The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-11-15

sor's claim.
envy Godr / cried, "the girl will be
killed." and I dashed my horse to greater
speed.
1t had never occurred to ME that l
would be helpless in an encounter with
the drunken rabble. / had thought OF
nothing but getting upon the ground II
the quickest possible time, for it was
more than probable that Nance WIZ
Jams would be alone at the mercy OF the
crowd. AS l drew nearer and nearer
nv destination l heard cries from time
to time, and my nerves were all a-trem-
bic with excitement and apprehension.
When I came close to the professors
claim shanty, however, | realized that
Nance Williams was in no immediate
danger, for the men, some ten or twe.:e
in number, stood counseling together.
From their loud talk l CLEANED that they
had met with a disappointment-they
had thought that the professor was in
.Timtown, while they had found him in
the shack, on hand to protect his prop
erty.
"What's the matter. boys?" / inquired,
springing from my horse.
"It's Barlow" said Tom jenkins to
his associates in a low and not very de-
| lighted voice. Then, advancing toward
me, he asked: "What do you want, Ike
Barlow!"
"To see fair play" said I promptly;
"what are you fellows here for"
"'Tain't nothin' to you. You go back
to town an leave us alone"
While / was haranguing Tom Jenkins,
Rice Fielding, his partner, tried to steal
up to the door of the house. He had gone
barely half way, however, when a rifle
was thrust through a partly open win
dow and fired in his direction. The
bullet whistled uncomfortably near him
and Rice retreated with more haste thar
gracefulness.
ssNo use, Rice said Tom Jenkins;
'the fellow means business. There's
only one way to get at him, an that's to
burn him out"
"Look here" I cried excitedly; shave
you men any idea of the crime you are
p~erpetrating? This outrage
There were several derisive yells from
the crowd, and I could see they were
too much bent upon mischief to be inffu-
enced by me.
"Say, Barlow, you know as well as !
do that Charley Atwood hadn't no right
to jump that claim in the first place.
That there place belongs to me an Tom,
an the rest of the fellers are goin' to
help me get it back, SO you just keep
mum an get out O. the way"
All, that was the ideal It was a fact
the quarter had originally been filed on
by Rice Fielding, but he never went near
it and made no pretension of living up
to the law, consequently it became jump
able and Charley Atwood had taken adj
vantage Of this fact. All the while At
wood held the place, Fielding had made
no move to get it back, but now that the
professor had bought it a fancied wrong
ranked in Fielding's breast.
In this view of the case I thought best
not to tell the men they were battling
against a oma The chances were
they would consider her more easily i'm
posed upon than the professor, and,
pushing to greater extremities, the affair
might be made infinitely worse. | de-
cided to draw one side and watch the
affair passively, and then, when ii
reached a climax, I would do my utmost
to protect Nance Williams.
Going to the rear of the house where
there were no windows or doors through
which a rifle could be fired, preparations
were made-to burn the building. A billet
of wood was saturated with the oil of q
lantern oneof the men had brought, and.
lighting this torch and taking an armful
of straw, Rice Fielding approached to
burn the professors shack. Before he
could put his plan into operation, how
ever, a figure appeared on the roof of the
house. Standing aloft, stern and I'M
daunted, upon the fiat roof, Nance Will
Jams covered Rice Fielding with her rifle.
"Not another STEP" she cried warn
ingly, not another inch or you're a dead
man!'
Good Godw yelled Fielding, "it'a
Nancet"
There she stood, erect as a statue-a
target for a dozen guns.
"Nance Williams" / cried, ''for Gods
sake come down."
"If they take the professors claim
they walk over my dead body ter get it.
What are you goin' to do, Rice Field
ing?" s8
Don't shoot, boys. Nance, put UP
your gun-IW quit. In heavens name
don't stand there"
"Ill stand here till every last n o
you gifts acrost the Pipestem. Now, you
fellers move or III shoot anyhow
Well, they moved" and I never saw
such a dismayed lot of men as mounted
their horses and rode towards Skytown,
They were not too much inebriated to
realize that twelve men had made wal
on one woman, and they went back con
scious of defeat.
But what allied Fielding? At the very
climax of his expedition he had weak.
ened. What caused it? Nance Williams
happened to be in the store two or three
days after, and ! asked her.
"Huh!' said she, contemptuously, she
wants me ter marry him, an I'd see him
dead and buried afore I'd stoop 80 low al
that after what he tried to do the pro
fessor." She paused a moment, and
saw a tear steal down her cheek. g
never liked but one teller in my life, Mr.
Barlow, an Bill-he died. I'll tell you
bout him sometime. Good-by."
I -. a. H