Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-12-11

mentS. Inch by inch could feel the bed
move slowly over the floor. My senses
were stimulated by the excitement of the
moment, and | could hear the breathing
of the would-be robber. The door was
now sufficiently open to admit the thief
Thinking to capture him, sat up in bed
waiting for him to approach
1t was too dark to distinguish his form.
but | could tell his position from his deep
breathing as he slowly AMI cautiously ap-
preached the head of the bed. At that in
slant raised my pistol and cried stop,
or | will fire.
Quick as a fash he sprang for the door
and fired at the same instant. He gave
a cry of pain. but continued on his flight.
| jumped from my bed. rushed to the door
and shot again at the retreating figure.
The ball evidently missed him. for it did
not stop his mad race, and the next mo-
ment we heard the swift galOping of
couple of horses.
The house was in an instant uproar.
Men came rushing from their rooms each
one crying aloud as to the cause of the
shooting. The explanation was brief, but
it took an hour or more to quell the eN-
element and | am certain but few slept
during the remainder of the night.
1t was plain that the two strangers had
made their preparations and had their
horses near by. Had they been successful
in obtaining my gold, they would have dis
appeared in the night.
When day gave us light spots of blood
were visible upon the hail floor and on the
stairs, but a search for some distance along
the road revealed nothing Of the robbers.
so it was evident that my shot had not
been a serious one.
Trusting that had seen the last Of my
asSailants, | mounted my horse after
breakfast and pursued my Journey. My
route lay for some miles through a most
! picturesque and scenic region. Volcanic
rocks rose abruptly from the hilSideS. as
Stunning the forms of temples and towers.
| Here ! fancicd could trace a ruined for
! tress, and there a moSs-covered arch or
| massive gateway.
Absorbed in detecting these fancied re
semblances to the most noted creations of
men, had ridden for a mile or more with
out seeing or hearing anything to break
the silence of my lonely ride, when a loud
report rang out, my horse plunged violent
! ly. and a second later fell to the ground,
! carrying me with him.
1--WE have him. shouted a voice that /
recognized as belonging to the man who
| had asked me about the holsters the night
| before.
| lay upon my side with my right LEG un-
der the animal The two men, each will
| gun in his hand ran toward me from be-
| hind a neighhoring rock. My situation
was most critical. | was pinned to the
earth and unable to move. Luckily my
! hands were free and | could reach one OF
the pistols in my holsters. Determined to
sell my life as dearly As possible, jcrked
the revolver loose, raised myself slightly
and fired at the robber nearest to me.
The ball struck him in the hand and
caused him to drop the gun. With an
oath he sprang back, and the two sought
shelter behind a rock.
| was still in imminent danger. for they
could make a detour and approach me in
such a manner that | should be at Their
mercy. Their advance and my shot took
but fraction of moment, so that both
were over ere the death struggles of my
animal ended. In these he partially raised
himself from my leg, and as his body was
between me and the two assaSsins,
crawled on my hands and knees to a low
rock within a few feet of me. I'VE will
see whether you get that gold or not
muttered to myself, as | rubbed my leg
bruised from the fall.
The rock behind which ! had sought
shelter extended several rods, rising in
places ten or twelve feet above the ground
| climbed up a few feet, and through a
narrow crevice examined the situation.
| saw the glimmer of gun barrel be
hind a low rock, and was thus enabled tC
locate at least one of my enemies. Stoop
ing down, | ran to the further end of the
. ] hnninn tn not a nj i'm xra
disappointed, for he was still hidden from
sight. | saw that by crawling up the hill
a short distance | could gain the protec
tion of second rock. This | instantly
did, yet every moment fearing they would
make dash for the gold, which was still
upon my horse.
They evidently did not realize that haC
moved from the rock near the dead animal
and were afraid to venture. Reaching tn,
second ledge, | found to my annoyanc,
that | could not vet see the hidden robbers
but 10y pulling myself along behind a fall
en- tree ! was at last within sight of them
They were crouching on the ground benin,
a low ledge, each peering around the en-,
of il, intently watching the spot wher,
they had seen me disappear. Though /
seemed an age, it had really only been
couple of minutes since their first shot wa
fired at me, and they were evidently wait
ing till they could tell whether l was in
jured or not.
l now raised my pistol, took careful ain
and fired. The ball struck the man VIII,
was holding the gun, killing him instantly
The other, with a cry of rage, seized III
rifle and fired three shots at me in quicl
succession.
The bullets whistled near me, and one O
them struck the log behind which | lay