The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1889-11-15

blowin' half a gale in t'other direction,
but o course there want nothin' TO be
said.
bill was inside workin' on the
traps, an when told him what had
happened he was quite oneasy, an we
discussed the situation as to what
should be done. Meantime Yumez
had hung his gun on the pegs and
gone for a bucket o. water
Wonder if Yumez seed any Inlun
signs when he was out?' said Bill.
Why sez /, was he out whilst /
was gomez Thought he was hyar with
you
He went out with his gun soon
after ye did, said Bill III AK him
And Bill left the hut
THAT gave me another suspicion.
to parn that Yumez had left the hut
shortly after did. What forp An
why did he pretend he'd heard the
rifie-shot an come out afterwards to
see what it meant? / got up an went
to the pegs an examined the Mexican S
rifle didn't see the result, for the
gun wasn't loaded at ALI Things had
an ugly look While was putting the
gun back the Mexican returned, an
seein' what / was doin', he look'd
guilty as a thief, an then / know'd
the rascal had fred that bullet at me
hisself
81 wos on the pint o. denouncin' the
villain to oncest an / scarcely onder-
stood why l didn't 1t was a drefful
mistake not to do it, fer mebbe if
had matters would hev been diff'rent,
an the awful thing what happened
might never have come to pass.
have allus been sorry / didn't shoot
the traitor on the spot. But / reasoned
that bein' warned / could easily sar-
cumvent his deviltry But he was
worse than l give him credit for
II decided not to tell Bill about it,
but when the next mornin' we diskiv-
cred some o our best traps gone an
that the Mexican had vamoosed also,
up an told pardner all about it; an
think If Bill had been n swearin'
man the air 'ud smelt o. birthstone
sartin, for the old fellow was bilin'
mad cl' ar through. We skirmlshed
round all day, an not an Injun sign
could we see, which satisfied us that it
was all the work o. that thievin' Mex
lean. We should miss the traps o.
course, but so far as actooal value was
concerned, the scamp's share of the
pelts made that good, an we was glad
TO be shut O. him. But we didn't
understand what a reg'lar coyote the
feller was, for a snake was n fool COM
pared with him in general deviltry.
about three weeks an we was quite
forgettin' the Mexican, when one day
Bill went off to visit a creek sev'ral
miles distant whar we had been
thinkin' of settin' few traps, Ieavln'
me at home. for l had been quite
seedy for several days with chills,
which 1 never had afore or seuce-
wall, after Bill left / got a royal
big bar skin an toted it out on the
grass in front o. the hut, an, spread
in it out, lay down, the hot rays o.
the sun feelin' very grateful to my
chilled limbs, an bimeby went off
sound asleep.
; After awhile 1 woke up with a
start feelin' half smothered. an found
myself on the bare ground with the
big bar skin on top entirely coverin'
me up. l also heard voices an felt
that / was bein' held down by several
pairs o hands 1 struggled as well as
i could to throw Off the ar skin, but
found that / was really helpless, my
feet bein' caught in the moose O. a
stout lasso.
VERY soon, however, the skin was
! 4
who fell upon me an tied my hands
in jiffy, an 1 found myself a fast
prisoner in the clutches o. q half
dozen redskins But this wasn't as
discouraging as it was to dis
cover a man holdin' the end of
the lariat, in whom Il recognized
Yumez, the Mexican, who grinned at
me in q most diabolicaI way that
showed l need look for no mercy at
his treacherous hands
"'Carambo" he growled. 1T is my
turn now. You sot Bill agin' me an
now I'll have my revenge
"'What does this meanP' I demand
ed. furious with rage Loosen me, We
coward, an I'll
"'Carajor interrupted Yumez Tn
not such fool Ye had your chance
an ye let it slip. Now you'll take
what You get -.
''And with that the brute came up
an whippin' out his knife said: I'll
jest mark ye with cross, so Satanas
will give you an extra hot roastin'
when he gifts ye down thar
''An' then the half-breed gave me
the mark ye see on my cheek, stranger,
an laughed long an loud, an the In
iuns danced lively jig as he did 1t.
Hurt? Wall. no doubt it did, an bled
some, too, but L war so mad didn't
feel the pain till long afterward. 4,rs
Then the villains seized me, an
dragged me to the edge o. the preci-
pice on which our hut stood, where II
was two hundred feet deep, the side
being perpendicular an as smooth az
a bald mans pate, an tumblcd mo
over.
81 fell about ten feet, an was
fetched up short by the lasso with a
jerk that nearly twisted my ankles out
o Iint. Then the brutes began paw
in out the rope, finally hitchin' the
upper end to the stub o. the saplin'.
till was left hangin' by the heels,
head downwards, danglin' in mid air.
My hands had got loose in the mean
time, but it didn't help me a bit, for
Icouldn't double up to get hold O. the
rope.
1T was a horrible situation, an ]
| think / should have died in a little
| while from rush o. blood to the head,
but before could perfectly realize il
in all its horrors 1 heard the sharp
crack of a rife not far away, an then
one o the Iniuns gave the most on.
| arthlN scraech az | ever. henrd IN