Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-04-29

Kill ~. lS6E-UOUBLE SD
was saying as Abe's gone on her. She don't fancy
| note-send It him tonight, You know"
"Well, what them" said Mccoy.
swell, pretend the note Is from her, dye see?
Put her name at the bottom. Let on she wants
| twelve. He's bound to go. He'll think she
wants to 60 of with him. Itn be the biggest
| thing played this year."
There was roar of laughter. The plan was
approved Of unanimously.
Here's pencil and here's paper" said the
humorist. "Whos goin' to write the letter."
write 1t yourself, Jim," said Shamus.
well, what shall I say?"
"Say what you think right"
~ don't know how she'd put It," said Jim,
scratching his head In great perpiexity. "How-
ever, Bones will never know the difference
How will this do3 Dear old man. Come to the
to you again, ehi"
mo, that's not the STYLE" said the young
miner "Mind, she's lass of eddication She'd
put it kinder fOwery and soft"
handing him over the pencil.
''This is the sort Of thing" said the miner,
mo the point OF it in his mouth "when
"There it is. That's bully" from the COM
pany.
Sand the stars a-shnn' bright, meet, o meet
me, Adophus, by the garden-gate at twelve"
His name amt AdOlphus." objected critic.
''That's how the poetry comes In" said the
| miner. "It's kinder fanciful, dye see Sounds
darned sight better than Abe Trust him for
There!"
This epistie was gravely passed round the
room from hand to hand, and revercntially
gazed upon as being q remarkable production Of
the human brain. 1t was then folded up and
committed to the care Of small boy, who was
sOlemnly charged, under dire threats, to deliver
1t at the shanty. and to make Off before any
awkward questions were asked him. 1t was
only after he had disappeared in the darkness
that some light conjunction visited one or two
OF the company.
"Ain't it playing it rather low on the girl3"
said ShamuS.
Sand rough on old Bonesa" suggested
another
However, these objections were overruled
by the majority, and disappeared entirely upon
the appearance Of second jorum of whisky.
Inc Inc matter 1 mad almost been forgotten by the
time that Abe had received his note, and was
spelling it out with palpitating heart under
the light of his solitary candle.
v.
That night has long been remembered. in
Harvey's Sluice. A itful breeze was sweeping
down from the distant mountains moaning and
signing among the deserted claims. great
loneliness seemed to rest on the face of nature
Men remarked afterward On the strange eerie at
mOsphere which hung over the little town.
1t was in the darkness that Abe burton sal
lied out from his littlekhanty. His partner.
Boss Morgan, was still absent in the bush, SO
that, beyond the ever-watchful Blnky, there
was no living being to observe his movements
feeling of mild surprise filed his simple soul
that his angels delicate fingers could have
formed those great struggling hierOglyphics;
however, there was the name at the foot, and
that was enough for him. She wanted him, no
matter for what, and with heart as pure aud
went forth at the summons of his love-
He CROPPED his way up the steep winding track
which led to AZalea Villa. The miner paused
under the shade of the trees, and then moved on
to the garden-gate. There was no one
there. He was evidently rather early. The
mOonwas shining brightly now and the country
round was as clear as day. Abe looked past the
little villa at the road which ran like white
winding streak over the brow of the hill A
watcher behind could have seen his square,
Then he gave start as If he had been shot. and
staggered up against the little gate beside
him.
He had seen something which caused even his
sunburned face to become a shade paler as he
thought of the girl near him. Just at the bend
OF the road, not two hundred yards away, he
saw dark moving mass coming round the
curve, and lost in the shadow of the hill Itwas
but for moment; yet in that moment the quick
perception of the practised woodman had real
lzed the whole situation. 1t was band of
hOrsemen bound for the villa; and what horse
men would ride so by night save the terror of the
woodlands-the dreaded rangers of the bush?
1t is true that on ordinary occasions Abe was
as sluggish in his intellect as he was heavy in
his movements. In the hour Of danger, how
ever. he was as remarkable for cool deliberation
as for prompt and decisive action. As he adj
Vanced up the garden he rapidly reckOned up
the chances against him. There were half q
dozen Of the assailants at the most moderate
computation. all desperate and fearless men.
The question was whether he could keep them
at bay for short time and prevent their forcing
passage into the house. We have already
mentioned that sentinels had been placed in the
main street of the town. Abe reckOned that
help would be at hand within ten minutes of the
firing of the first shot.
Were he inside the house, he could confident
~ reckon on holding his own for q longer period
than that Before he could rouse the sleepers
and gain admission, however, the rangers would
be upon him. He must content himself with
doing his utmost. At any rate he would show
Carrie that if he could not talk to her he could
at least die for her.
The road along which the rangers were COM
upper part Of the assayer's little garden. This
gate had high acacia hedge on either side Of
it, and opened into q short walk also lined by
impossible thorny walls. Abe knew the place
well One resOlute man might, he thought.
hold the passage for few minutes until the
assailants broke through elsewhere and took
him in the rear. At any rate. it was his best
chance. He passed the front door, but forbore
to give any alarm. Sinclair was an elderly man,
and would be of little assistance In such a des-
perate struggle as was before him. and the ap-
pearance of lights In the house would warn the
rangers OF the resistance awaiting them. o for
his partner, the Boss for Chicago Bill, for any
one OF twenty gallant men who would have
come at his call and stood by him in such a
quarrel! He turned into the narrow pathway.
There was the well-remembered wooden gate.
and there, perched upon the gate, languidly
swinging his legs backward and forward, and
peering down the road in front of him, was Mr..
John Morgan, the very man for whom Abe had
been longing from the bottom Of his heart.
There was short time for explanations. few
hurried words announced that the Boss, return
ing from his little tour, had come across the
rangers riding on their mission of darkness, and,
Overhearing their destination, had managed by
hard running and knowledge of the country to
arrive before them. "NO time to alarm any
one" he explained, still painting from his exer-
lions; unjust stop them ourselves-not come for