The Red Cloud chief., 1878-01-10

swoNCu UCAOIC TIC ITcSu uIROt
breeze. and knew that the window ove
looked a chasm. the sounding Of which
l could only guess at. In other words,
the house, or that portion of it. was
built upon the very verge of a cliff. the
solid rock forming a foundation more
lasting than any that could be made by
the hands Of man.. / leaned far out.
and saw that there was not an inch of
space left between the heavy log on
which the structure rested and the edge
of the precipice; and then I turned
away with a full conviction that il e.
cape must be made, it certainly would
not be in that direction. There was
nothing very strange in this; there were
many houses SO constructed. / had
seen one or two myself. And yet when
l drew back into the room, and saw the
look in Bosses dusky face, I felt tina.
danger, quick and deadly. was hover.
ing in the air. Without speaking,
went to my s~addle-bags and got o. my
pistols-a superb pair of long double
ri1es-that / knew to be accurate any.
where under half a hundred yards.
'.Dar! denis what l like to see," ex.
claimed Bose, as he Owed down into his
own bag and fished out the old horse
pistol that had belonged to my grand
father, and which l knew was loaded to
the muzzle with number one buckshot.
1t was a terrible weapon at close quar-
ters.
The stables in which our horses were
feeding could be watched, and by events
transporting in that locality we would
shape our actions. l found the door
could be locked from the inside. and, in
addition to this. 1 improvised a bar by
means of a chair leg wrenched off and
thrust through a heavy iron staple that
had been driven into the wall. Its fel-
low on the opposite side was missing.
We then lifted the clothes press before
the window. leaving just enough
on n side to clearly see, and, if neces-
sary. fire through; dragged the bureau
against the door with as little noise as
possible. and felt that everything that
was possible had been done.
A deathlike silence reigned over the
place. broken only once by the voice of
the colored girl singing As she crossed
the stable yard. Ihad fallen into a half
doze, seated in a chair near the win
dow facing the stable where Bose was
on watch, when suddenly l felt a light
touch upon my arm, and the voice of
the faithful sentinel in my ear.
wake up, Mars Ralph; dey's foolin'
bout de stable doc arter de horses.
brought me wide awake to my
feet.
Cautiously peeping out, l saw at a
glance that Bose was right in his con
lectures. There we're two of them-One
standing out in the clear moonlight, ev-
watching my window, while the
other-and l fancied it was the land
in the shadow near the door,
which at that moment slowly swung
open. As the man disappeared within
the building, allow. keen whistle cut the
air, and at the same instant l heard the
knob of my door cautiously tried. The
thing vas now plain. While those be-
were securing the horses, those
above were either attempting to gain
access with murderOus intent, or else on
guard to prevent my coming to the res
cue of my property.
A low hiss from Bose brought me to
his side from the door where l had been
listening.
.'Dey's got de dorses out in de yard"
he whispered, as he drew aside 70 let
me look out through the broken window
pane.
Take the door," 1 said. land fire
through it if they attack. 1 am going
to shoot that fellow holding the horses"
'.Lordy, Mars Ralph, it's de tavern
keeper! He amt no count. Drop de
big man." was the sensible advice.
which 1 determined to adopt.
Noiselessly drawing aside the curtain,
[ rested the muzzle of my pistol upon
the sash where the light had been bro
ken away, and drew a bead upon the
of the two men. who stood hold
three horses out in the bright moon
light. The sharp crack of the weapon
was instantly followed by a yell of pain.
and l saw the ruffian reel backward and
his length upon the earth. and
hen from the main building there rang
put
Murder! Murder! Oh, helpr
Like lightning it flashed across my
mind. There were three horses out in
he open los; there was another travel
n beside ourselves. A heavy blow
upon the door, and q voice
-Oared-
.sOuick! Burst the Internal thing
open, and let me get at him! The scoun-
lrel has killed Dave-'
LET them have it, Bose" l whisper
ID, rapidly relosding my pistol. There.
he second panel"
With q steady hand the plucky fellow