Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-09-12

I NILS UtINa DuN viz 49,
only death, and perhaps he might De al
ready safe. She felt herself wavering.
"No, nor' she said, suddenly, almost
| screaming the words as her tears burst
/ forth afresh. ''If he were alive he would
be here. Nothing would keep him away:
He will come yet, or die attempting 1t, n
II cannot live without him. Oh, BERTHE!
Bertie! why did you go?' -,
But all indecision had left her now, and
| though her tears still flowed they were me
only sign of weakness. She rushed to the
horses and lOoSened the halters intending
to let them 90. Even these poor brntes she
would save from the Apaches. For herself,
/ she would barricade the doors OF the house;
and she would not be taken alive. AT the
worst she could only die. But even IN the
very act of releasing the impatient, she
suddenly paused, and a quick hush leaped
| into her male cheek and light n hereyes.
/ The rushing horseman had drawn fearfully
near and were riding ut their utmost
sDeed. One was far in advance. But who
WIS bes His brord-brimmed sOmbrerO was
pulled tightly down over his brows. But
he was no Indian. He lrdS 'chite!
albert! Albert. she shrieked. "Oh,
| God in heaven! it is Albert.'
He heard her voice, and waved his hand
in response, seemingly too GREATNESS 10
reply in words. But he Spurred his strug-
Cling and foaming mustang to tresher
| efforts, and in q moment he reached her
| side.
But there was no time for words. His
| face was drawn and set and his eyes gleanl-
| ed with a stern fire. Her tears were al
ready dried. He sprang to the ground and
! with one glance about him seemed to take
in everything. She only said:
Shall we stay or fly
He shook his head, with 4 glance at the
house and the on-cOming foes. \ use,
we could never defend it,"
He lifted her to the saddle IS he spoke,
and in an instant had himselfmounted the
other fresh horse. Then they slaekened
the reins, and without a word or touch
of the spur the fleet Steeds bounded
away rs if they well knew that life or
death depended on their speed.
Mary was Il perfect hOrsewOman, and rs
he noticed her firm hand and seat and her
faultless air, a look Of glad pride swept
over her husbands warm face. He glanced
back and saw that the distance between
the pursuers and themselves was already
widening, and then, for the first time,
something like hope and relief came into
his face. He spoke BOW and tears filled
her eyes:
oh, Mary! Mary! my darling! and did
YOU stay for me-aud all else gone? My
own brave girl!'
Their horses were rushing at their ut
most speed, and they bent toward each
other, and for one moment rode locked III
each others arms, and fOrgot-iu on long,
passionate kisS-all the horror and peril OF
the time. Please God, there WAS 4 lifetime
of yearning love and tenderness in that
wild careSS, for il was almost their last on
earth.
Even rs he reluctantly released her from
his arms, Albert saw his wife'S horse
pause and StIgger, rs = bright, red stream
burst from its side, the report Of a rifle
coming to his ears a second later. He al
most cursed aloud in his despair and in
bitter Scorn of his vain confidence of 4 mo-
ment before. They had fired at him again
and again before he reached his home, but
no bullet had come near him, and nc had
thought their rifles OF too short = range.
But this fatal shot had proved in one in
slant how vain were these calculations.
But he lost not one ~instant's time in use
less re~pinings or Selfupbraiding. He saw
Mary's horse lettering for its fall, and with
a quick movement plucEed her from her
saddle and placed her before him upon his
own. The gallant animal he rode Stagger-
ed slightly beneath the sudden accession OF
weight, but recovered himself and swept
brayely on,
Il am in your way here, Albert" Mary
said, after n moment. Help NE around
behind you
Stay where you are, darling, he an
swered, with something like a sob in his
voice. Il want 10 hold you in my arms
Poor fellow, God knows he did want To
hold her there for who could say how long
that embrace might last? But he knew
that this was not his only reason.
The hope OF escape had nearly died
within him. but while he lived his body
should be a shield between the wife who
had periled her life for him and the bullets
of their foes. Perhaps Mary understood.
But if she did she felt that it was useless
to try and move him, and she only laid
her pale cheek for an instant against his,
and then held herself erect in her place,
knowing full we'll the disadvantage q dead
weight would be to both horse and rider.
But MISUNDERSTANDING you
will. seemed to have decreed against these
hap less beings. The brave horse strOve
nObly, but he was feariully Oyerweighted,
and his tremendous eXertiOns soon began
To tell. Slowly the space between the pur-
Surers and pursued decreased, and rs they
drew nearer, the red devils sent shot after
shot at the flying pair. Every instant Al
bert expected to feel himself hit, but as
the moments went by without the fear be-
ing realized, the horrible thought came
into his mind that the purSuers were aim
ing, not at him, but ut his horse, their evil
dent intention being to take them alive.
He ground his teeth at the thought. and
for the hundredth time, perhaps since his
flight began, he passed his hand over his
pistols and the hilt Of his bOwie-kniie.
Even Us he did so, what, he dreaded came
to pass, for the gallant steed gave an al
most human scream Of agony and went
crashing to the earth, stone dead.
! wonder what it is that makes men do
things in an instant ut times like this which
without the stimulus of dire necessity,
would take moments of thought and cal
culatiOn. Literally in less time than | take
to tell it Harrington had regained his feet,
with manical strength had dragged the
dead body of the horse half around so that
it lay across the road, and behind this slight
breIStwork had placed the form of his half
inanimate wife, and knelt beside her, his
pistols in his hands, not trusting himself
to look in her pale face, but vowing in his
heart, in q brave mans savage despair,
that those who thirsted for their lives
should traverse q bloody path before their
fell purpose should be accomplished.
On they came, riding like madmen, and
if he had hoped that the sight of his de-
termined attitude would cause them to
hesitate and draw back he soon saw that
this hope was likely to be In vain. Their
blood was up. They seemed to have be-
come maddened with their long and deS-
perate chase, and without q pause rode
straight upon him. Then, rs he fired at
the foremost and brought him headlOng to
the earth, he felt the other pistol plucked
from his hand, and his wife was upon her