Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-27

lies stone dead upon the sward. Even at
the echo of the carbines, however, pop
ping up from across the ridge a mile away
there come whirling into view a score of
red and glittering horsemen sweeping
down in broad, fan shaped course at top
speed of their racing ponies, yelling like
mad and flashing their nimble steeds TO
the rescue. Two minutes of that gait
and the captain and his little squad viii
be surrounded.
Mount Mount shouts. Mclean as
he turns and rushes down the slope, fol-
lowed by his picket guard. 1sLiyely
now, sergeant Run to the captain
Don t wait for me-,
Come on, all you fellersi'' is Sergt
Wallace S Characteristic rallying cry;
and away goes the little troop, like flock
4 of quail. Mclean is in the saddle in an
instant, ard full tilt in pursuit Not "a
moment too soon! Even before the lead
ing troopers have reached the two g horse
holders under the bluffs both above
and below the captain S position, the
plumed and painted warriors have flashed
up ON the ridge and taken him III flank.
Without the prompt aid of his men he
would be surrounded in the twinkling of
an eye Already these daring f1ankers
have opened fire on the knot of horsemen, ,
when Mclean shouts TO some of the rear
most men TO follow him, and veering to
the left he rides straight at the Indians
who have appeared nearest him along the
bluffs. Two of the troopers follow I'M
hesitatingly: others sheer off towards
their main body There IS too much risk
in darling right into the teeth of a pack
of haunted Sioux, even TO follow an Off
Ger Wary and watchful the Indians
mark his coming Cireling out to right
and left they propose to let him in, then
follow their old tactics of surround.
he never needs their manpuvres; his
ann Is to get to close quarters with any
one of them and fight it
out as Highland chieftains fought
in the old, old days of large
and claymore. The blood of race of
warriors is bounding in his veins, the fire
of all Clan Gillian flashing from his
eyes. He never needs the whistle of the
( bullets past his ears as one after another
I the nearest Indians take hurried Shots at
him. Straight as a dart he flies atsl tall
/ savage who pops up on ridge in front.
/ The long Springfield IS slung now 3nd ne
! grasps the cleaning revolver in his hand.
Twice the Indian fires, the lever of his
Henry rife working like mad, but the
] bullets whiZ harmlessly by; then, with no
/ time to reload, and dreading the'coming
! shock, he ducks quickly over his nimble
! piebald IS neck and strives to lash him
/ out of the way just as the yonug officer
! from some other hand.
Receives but recl,s' not of a wound
and then troop horse, pony soldier and
savage are rolling in a confused heap
upon the turf. The Indian is first on his
! feet End limping away; no redskin will
| ingly faces white men steel to steel. -
Mclean staggers painfully TO his knees,
/ brushes dust and clods from his blinded
eyes with one quick dash of his sleeve;
draws bead on his red antagonist just
as the latter turns TO aim; there is IA sud-
den flash and report and the Sioux throws
up his hands with one yell and tunbles
headlong Then a mist seems rising be-
fore the young soldiers eyes; the earth
begins TO reel and swim and whirl, and
then all grows dark aud he, too, is pros
trate on the sward.
They were having an anxious day of it
at Laramie. Early in the morning a
brace of ranchmen, still a tremble from
their experiences of the night, made their
( way into the post and told gruesome
stories of the doings of the Indians at
stage, they said, was dumped, - the
driver killed and the load of passengers
burned alive in the vehicle itself There
might have been only fifty warriors when
they fought Lieut.. Blunt and his party in
the Chug Valley, but they must have
been heavily reinforced, for there were
200 of them at the least count when they
swept down upon the little party of heroes
at the stage station. They fought
them like tigers, said the
ranchmen, but they would probably
have burned the building over their
heads and ''roasted the whole OUTFIT
had it not been that the coming of the
stage had diverted their attention.
These were the stories with which the
two WORTHLESS had entertained the guard
and other early risers pending the APP
pearance of the commanding officer, and
these were the stories that in added
horrors and embellishments spread
throughout the garrison, through kitchen
sto breakfast room, as the little COM
munity began to make its appearance
down stairs Maj Miller, veteran on
the frontier, had taken the measure of
his informants i'll very brief interview.
Aroused by the summons of Lieut..
HattOn, 10 whom as officer of the day
the guard had first conducted these har-
bingers of woe, the major had shuffiled
downstairs in shooting jacket and slippers
and cross examined them i'll his dining
room Both men looked wistfuIly at the
trimming decanter on his sideboard, and
one of them allowed he never felt so
used MP in his life, so the kind-hearted
post commander lugged forth demijohn
and poured out two stiff noggins of
whisky, refreshed by which they re-told
their tale Miller gave them the rein ,
for five minutes, and then cross-ques- :
toned, as a result of which proceeding
he soon dismissed them TO the barracks
and breakfast, and announced to Hatton
and the adjutant that there would be no
change in the orders-he didn t believe
one-fourth of their story. The stage, he
said, was not due at Eagle's Nest until 4
o clock in the morning, and these men
had declared it burned at 3 1t was ut
terly improbable that it came fur
Their than Phillips crossing of the Chug-
water, where twas due at midnight, and
where long before that time all the hands
at that station had been warned both by
couriers and fugitives that the Indians
were swarming up the valley. They had