The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-10-12

| silent partner in the concern ran in
| from the kitchen close by to get some
necessary articles for the culinary de.
/ partment, and seeing him lounging
about her fears were excited, and as she
departed to resume the preparation OF
her evening meal she threw a warning
! glance across the counter at her hus.
band.
The afternoon wore away and the
sun was sinking into the broad bosom
of the Pacific. casting lurking shadows
toward the Sierras across the valley
and spreading a cool mantle over the
| bronzed earth, which seemed to hush
into dreamy repose the sounds of life
| in the foothills, ERE the busy house
wife began to look for the coming OF
| her mate. He seldom varied the time
of his arrival, being regularly on hand
to draw up his chair as soon as supper
was placed upon the table. But on
this occasion he failed to appear. and
the expectant woman felt strange
foreboding, and she could hardly re-
fraln from running up to the store to
see that all was right. She went often
to the door, casting anxious glances to-
ward the store, but he came not.
Before taking the evening meal from
the stove she stepped once again to the
door, and as she paused on the threshold
there came to her straining ears noise
resembling a hoarse cry in the dis
lance. Instantly she felt the fears Of
the past months returning with re-
newed force, and for q moment her
heart was faint with apprehension.
With her, however, action followed
quickly in the wake of thought. and
her next move was to secure large re-
volver, kept always within easy reach,
dart out into the road and hurry toward
the store. In moment she stood upon
the threshold. and there. before her,
was sight that sent the blood in q
torrent back into her heart, paralyzing
for moment her entire being. In tho
back part of the store her husband
crouched, borne over by the weight Of
the Mexican, who, while clinging to
his back, was striving to saw his head
from his body with huge pruning
knife, such as are used in the vineyards
of that land of the grape. With ono
swift bound she was beside the strug-
Cling men, and placing the muzzle of
her revolver against tho Mexican's
back, essayed to discharge it. She
tugged at the trigger with all her
strength, but in her haste to rescue
her husband she had only partially
raised the hammer, and thus was un-
able to bring it down. Casting the
weapon aside sho seized the wretch
about the neck, and with a mans
strength hurled him across tho store.
Unfortunately for her, he went in the
direction taken by tho discarded
weapon. He sprang for it, and. turn
ing, began firing at her as he reiterated
backwards from tho store. One of the
cruel bullets pierced her through from
back to breast, and laid her low beside
her bleeding and half unconscious hus-
band.
They had lain thus but . few
moments when a wagon stopped before
the door, and from it descended a
neighboring rancher, who leisurely
secured his team and entered the store.
There being but few apertures for tho
admission of light, and the sun having
by this time sunllen almost from sight
beyond tho world OF waters to the
west, objects were growing dim, and
the man did not notice the two nearly
lifeless forms lying just beyond some