The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-12-17


| And then for few moments il was just
fash, fash. bang. hang. like firework-
Seth and ] keeping them in play while
4 the rest elid down one by one. And
mighty ugly work il was, too. can tell
you, blazing away in the dark With
nothing to aim at, and hear the bullets
come rattiing about you without ever
seeing who sent them. Bnt the rope
was soun clear. and then Seth set the
dead Niger against a tree. with his gun
across fork of il, that they might see
the CLINT of the barrel, and think we
were still on the watch. Then be slid
down, and after him.
The first thing we did was to take the
gold out of the poor old niggrr's pack,
and part it among ns. The rest of the
| things We threw away. as we had thrown
away our tools long before (fnr our only
chance now was TO march as light as
possible). and then we set forward along
the gully. For some time we could hear
the rascals banging away overhead, but
that died away by degrees, and there
was a silence a. If the world had Just
been created and no life come into Il
vet.
All that night We stumbled along the
! bottom of the ravine like men cropping in
tunnel, slit; ing down every nov and
then 10 rest; bu.t when day came we saw
the rocks on each side getting lower and
lower and the great black pit spreading
out broader and shaIiower, till at last, a
little after sunrise, We came ont into the
forest again. But just then the other
nigger sat down and put his hand to his
! side.
"No can go farther, senorH'
ran up to him, and blest if he hadn't
got big bullet wound in his side from
last nights scrimmage, and the brave
fellow had actually dragged on all night
without saying a word abont it, lest he
should keep US bsckl sat down and
took his head on nay knee, and he died
as quietly as a child; and we covered
him with leaves and left him lying
there in the bright morning sunshine,
and went forward on our weary tramp
again.
1t was harder than ever for US now,
for we had eight loads among six men,
and already / conld see one of the Span
iards beginning to stagger, and the old
Indian trembling like a leaf. Then 8
horrible kind of fear crept over me that
we should keep on dropping THAI way.
man after man, till there was only one
left, and then-but at that thought
threw up my arms and gave sort of
veil like n man starting up from a bad
dream. But Seth punched me in the
ribs with his elbow, and whispered:
"Sh! don't frighten the rest"
And | set my teeth and choked it
down. IA
| II may have been an honr or two after
this-I was beginning to lose all count
of time now-that Seth, who had got a
little ahead of the rest, suddenly sang
out:
"Hurrahr'
We all looked up.
"Here's somethin' civilized at last, by
hoecnke!" says he. "Guess we've struck
the right track without knowin' it,.
Look here"
just in front of ua was gully about
forty feet deep through which ran small
stream, and across it lay hridge-not
one of the rope bridges you see in Low
er Peru, but good solid wood-two long
beams from bank to bank, with rros--
pieces lashed to them, just like sleepers
on a railway. Then we all shouted at
once and stepped out to cross it; but,
all in moment, the poor old Indian
who was one of the hindmost, lurched
over the edge, and went slap down into
the water, and the gold he carried just
sunk him like a stone. Whether he'd
got hurt in the fight too, or whether he
was just tired and dizzy like the rest of
us, can't say-but down he went, and
we never saw him more. So now We
were cut down to five, and had lost our
gnide into the bargain.
"That's bad job" says Seth; "but
never mind, boys-we must jest steer by
the light of natur' now. Whar thar's a
bridge like that thar oughter be trail
somewhar."
Sure enough there was trail, and we
tried to follow il. bnt we soon lost il
again. and tramped on all day at haphaz,
ard, trying to steer by the sun.
Toward evening we halted to eat, and
then pushed on again hot foot; for that
was the last of our provisions.
Just as the moon rose we came upon a
gully with bridge across it. and there
we all stopped dead and looked at each
other look shall never forget. 1t waa
the same bridge that We had crossed
twelve hours before!
That minutes one of the things ]
never like to think of. There we were
lost in tropical forest. our gnide gone.
every man of us as weak as a child, and
not a morsel of food left
"Well, boys" says old Seth (who was
our mainstay throughout); "we're in a
kind of FIX. thar amt no denyin' il.
Naow cal'clate this bridge amt been
long built by the look of it, and so, in
stead o. goin' lnsin' ourselves outer ev-
erybody's way. guess we'll just stick
here till some party picks us up-it
won't be long. reckin'. That's my idee
how does il strike yew?"
| We all agreed at once; and. indeed we
were too far gone now for any more
marching. So we sat down there for
three daye, bearing il as we could and
trying to shoot game between whiies
But our eyes were dim, and onr hands
too shaky, for that; and the birds and
monkeys scurried past, chattering and
screaming as If in inoekery. And al
last we couldn't keep it off any longer
and il came.
The Spaniards died first, and no won