Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1881-02-22

men
"Sure as the moon," said the old man
tersely. drinking in the sweet air Of tn
sublime night with sigh which scenes
to say:
"Let me alone, know what m abou
and won't be questioned"
Silence again. The brisk breeze wa
blowing riited clouds across the face o
the moon, mottling the dim plain witt
fantastic shadows. Suddenly thes
clouds swept away. A full, clear burs
of light flooded the prairie, and not hal
a mile away we saw three moving figures
which. in the now marvelously brillian
lunar illuminations, could be easily dis
tinguished as two mounted men and I
pack animal.
The wind was in our faces, BLOWN.
the noise of our approach from the fugi
tives ears, and though we rode hard, with
no attempt at stealthiness, 1t was not un'
Ill we were close upon them that the,
suddenly drew in and faced about, bo,t
men sitting bolt upright in their saddles
with their hands at their hips. In gest
u-e and bearing they meant TO fight, anc
looked every inch desperate and danger
Gus men.
We halted, too. For moment a
dead silence fell upon us. Then the
sherifs' gray mare neighed, and The
charm was broken.
Who's there - called one of the fugi.
,ives in Spanish, emphasizing the chal.
lengc by sharp click of his pistol as he
brought it TO cock.
The rattle of dozen carbines falling
into position drowned the shcriff-s reply
Then the clear voice of the younger fugi.
tive arose "If we must die, we might
as well die like men, it said.
What followed was almost like the
flaming of fash Of lightning. heard
the sheriff call out; Throw up your
hands and saw him spur straight for
the strangers then came fash, rat
ling fire of carbines and revolvers, and a
fierce oath from a trooper behind me who
tumbled from his saddle with his thigh
smashed. At the same time, and before
could kick clear of the s,irups, my
poor pony staggered and fell dead, with a
pistol ball between his eyes, and in his
fall pinning me to the earth.
The fight was as brief as it was furi'
Gus. and like all really desperate encoun.
ters | ever witnessed, was an almost
silent one, as far as the sound of voices
went. But the sharp reports of revol-
vcrs and the duller discharges of carbines
ireigh,cd the night wind. and the ground
owls numbered into clumsy flight a,
the unwon,ed noise Finally, a single
fash famed across the light, thin vapor
from the firing, single report was blown
to leaward, sharp and clear, and then the
discharges ceased. With desperate ef-
for, | dragged myself clear of my dead
animal, and limped to my feet.
The sheriff and half dozen soldiers
were grouped about the body Of one OF
the fugi,ives. Another soldier supported
the figure of the likely boy" Some
black shapes on the prairie marked the
whereabouts of the rest OF the dozen
troopers, and told at what cost the victo
ry had been won.
The boy himself only half held upright
by the soldiers strong arm, was still alive.
The bright moonlight shining on his
handsome, girlish face lighted it to un-
earthly beauty. In the struggle his coat
had been torn off, and broad, dark,
slowly. spreading smear was visible on
his coarse gray shirt. His breathing was
hoarse and quick, the sure index to shot
in the lungs.
Hes goin',' said the sheriff, mopping
the blood from bad cut in his forehead,
with his sleeves. Great snakes! Wha,
a fight he made! ~
Here's the pony, sheriff"
One of the men led the pack pony,
which during the entire fight, had been
quietly grazing little distance off, up to
the group. With quick jerk he drag
ged off the tattered blanket which COW
cred the pack.
There were few camp utensils, some
provisions and bulging sort of double
bag thrown over the front Of the pannier
With an effort he pulled this off, but its
weight tore it from his hands, and it fell
With a metallic crash. As it struck the
earth its seams burst The queer-shaped
sack was simply an old pair Of pantaloon:
with the legs tied up, and its content:
rolled, jingling and sparkling over the
short grass. cascade Of min,ed gold.
Before the musical ring Of the preciou.
metal had died away, the group abou,
the dead man and the wounded boy
parted with an exclamation of startled
surprise. The boy had suddenly strug.
gled to his feet. He stood swinging
dizzily to and fro for an instant, and then
snatching revolver from the belt Of ar
amazed soldier who stood beside, fired
point blank at one Of his captors directly
in front of him.
The man fell dead, and the murderer
with the smoking pistol still. in his hand
tottered forward step, and sank in q
heap on the corpse of his companion
with his face upon its breast and one arm
about its neck.
y
Strange. Well, however that may bt
so far, the strangest part is to come yet
Of course, you have suspected all aloni
that tho bandsome hoy was woman