The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-06-08


sight, with the last rays of sunlight flaming
could not account SO turned an inquiring
glance to him.
''Suthin' i the wind out yonder," was his
answer. Whats q sloop doing on thatratch
so close in by the point? Be dangedl but
there she goes again. as the little vessel
swung of a point or two farther from the
breeze chat was breathing softly up channel.
Thine to sup, lad for the both of US" ne broke
of, shortly.
Indeed, l was faint with hunger by this
time, vet had no stomach TO eat thus close to
the dead. So, turning into a gate on our left
hand, we crossed two or three fields, and sat
down to sup OFF BillY's biscuits, the mare
standing quietly beside Us and cropping the
short grass.
The field where we now found ourselves
ran out along the top Of small promontory
and. ended, without fence Of any sort, at the
cliffs edge, As l sat, looking southwark, l
could only observe the sloop By turning my
head, but Billy, who squatted over against
me, hardly took his eyes OFF her, and between
this and his meal was too busy to speak
word. For me, had enough TO do thinking
over the late fight: and, being near worn ont,
had kali mind to spend the night there on
the hard turf: for Trough tho sun was now
down and the landscape gray, yet the air was
exceeding warm; and albeit, as | have said,
there breathed light breeze now and then,
twas hardly cool enough TO dry the sweat off
me. So | stretched myself out, and found it
very PLEASANT TO lie still; nor, when Billy
stood up and sauntered of towards the far
end Of the headland, did l stir more than to
turn my head and lazily eatch him.
| He was gone half an hour at the least, and
! the sky by this time was so dark that I had
! lost sight of him, when, rising on my elbow
| to look around, noted a curious red glow
/ at a point where the turf broke off, not three
! hundred yards behind me, and thin smoke
/ curling up in it, as it seemed, from the very
/ face of the cliff below. In minute or SO
! the smoke ceased almost, but the shine
against the sky continued stead seshough not
very strong. BILLY has lit q fire." guessed,
and was preparing to go and look, when |
/ spied a black form crawling towards me, and
presently saw twas Billy himself.
/ Coming close, he halted, put finger to his
! lip and beckoned, then began to lead the
way back as he had come
| Thought !, "these are queer doings," but
left Molly to browse and crept after him on
hands and knees He turned his head once tc
make sure was following, and then scram-
bled on quicker, but softly, towards the point
| where the red glow was shining.
Once more he pulled up-as judged about
twelve PAGES distance from the edge-and
after considering for a second, began to move
again, only now he worked little to the
right. And soon / saw the intention of this
for Just here the cliffs lip was cleft by fls
sure-very like that in Scawfell which we
were used to call the Lords Rake, only mar
rower-that ran back into the field and
sbelved out gently at the top, so that mar
might easily scramble some way down it
though how far could not then tell. And
twas from this fissure that the glow came
Along the right lip of this Billy led me
skirting it by a couple of yards and wriggling
on his belly ike a blindworm. Crawling
closer now for twas hard to see him against
the black turf, l stopped beside him and
strove to quiet the violence of my breathing
Then, after a minutes pause, together W,
pulled ourselves to the edge and peered over
The descent of the gully was broken, SOM
eight feet below us, by small ledge, sloping
outwards about six feet (as 1 guess, ant
screened by branches of the wild tamarisk
At the back, in an angle of the solid rock
was now set pan pierced with holes, AM
full of burning charcoal; and over this a mai
in the rebels uniform was STOPPING.
He had small paper parcel in his lef
hand, and was blowing at the charcoal wit
all his might. Holding my breath, hear
him clearly, but could see nothing of his face
for his back was towards US, all sable agains
the glow The charcoal fumes as they roe
choked me so that was very near fit o
coughing, when Billy laid one hand on m,
shoulder, and with the other pointed out t
seaward.
Looking that way, saw a small light shin
ing on the sea, pretty close in. Twas Ian
tern hung out from the sloop, as conclude,
on the instant; and now began to have a
inklng of what was toward.
But looking down again at the man wit,
the charcoal pan, l saw black head of hal
lifted, and then pair of red pulled cheeks
!, and pimpled nose with a scar across tn
bridge Of it-all shining in the glare of tn
pan.
Powers of heaven!" gasped; "'tis tina
bloody villain Luke Settled"
, And, springing to my feet, / took a jun
over the edge and came sprawling on top {
) him. The scoundrel was STOPPING with h
nose close to the pan, and had not time t
turn before I lit with thud on his shou
ders, hattening him on the ledge and nearl
sending his face on top of the live coal
Twas so sudden that, before he could s
much as think, my fingers were about h
windpipe and the both Of US struggling ls
on the brink Of the precipice. For he had
bulls strength and heaved and kicked, 5
that l fully looked, next moment, to be fl,
!, ing over Che edge into the sea; nor could
loose my grip 20 get out a pistol, but onl
held on and worked my fingers in, an
thought how be had strangled tia masti
that night on the bowling green, and vowe
TO serve MIN the same if only strength hel
out.
Butnow, just as he mad almost twisted h
neck free, heard a stone OF two break ava
above us, and down came Billy Pottery ayiu
i atop Of us, and pinned us TO the ledge
Twas short work now. Within a minut
; Capt. Luke Settle was turned on his back. b
7. eyes fairly starting with Billy's clutch on b
1 throat, his mouth wide open and gasping; Il
, ! slipped the nozzle Of my pistol between b
teeth; and with that he had no more chanc
: but gave IN, and like lamb submitted
= have his arms trussed behind him wit
= Billy's leattern belt and his legs with his ow
"Now,n said ], standing over him, and pu
: ting the pistol against his temple, ''you al
u I, Master TFrncoat Settle. have some !,
q counts that 'twould be well to square.
: first tell me, what do you here. and where
= Mistress Della Killigrew!''
think that till this moment the bully h;
no iGea his assailants were more than a chan
- couple Of Cornish troopers. But now, seer
+ tae glow Of the burning charcoal on my fac
= be ripped cut horTid blasphemous ours