Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1890-01-18

never nave come to pass. have alluS
been sorry / didn't shoot the traitor on
the spot. But | reasoned that bein'
warned could easily sarcumvent his
diviltry. But he was worse than
give him credit for.
''1decided not to tell Bill about it, but
when the next mornin' we diskivered
some O. our best traps gone an the
Mexican had vamoosed also, up an
told pardner all about it; an think
if Bill had been a swearin' man the
air 'ud a smelt o birthstone sartin, for
the old fellow was billin' mad cl'ar
through. We skirmished round all
day, an not an Injun sign could we
see, which satisfied us that it was all
the work o that thieving Mexican.
We should miss the traps O. course,
but SO far as actooal value was con-
cerned, the scamp's share o the pelts
made that good, an we was glad to be
shut o him. But we didn't understand
what regular coyote the Teller was,
for snake was fool compared with
him in genuine diviltry
Things went on smoothly enuff
for about three weeks an we were
quite forgettin' the Mexican, when
one day Bill went off to visit creek
sev'ral miles distant whar we had
been thinkin' of setting few traps,
leavin' me at home, for had been
quite seedy several days with chills,
which never had afore or sence.
"Wall, after Bill left got royal
big bar skin an toted it on the grass
in front of the hut, an, spreadin' it
out, ! lay down, the hot rays O. the
sun feelin' very grateful TO my chilled
limbs, an bimeby | went off sound
asleep.
after a while | woke up with
start, feelin' half smothered, an found
myself on the bare ground with the
big bar skin on top entirely coverin'
me up. | also heard voices an felt
that / was being held down by several
pairs o hands. | struggled as we'll as
/ could to throw off the bar skin, but
found that l was really helpless, my
feet bein' caught in the moose O.
stout lasso.
Every soon, however, the skin was
dragged off, and saw several Injuns
who fell upon me an tied my hands
in a jiffy, an | found myself fast
prisoner in the clutches O half doz-
en- redskins But this wasn't as dis
couraging as il was to di.eover man
holdin' the end O the lariat, in whom
/ recognized Yumcz, the Mexican,
who grinned at me in most diaboli-
cal way that showed need look for
no mercy at his treacherous hands.
4" 'Carambor he growled 1t is
my turn now. You sot Bill agin' me
an now I'll have my revenge
What does this mean2" l de-
manded, furious with rage Loosen
ne, ye coward, and I'll'-
-" 'Carajor interrupted Yumez,
I'm not such fool. Ye had a 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: IN
jest mark We with a cross, SO Satanas
will give We an extra hot roastin' when
he gifts We down thar
"An' then the half breed gave me
the mark we see on my cheek, stran-
ger, an laughed long an loud, an the
Injuns danced a lively jig as he did it,
Hurt2 Wall, no doubt it did, an bled
some too, but was so mad didn't
feel the pain till long afterward.
''Then the villains seized me, an
dragged me to the edge o the preci-
pice on which our hut stood, where it
was 200 feet deep, the side bein' per-
| pendicular an as smooth as a bald
mans pate, and tumbled me over.
II fell about ten feet, an was fetch
ed up short by the lasso with 4 jerk
that nearly twisted my ankles out O.
jint. Then the brutes began payin'
out the rope, finally hitchin' the up
per end TO the stub O the saplin' till
was left hangin' by the heels, head
downwards, dangling in mid-air. My
hands had got loose in the meantime,
but it didn't help me bit, for could
Mt double up to get hold O. the rope.
1T was a horrible situation, an l
think ! should have died in little
while from rush O blood to the head,
but before could perfectly realize il
in all its horrors l heard he sharp
crack Of q rifle not far away, an then
one O the Injuns gave the most on
asthly scrnech as | ever heard, an
know'd thar was some sort of skrim-
nudge goin' on above.
THE next minute some heavy OBJ
ject struck me on the feet, and was
| Jest glidin' past when without know
in edzactly what was doin' l grab
| bed it with both hands an held it fast.
What dye think it was2 Hang
me, if it wasn't the Mexican hisselfl
| In foolin' about the end O. the lariat he
had slipped an tumbled over the edge
| O the rock, an had ketched the vii
lain, an was holdin' him by the leg,
and thar we two was, | hitched to the
! lasso an holdin' on to the rascal by
the leg, an both swingin' head down
wards
Yell You bet he did. l never
heard sech skreechin' as that skunk
set up A pack o hungry coyotes
wasn't patchin' to it. What hap
pened, did We ask Wall, see here, my
friend, what under them circum-
stances 'ud be likely to hapren2
Pears sort as if my fingers all to
oncest got kind O cramp in EN-, an
was powerful weak. though sech thing
never happened afore or sence, an
they doesn't look like women's fingers,
do they2' and the speaker held up be-
fore me a pair of muscular hands,
which he opened and shut in way
that suggested a grip of iron. Then
he went on:
AS was sayin', the cramps some
how got into my fingers at that eyden-
teal moment, an somehow or other
never knowed exactly how it did
happen--the Mexican slipped out O
my grasp, an fetched up head first on
the rocks hundred an fifty below
whar nothing ever teched him again
'cept the buzzards that picked his
bones clean afore next sun up.
Next thing l know'd | was bein'
hauled up, hand over hand, as slick as
any sailor could have done it, an
when / reached the top, Bill and me,
dear old Bill, stopped just long
enough to h2ve brotherly hug or
two, an then we got under kiver an
hooked round for the Injuns, but blow
me, thar wasn't single varmint to be
seen in any direction. 'cept the dead
perp that Bill had plugged through
the head as he came tearin' up to the
rescue.
'Ye see, pard, began Bill, I
found Injun sign a bit up the valley,
an thought I'd better come back,
SEEM as how We wasn't feelin' well,
an
"Bill stopped suddenly an grew
very pale, an then l seed he was
bleedin' bad, an then he slid down on
the grass with sort O. gasp, an SEEM
how ~ xxoc hooroy ~ loosen, h,c eb;rk