Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-05-09
A new feeling takes possessjo,

- = 50 tA rlte herce Speed r.
Kill! Let him take one of thoss b a.
nurderers with him. ald he dnasr, ".lls |
how soon after death comes. Re- an
the matter with his aimf He has nss
killed one, not even wounded ora 4 =
knows of. He retills the magagi,, Ia |
rife in nervous, feyerish hast IN %
peeps through the creyices Of thu b,,,-'Sasa
TO see II there is an enemy in sight va
They are there, though They arr ,ss,.d s
and he is dying. How hot il Is, M
burning M with thirst and heat
1T" hurts. Ele has got So that Ia ttluy
of his wound only al cit. as if !, lug
some terrible monster that he could y
szcan "
The blood small as the quantirv-,s..
flows from his wound has formed :.
clothed and coagulated 1t adds IA ii. n
comfort by its sickness. He tbints
strange that ones own blood sbould -,
one so, and then wonders where So ma
flies could have come from, as be -
swarm by the movement of his body ~
looks across TO where the burro has IN
with the canteen. lid sees that tba 49,,
has been jammed by coming in con-.
with the bywlder, and that the nrs-i.@'
fluid has nearly all run out. How r'sot
he would give to have what little vrate,~
mains! He feels almost tempted IN ~.
reach it, but no; that would mean tb-,,
ing his life away without a chance n.
venge. Reyengei He will have IL Tai.
is nothing; death is nothing now If he s,s
only kill, kill
10 ,1s7ll art1tr 1~fll Ah.r-
he would die. ="
He looks over the bowlder. NOTHING i,
sight but powders. lava, cacti, sand ana
gazette grass. They are there, though
He almost laughs in sarcasm as be ratS5,.
himself scanning the horizon TO see If ~
relief were ia sight. Relief For davs
and the man that lay dead there had trav.
eled without finding trail made by MA
horse-without finding a trail OF any MA
How childish to expect any helpl Bette,
brace up and die like a man.
He looked at the body Of the dead ma,
How hideous the face looked with its sTol
len lips, open mouth, staring eyesl Hov
black it had grownl What a vast auaat,,
of blood had come from the wound in h.
headl His eye catches a movement in h.
tuft Of grass 10 his left. Bangl bangl pos
his rife Nothing there" he thinks a
he crouches closer TO the ground to escap.
the shots tl..t come in return.
So the hours 70 by, but he hardly mark
their fight. The sun is getting lower h
the west, and the white heat of day gives
way to the yeliowish purple haze that h
Apache land is always the fOrerunner AZ
night. How when he was first hit be had
longed for night How little be cared forH
nowl lie could feel himself growing weak
err His Winchester was heavier than any
he had ever before lifted. Even 1T" tha:
terrible thing that chained him tbers
panied him less, but the thirst grew horn
Bile. Anyhow night would give him
chance to reach the canteen At times he
felt almost drowsy, but fought of ID,
feeling He was merely waiting for the
end. He thought ii strange that he could
face it so complacently He hardly cared
now how soon it came. Would he Shoot
all his cartridges away before it reached
him' lie would not waste them though
If he could only reach Toms gun and re
volver and destroy them it would maas
those that killed him angry. 1t was for
these things, worth perhaps $50 that b.
aud Tom had been murdered.
He was beginning to think Of himself a.
already dead At least how easy to ruin
Toms rifle II was only two or thra
PAGES away lie took his revolver and
fred at it, aiming to hit 1t just in front
and below the hammer, its most vulnera
bic part. Instead, the bullet hits ID.
ground, and richocheting enters the breast
of the dead man. He shoulders as the
body stirs from the force Of the shot. o.
though he knows that life has been gone
for hours Everything is plain to him
now why his other shots had not taken
elect. He was unnerved How could
man with "a hole through his body hope to
hit anything He had heard of men sho!
the heart killing their assailaus
and had often wondered if he could doit
Could Tom have done il? How far Of
and ye- how short seemed the years that
he and Tom had been togetherl How
little there lad been in them that seesed
worth now recallinyl Crack! asingle shO.
of TO the right, and he fires where he sees
the smoke curling upward Fires again.
He counts his cartridges and is
that he has fired so many Ha
must have lost some. No, there are the
empty shells.
Another shot OF To the right. One the
front. He fires at both. He feels that be
IS growing nervous, and brings all bis re
powers into play to secure better
control Of himself. He will put away tie
dea of death, of his wound, Of everything
but revenge. Only one, and he will be sat
SIZED, and for the first time in years be
Drays, prays without words, though, that
be may kill but one
The sun is sinking lower; it has almost
reached the far off western mountain tops
It would soon be night. and then what
would they" do' Steal up under cover
If the darkness and shoot him rom behind
ZONE bowlder before ne would be aware Of
/. He would keep a close lookout and
perhaps he might after all "get" one Of
hem
Crack! crack to the right and left and
Ie glauces In both direct ions, firing at EACH
md then right over him takes place ter
'ible explosion, and he feels as il something
leavy and blunt had struck him to the
Jack. lie half raises himself, jpst enough
o turn his face upward another exHio-
ion, another heavy. blunt blow, and
through the smoke from revolver be sees
. dark young face, with black, g.tterlns
yes, white teeth, across which the iI2s az
lightly drawn-the face and the form o.
ne almost a boy-aud then he falls hacE,-
While "a dark hand and arm snatcbf5 ls
;un from las half cliugiug grasp. He hears
Wild shouting, and through his glazing eyes