Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1892-12-02


He came up and s,izcd her a. -, sunk
dolcn
"Wo are too mistrus;ful and susId.
cious." replied the father IA he looked
from the wagons. still In sight. 10 the
renegades searching the trail NO ono
would dare :O.st us with The camp
only few miles away. aud the man
will h. back with tho pins bcforo sun
down anyhow"
lie spoke thus 20 encourage himself
"a wei, ss his vito and daughter. bat
neither Of tho three felt any the less
anxious The settler looked to his Win
chester to SEQ that IL was in order, re-
moved tho brides from the horses that
they might feed while he waited and
then stood on the alert for what might
happen.
The sun was only handbreadth above
the horizon when the three renegades
returned to the wagon and exhibited one
Of the pins. which they claimed was
found a full mile away. a pry was now
got in position, the heavy body Of tho
wagon raised so that the wheels could
he slipped on the axletree and then one
wheel was made secure.
The settler and his family watched
the three men closely while they worked,
but they seemed intent only on helping
the people out Of their trouble.
1--WE may be rough in looks and bad
IN spots" exclaimed Bob AZ he wiped
the sweat from his forehead with his
al sl,,,& s,.sk
huff to abandon lone family TO the
tomahawks Of the Indians"
ut Is very brave and generous on
your part, and thank you thousand
times over" replied Brown. II wouldn't
have believed that the train people
would act 90 selfshly."
81 reckon we've been parceled out as
the worst Of the lot, but that don't make
MS 90. don't claim we are saints, but
do say that when the pinch comes we
can he depended on as white men.
There comes Pete. and reckon your
troubles are about over"
1t was dusk now. and the man called
Pete was not seen until within few
rods of the wagon. He dismounted on
coming up. handed Brown q couple Of
linchpins and said the train had gone
into camp at the river. Brown walked
to the wheel which needed the pin and
was placing it in position when sud
den great light flashed before his eyes
and he sank to the ground in heap,
having been struck on the head with an
Ak which one Of the men pulled from
the wagon.
While the women had been nervous
and anxious, the arrival Of the man with
the pins seemed an act Of good faith,
and they were congratulating them
selves on soon rejoining the train when
Bob sprang up in front Of them, seized
one with either hand and said:
"Come cut of thisl We've got ousi-
ness with your
"Daniel-fatherl" shrieked mother and
daughter. but there WAS q laugh from
all the men. and Bob pulled the women
to the ground with the leering remark:
"Daniel has got particular business on
hand just now. and he begs you will ex-
cuse himf"
For q moment the women were help
less with surprise and fear. They saw
the body Of husband and father stretched
on the sod, and both realized that he
had been struck down by the renegades
As they stood trembling and helpless
two of the men began hitching the
horse to the wagon, third was busy
robbing the dead, while the fourth
looked to tho wheels to see II all was
right.
Brave men and women think fast and
plan quickly. When life is in peril one
must not give way to feelings Of grief.
Both women knew that murder had
been done, and both fully realized the
Mot Of the renegades, but after the first
shock of surprise and the first moment
Of weakness their courage returned
"Runi"
It was the mother who whispered the
word a. she noticed that all the men
were busy for the moment.
They sprang away together, but sep
arated almost ct once, and were hidden
by the darkness before being missed.
"Jack, You stay by the horses-the
rest come alongl" shouted Bob, and nei-
Their woman was hundred yards away
when pursuit began.
The mother boye to the right, the
daughter to the left The mother made
half circle to come back toward the
wagon on the opposite side from which
she had started, but the daughter ran
straight away. Hidden by the darkness
and having the advantage Of the start,
she would have escaped but for accident.
Az she ran she stepped on q stone and
twisted her ankle until the pain made
her cry out
That cry located the girl for one Of
the renegades who was rushing hithe1
and yon at random, and he came up and
seized her - she sank down, helpless 10
bear . pounds weight ON the injured
limb. The search ended here.
LET the old one CO." said Bob as
Lizzie was carried back to the wagon.
"Shs's headed back for Nebraska, and il
the wolves don't pick her bones before
daylight the Indians are sure to come
across her. Now let's be of at once"
The team was all ready to move. and
the route had been decided on in ad.
vance. They were to bend to the left,
cross the south fork higher up and then
enter the Hills between the foothills and
the mountains themselves.
Nature makes her first effort to form
mountains a mile or so from where the
real mountain is to be heaved up. The
ground is thrown up into foothills, which
are like an abatis In front Of . breast.
works. Weary for the moment with thii
effort nature creates long, narrow val
ley, rich in springs and sweet grasses
and beyond that builds up the grim and
frowning mountains. These valleys are
SO numerous and bend and angle sc
often that they furnish secure hiding
places for parties who desire to escape
observation.
Lizzie did not ask after her father.
She realized that the villains h5d made
him their first victim. Her mother, al
she knew. was q wanderer on the plains.
A. for herself. she was so overwhelmed
for the first quarter Of an hour that she
could not speak. Bob rode beside her
and guided the horses, while the other
rode on ahead and on the tanks.
Needn't be afraid Of me, honey" said
the leader as he put q hand ON the girl'a
shoulder; II amt bad. I'm the best fel.
Ter in the country onless I'm riled. We
wanted the wagon and we wanted You,
but you've tumbled into good hands, my
gal-best hands In the world"
CuA DTCD vITy
Sailors wrecked at sea go mad some
times from the mere situation.
They may sail in their small boats or