Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1889-09-27

WhiE
A short, thick, sharp pointed piece Of
wood few through the window and bur
led itself In the opposite wall Another
and another followed, some Of them
striking the cabin and others coming In
by way Of the open window.
The men threw themselves on the
aoor. at Bunco's suggestion, and all but
Jack Campbell remained in that position
for nearly half an hour. The latter had
seized the captains small repeating rife
and cautiously approached the window
For some minutes the arrows from the
natives air guns flew 80 thickly that he
was unable TO get q shot at them; but
presently there came a hull in the one
iided bombardment, and the sharp crack
81 the rife was followed by n death yell
from without
But n rifle, although Il kept back for
some time the assault Of the savages
was not sufficient to drive them away,
and late In the afternoon, Jacks car
tridges having given out. the natives ap-
preached nearer 70 the cabin.
They seemed to realize that the deadly
ammunition of their enemies had become
exhausted, and were preparing for a
hand to hand conflict, knowing that they
outnumbered the inmates Of the cabin
ten to one.
But as they cautiously approached the
hut, shooting almost constantly at the
door and windows, an unexpected but
powerful reinforcement came to the aid
of the tourists in the shape Of their II
gineer on board the launch.
Bil was slow to comprehend the real
danger Of his friends position; but when
he did 30 ne at once made preparations
for their relief. He gathered all the
ammunition he could And into the pilot
house, and loaded nearly a dozen repeat
ing rifles before commencing to shoot.
When he finally opened fire he was able
90 keep a steady stream Of bullets trained
upon the savages, and this thoroughly
demoralized them and caused the major
ity to retreat precipitately from the hut
and turn their attention toward the river.
Bill was not particularly noted for his
Workmanship, and not more than one
in every twenty bullets took effect; but
the ~unceasing fire was too much for the
natives, and they broke and ran like 80
many sheep
For a few minutes It looked as though
Bills plan would enable those imprisoned
in the hut to make their escape; but with
the cessation of the firing the courage Of
the natives returned, and they speedily
placed the cabin between themselves and
the vessel Then they sent q half dozen
particularly good shots at the doughty
engineer.
at looks ter me" said Bill to himself,
as several Of the sharp pointed sticks
few past him. las II we'd kinder got
inter q hornets nest. These burned say
nges will starve the boys out unless l car
drive them of. l guess I'll wait till aftel
dark and see If / can't carry some rife
to them"
For some time afterwards the mind o
the engineer wa busily engaged in choos
ing from q number of plans the one hes
suited for the speedy deliverance of hi
fellow tourists. It would be necessary L
reach the cabin without alarming tn,
savages, and at the same time leave be
hind him some indication of his presenc,
on board the vessel, thus distracting thei
attention from his expedition.
He finally perfected q scheme tina
would carry out hisidea, and when nigh
fell, he had completed his arrangement
for liberating the tourists.
He secured all the rifles in a bundl
and slowed about his clothing all tn
cartridges he could carry. Then he Sc
the whistle on the boat to blowing. tyinI
back the valve cord, 30 as to frighteI
the natives and give them to understan,
that he was still on board The vesse
was also provided with a large and reso
nant brass bell, and the clapper of thi
he connected by a cord with the plung
ing piston rod, for he had set the engin
gently to working. The result must hav
puzzled and amused the captives as muc
as II alarmed the natives, and for a FEY
minutes not a sound could be heard abov
tho hoarse shrek of the whistle, and tn
loud ding dong Of the bell.
Just as the din commenced Bill leape
on shore with the rifles and ammunitio
and set out in the darkness for the cabin
Twice he stumbled and fell, and severn
times caught sight Of dark forms mo,
ing about him, for the cabin was SUI
rounded by savages. But If they saw tn
engineer they must have taken him fc
one Of their OWL number, and he reache
the front of the cabin in safety.
"Hey, there" he whispered, rappin
lightly on the door. "Its me-Bn"
The door was cautiously opened an
the engineer crawled in, receiving a PEI
feet ovation froTa the prisoners.
When they had divided the rifles an
cartridges, the captain said;
81 guess we'd better start for the bos
at once. Under cover Of the darknei
we are more SURF 70 reach 1t, and ii
noise Of the whistle viii show us the wal
Are you all readyr"
"Yes," came in chorus from the res
and the door vas slowly opened.
The captain went out frat, followed
turn at intervals Of a minute by BuncI
Jack. Russell, Bill and George.
Just as the latter started, the fun begal
The rifles kept cracking merTily, eac
succeeding report sounding nearer an
nearer TO the boat, until the captain, wit
min Il IL. -- - A.