American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-08-16

|
the huntsman, an grily II shall brea
open the door, and then you will see wha
will happen"
I'VE are long way off from that yet,
was the girls reply.
1--WE shall see" cried the hunter, and
taking his gun from his shoulder, he wa
about to place it against the lock, ant
fire.
Kate saw that rapid action was neces
sary. In a moment her fathers gun wa
cooked and her aim taken, and before tn
rascal below could turn round, there wa
a loud report above, and bullet had shat
tered his right arm.
His gun dropped from his hand, and he
fell to the ground. He uttered cry o
pain, and rolled over in the snow, which
he Redeemed with his blood But, befor,
the girl could take up her fathers othel
| gun, he had risen and fled into the wood
Kate quickly loaded the gun again
and prepared for a struggle of life anC
death; for she felt certain that these two
were not alone, but had companions in
TIE forest.
Her courage did not fail, but she threw
herself down upon her knees, and prayed
for help to Him who alone is our defense
and shield. The courage which Goo
| gives is the right courage. He makes the
soul strong for the most difficult things.
Now she heard noise in the room be
low, where Sultan and the robber We're.
She listened. She heard the dogs growl
ing and the mans cry of pain.
The struggle between them lasted for
| about ten minutes; and then the terrible
sounds were succeeded by an awful ST
| lence
Poor Kate felt that if more enemies
| came, her position was a desperate one
| How could she for any time defend her
| self against number of robbers?
| She could scarcely reckon upon the
| dog, for she dared not let him out, as she
could not be certain whether the man in
the room below was dead or alive.
And if they should attack the house
from before and behind at the same time,
she knew that she was lost, for no help
could come to her; for who, in such
severe weather, would be likely to be
passing on even the high road, which
went through the wood not far from the
| house?
Once more she prayed earnestly for
help from above. She then looked round
the house to see if any fresh danger was
| threatening, and perceiving nothing, she
went back to the room where her weapons
| lay, to see what was going on before the
| door, as the dog kept barking in the room
| below
Just as she got to the window she saw
an armed, bad-looking fellow approach
| the house. At first he tried to be polite,
| and inquired:
Have you seen an old man pass by
here: 81
EYES," replied the girl.
''Where is he? Have you let him in ~
and lnsolent tone.
Il shall only answer civil questions y
replied the girl.
'Where is hep cried the robber, with
an oath. "Have you murdered him?
Then commend your soul to God''
Il have a helper below, my fathers
wolf-dog, who has fought with him, and
as you hear, the dog is the victor. More
than this know nothing of him."
'Open the door, then, that l may see
after him-he is my brother!" cried the
robber.
THAT may be- replied the girl; 'the
dog then will serve you as he did your
brother''
''Bah.' cried the robber; ''my double
barreled gun has two bullets-one for
you, the other for the dog. "Open quick
iyr'
The girl leaned back, seized her weap-
on, and took aim, at the moment when a
blow from the robber made the door trem-
BILE.
"Back'' cried she, "or 1 will shoot you
downi"
Hejumped back few steps, and quick
ly pointed his gun up toward the Window
but at the same moment there was a flash
and a report from above, and the robber
first sprang up, and then fell backward in
the snow, a stream of blood pouring
from a wound in his breast
Hates courage now gave place to an
guish and sorrow of heart. Her eyes were
fixed on that terrible sight of the dead
body. Her ball had killed him!
What maiden's heart could bear such
thought as that?
In her despair, she fired the other bar
rel of the gun out of the window, and
then both barrels of the second gun.
Quickly she loaded them all again, and
fired them off one after the other. This
she did five times.
Then she perceived, with dismay, that
her supply of powder was getting low,
and she was not sure that the robber she
had wounded would not collect his COM
rades
But her distress lasted only short
time. Two mounted policemen were riding
up the road from Weilheim, having
heard the day before, from peasant, that
he had seen three suspicious men lurking
about there.
If the policemen had not met the we'll
known forester and his family at the gate
sl1 ciluciili, ulcy might LiNc uCdlu u Il II M
dred shots fired in succession, and taken
no notice of them, for they would have
thought that the forester was chasing
wolves through the deep snow; but now
it struck them that there might be an at
tack and danger to the forester's house.
So they at once turned from the road, and
fastened thither.
When Kate saw the two policemen, a
new terror seized her, as she took them at
first for robbers in disguise; but when they
came nearer, she recognized the two men,
whom she had often seen before.
g Kate! ~ cried one to her, g yours was a
mastershot, and a good deed, too, for
this is one of the worst rascals among the
mOuntalnS-a rObbcr whom we have
long been pursuing, but never able to
catch. 1t is all over with him now, for
you have shot him through the heart ~
A shiver passed through the brave girl
at these words
sob, God be thanked and praised that
you have come, otherwise | should have
died of terror; for in the room below |
have another, with whom our Sultan has
been fighting"
"Come, then, and open the door quick
lyr" exclaimed both.
Kate moved her barricade of wood from
the door and opened it,
The dog barked for joy when he heard
the girls voice.
Scarcely was the room-door opened
when he jumped out to caress Kate but
she pushed him back, filled with horror,
when she saw that his mouth and throat
were stained with blood. There was not
IA sound in the room
One of the police went in and opened