strand gers appfoached Che door, They ask-
ed for something 80 eat, and also for lodging
for the night.edJohn Slater was not man
to refuse a request of that kind and he ask
ed the strangers in. They set their, rifles
behind the door, unsluhg, their packs, and
room was made for them at che supper 5aE
ble.l They represented themselves strava
elers bonndIfurther west intending to cross
the Mississippi in search of a, a,settlement., =,
The. new corners were far from being
agreeable or prep6ssessing in their looks,
but Slater took no notice of the eircumstan-
ces, for he was not one to donbt ,any man.
The boys however, did notGke their appear
anee. at all and, quick glances which they
gave each other told their feelings. The
hunters wife was not at the SUP pper table;
but she sat in the great easy chair by the
fire. IA - - i----'--'iE z . an
Slater entered into conversation with the
guests, bat they were not very free, and af-
ter a little while the talk 1daindled to occa-
sionaf questions. Phillip, the older of the
two noticed the men cast uneasy glances
about the room, and he watched them mar
rowIy. His fear became excited, and he
could not rest. He knew that his father
had large sum of money in the house, and
his first thought'was that these men were
there for the purpose of robbery. 40 fa'E
After supper was over, the boys quickly
cleared of the table, and then went out of
doors It had become dusk, or rather the
night had fairly set in, for there was moon
thirds full, shining down upon the for
est. 7.ii ''.1 7@l3'f1'N 1t-. So. 3" zFoi
Daniel" said Philip. in a low whisper,
at the same time casting look over his
shoulder, ''what do you think of those ere
men, sfs ztsA. siSf s>sfsi L5s .-sa2 9e % ae
Pm afraid they are bad ones" returned
the younger boy 3 sFsa aos' AssLz
I 80 am I. 1 believe they mean to steal
fathers money. Don't you notice how
they looked around? "s's'3 a-'-'.i-tA 81
Yes :sirint 5a. a,a7t a1
$50 did T. five should tell father what
We think, he would only laugh at US. and
tell us we were perfect scare-crows.' =0afH
"But We can watch tem." fo-ti .-El3 Esa
ayes, we will watch 'en, but do not let
them know 49, s5eg 81 sfo 77E sEea.
The boys then held some further consuf-
tatioh, and then going to the dog house,
they set the small door back, so that the
hounds might spring forth If they were
wanted. If they had desired to speak to
their father about their suspicious, they had
no chance, for the stangers sat close by him
all the evening. ir'5'7s'3 iSs7e So i..a ~fe..
At length, however, the old man signi6-
ed his intention of retiricg, and arose to go
out of doors, to see the state of afirs without.
The three followed him, but they did not
take their Weapons. The old lady was
asleep in her chair. 5 =11t 7-'
Now" whispered Philip. ''let's take
two of fathers rifles up. to our bed-we
may want them. We are as good as men
with the rifle @" '''''-f- N = az 80
Daniel sprang to obey, and quickly as
possible the boys slipped two rifles from
their pockets behind the great stove chm
ney, and then fastened back aud emptied
the printing from the strangers rifles. and
when their father and the strangers return
ed, they had resumed their seats. = : I" =
The hunters cabin was divided into two
apartments on the ground floor, one Of them
In the end of the building, being the old
mans sleeping room, and the other room in
which the company at present sat. Over
head there was a sort of scaffolding, reach
ing only half way over the room below it,
and IN the opposite end of the building
from the little sleeping apartment Of the
hunter. A rough ladder led up to the
scafold. and on it, close up to the boys
bed. There was no partition at the edge Of
the scafolding, but IL was all open to the
room below hSs sfHs'z - ssaa@ape.
Spare bedding was spread upon the floor
of the kitchen for the three travellers, and
after everything had been arranged for their
comfort, the boys went to their bed, and
the old man retired 10 his little room. -. Il
The boys thought not of sleep. or if they
did it was only to avoid IT.. Half an hour
passed. away, and then they could hear
their father snore Then they heard q
movement from those below Philip crawl
q L.. g. !.