The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1875-09-24

which had of it-called out /:
Here you, Diclx,''
The woman threw her apron over her
head and opened the door.
"Where's Dick.''
''He hasn't come back yet,' returned
the woman.
''Oh, he arn't-Jen, hev yer hurd horse
go by to-night?'
Eyes, only little while ago-a small
man ?''
"Yes-driving like the devil"
Il guess, she said, then paused, "you
can hear the horse now," feigning to listen
But Bill Wolf must have been of sus-
picious nature. l heard him leap from his
! horse and strike with a jarring plunk upon
the sod. A smoudering fire was burning
on tlie stone hearth. | could imagine
Bills attitude-he had a hand on each
door casing, his brutal head was thrust in
side the room ; he was peering about the
apartment
"What in h is tbat?'' he questioned
and my heart stood still, for | knew he
spoke of my retreat.
''lt's Stauffer's coffin. Dick is going to
carry it over to- night
Stuff" calculated the desperado ''as
he made his bed, so let him lay-buzzards
are the sections for the likes o. him.
The woman sort a groaned, and then /
heard Wolf go up and joggle the rain bar
rel at the corner of the cabin, and finally 90
away with the remark
''He amt far off; be couldn't stick to
that blind critter when he began to bury"
''What shall | do? What shall | do?''
gasped the woman; ''they will be back in
twenty minutes, for l believe that your
horse is i'll sight, not more than three guar
ters of mile off, and my husband is liable
to come at any moment
''But with him inside the house we
might"
pairing tones--''he's Bill VOLTS brother'
l was ont of the coffin in a trice, then,
you may well believe
cit is death for you any way" she moan
ed ''for heard the rattle of Dicks axles
| already"
| ''Stay, there's the rain barrel'' said |, in
desperation, they've tried that once, they
may not again.
! And before you would be able to speak
a senteuce, the water was dashed out of
| the cask and stealing down into the arid
soil, and | was in the barrel, and the wo-
| man dropping tub half filed with water
! in at the top as a cover.
| She had barely time to enter the house,
J the door of which, fortunately opened on
the side away from the moon, when a rat
ting vehicle drew up at the door and |
heard hoarse voice raving and swearing
at the woman for something done, or un-
done, and then from the bung hole the
plug having been dislrdged in the upsetting
of the cask, saw the furious return of the
| three rencCades.
There was good deal of loud talking.
| and explanations, and oaths, and stirring
| up of hot nectar and rough remarks about
| the cisterh in the corner but both Dick
and the woman seemed sore about that
matter, and the mau peremptorily refused
| to join that hunt because of the coffin.
! "Wen, you're going our way piece, )"
said Wolf, ''likely enough you'll have the
! fun of seeing us wing the turkey; Z ..-
| The conversation was distressingly per-
! sonal, made acutely so by Dick asking
| 'Is there water enough out there, Jep, to
| drink my horse ?''
| 'I'H see," she returned, moving slowly
over the door-still, and then, leaping to
/ the cask, she lifted out the tub, and tipped
/ my prison over a little so that | could
! spriug out. | was behind the cask when
| Dick came to the door and chirruped his
I beast up to the tub to drank.
'I'll go with you far the forks,
] he said, as two of them came out with the
| coffin and slid it into the body of the
wagon. They then stepped back, proba-
/ bly, to call the others.
AT that moment wild and desperate
! plan entered my brain, but feeling for my
knife, | found that it was missing, along
with the belt TO which it was attached. In
the sudden jostle which the falling steed
! had given me, the girdle had been snap
| ped and lost without my knowledge. The
! horses of the three renegades-my own,
/ which had been retained by the hostler at
the inn among them-were hitchcd on tie
: farther side of the door, where the moon
light, striking by the end of the CABIN,
: rested fully upon them. 1t was suicide to
attempt seZing one of them; but as the
/ woman, with some purpose in her mind,
! sang out to the men to come back and get
i I,
! mixed, | seized the only alternative. /
| sprang lightly into the wagon, lifted the
| coffin lid, and again crawled into the long
narrow prison.
There WAS no choice. The flood of
moonlight had swept SO far toward my
hiding place that only part of my body
was concealed by the barrel, and | knew
! that discovery was inevitable, for the mans
horse stood i'm such position that in oi der
! to recover the reins he must have troddcn
! upon me, aud there was no earthly thing,
/ as far as the eye could reach over the plain,
behind which man could hide. Ab, but
what if he should read just his freight?
Can you think how my heart pumped away
at the thought? You wonder what nv
! plan could be ? | bad none, other than the
hope of having only one man to deal with
if he went on his way as lac calculated.
( The three ruiiians were mounted, aud all
were about to start, when the woman ran
out with some sort of blanket and NUT
! tered something about covering the coffin.
| The man yelled ont to her to Iaud her
own business and let the thng alone.
She retreated with the cloth. but she
had accomplished her purpose In its
folds she had concealed a bowie knife;
under its cover she had raised the lid aud
dropped The weapon inside, it giving inc "a
cut as it fell upon me but in the momen-
tary noise and confusion l had got the
weapon in my hand, and with its point
raised the heavy lid of the rough box the
! fraction Of an inch, so that breathing was
easy if my position was ciamred.
/ The three horsemen spread out, remark
/ ing to each other: ''Beat up the game now
speedily, before, by any miracle, he gets
into the wooden belt by Bufoid's Springs"