East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1860-04-19


The kitchen and offices were on the
ground floor, otherwise it was uninhab'
tied.
Ralph had his pistols with him, and his
cavalry sword, long and heavy, but ad.
mirably poised, lay within his reach.
81 have settled it," he said. "You and
Connell are to take the guns. Smooth
bores are quickest loaded, and will do fol
this short distance. Clontarf, who is not
quite so sure with the trigger, is to have
the post of honor, and guard the stair
case with his sabre. Throw another
bucket of water over it, Connell-is il
thoroughly drenchcd? And draw the
windows up,' (thesc did not reach to
within ten feet Of the fioor,) eve shall be
stihed else. But there will be thoroEgll
draft when the door is down, that's one
comfort. One word with you, Carew.
He drew me aside, and spoke almost in
a whisper, while his face was very grave
and stern.
"You will do me this Justice, whatever
happens. Unless it had been forced upon
me, would not have risked hair OF
your wifc's head to save all the attorneys
that are patronized by the father of lies
But, mark me if it comes to the worst
keep a bullet for her. Don't leave her to
the mercy of those savage devils. know
them. She had better die ten times over
than fall into their brutal hands. You
must use your own discretion, though
l shall not be able to advise you then.
Not man of them will be in this gal
lery till | am past praying for Never
theless, hope and believe all will be
right. Don't trouble yourself to reload;
Fritz will do that for you. have given
him his orders. Aim very coolly, too;
we must not waste bullet. You can
choose your own sword; there are several
behind you. All l hear them coming
up. Now, men, to your posts"
There was tbs tramp of many feet, and
the surging of crowd about and against
the hall door. Then harsh, loud voice
spoke:
"Onst for all, will ye give him up, or
shall we take him, and serve the rest Of
yez as bad? Ye've got women there,
too"
l will not add the rest of the threat
for very shame. / know it made me
more woish than ever I thought it pos.
sible to feel, for am a good natured man
in the main. Mohun, who is not, bit his
furiously, and his voice shook
a little as he answered:
"Do you ever say prayer, Pierce De-
laney? You need one now. If you live
to see to-morrow's sunset, l wish my right
hand may wither at the wrist"
A shrill howl pealed out from the
assailants, and then the stout oak door
cracked and quivered under the strokes
Of heavy battering beam; in hundred
seconds the hinges yieldel, and it came
in; over it leaped three wild
figures, bearing torches and pixies, but
their chief, Delaney, was not one of them
"The left hand man is yours, Carew;
Connell, take the middle one" said Ralph,
as coolly as if we had sprung pack Of
grouse. While he spoke his pistol
and the right-hand intruder
dropped across the threshold without a
cry or a stagger, shot right through the
brain. The keeper and were nearly as
fortunate. Then there was pause; then
a rush from without, an irregular dis.
charge of muskctry, and the clear part of
the hall was crowded with enemies
/ can't tell exactly what ensued; /
know they rctreated several times, for the
barricade was impassable; and while their
shots fell harmlessly on the mattresses,
every one of ours told-nothing makes q
man shoot straight like being short of
powder--but they came on again, each
time with added ferocity.
l heard Mohun mutter more than once
in dissatisfied tone, "Wliy does not that
scoundrel show himself? l can't make
out Delaney" All at once / heard a
'tihed cry on my right, and to my horror
saw Clontarf dragged over the balus-
trade in the gripe of giant, whom
guessed at once to be the man we had
looked for so long. Under cover Of the
smoke he had swung himself up by the
balustradc Of the staircase, and grasping
The poor boys collar as he looked out in.
from his shelter, dropped back
INTO the hall, carrying his victim with
him.
With a roar Of exultation the wild
beasts closed round their prey. Before /
had time to think what could be done,
heard, close to my ear, a blasphemy so
awful that it made me start even at that
critical moment; it was Ralph's voice, but
hardly knew it-hoarse and cultural,
and indistinct with passion. Without
hesitating an instant, he swung himself
over the balustrade, and lighted on his
feet in the midst of the crowd. They
were half drunk with whislxey, and mad
iened by the smell of blood; but, so
great was the terror Of Mohun's name,
all recoilcd when they saw him thus face
to face, his sword bare and his eyes
blazing. That momentary panic saved
Clontarf. Ina second Ralph had thrown
him under the ZACH of deep doorway,
and placed himself between the scnseless
body and it's assailants. Two or three
shots were fired at him without effect; il
was difficult to take aim in such tossing
chaos; then one man, Delaney, sprung
out at him with a dubbed muslet. "At
lastl" we heard Mohun say, laughing low
and savagely in his beard as he stepped
one pace forward to meet his enemy. A