The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1892-06-09

10y AHS next thing remem Der WaA
some one shaking me BY the shoulder.
was sitting on the black horse again.
but my arms were bound behind me
and the level stretch was gone and
there were trees around me. A man
was saying to me:
Got anything to say, stranger, fore
yer jerked inter tn eternal?',
II looked around. There were five
or six men near me. all sitting on their
horses, silent and grim. ! felt some.
thing rough around my throat
twisted my head to one side 1t felt
ike scarf. looked above me.
There was rope thrown over the
limb of tree overhead and one end
ran down and was held by two or
three men / had not noticed before.
The other end, it suddenly came upon
| me- was about my neck
II was to be hanged But what for?
It must be, some horrible dream. But
then came the words from the man at
my shoulder again:
What " got teEsay, pard? Any
thing? Cos If y has, yer wanter look
lively. We amt a-foolin' no'time on
boss thieves.
| Il tried to say something. Hang
| ingr Horse thievesr 1t was beyond
me. was stupefied. l made another
effort to speak, but there only came a
dry rattle from my throat
'Coyotingl heard a voice say. Pull
i'm up, boys We can't lose no more.
| And then there was terrible tight
eniDg at my throat, straining which
seemed as If 1t would almost tear my
head from my shoulders. Red, green.
somber lights flashed before my eyes.
Involuntarily set my chin hard, con-
traeting the muscles until the lower
/ jaw was fixed and extended fet
| something slip on my neck as did
this, and the strain came almost en-
I tirely on my chin. Back Of my head,
near the top, there was hard body
pressing into my hair and scalp All
these feelings are photographed upon
my memory plainly, despite the fact
that they were experienced in an in
stant's time.
Then my head began to swim and
filed until it seemed as If it were about
to burst Water forced itself to my
eyes, which felt were bullying from
their sockets. 1nsmy throat was some
thing warm. which rushed to my nos
trils and was suffocating me.
Just then there was cry from
somewhere: nay
"My God, boys! we've got the
wrong man! Look at his boots!
Where's his spurs? And look at the
blacks sides!'
| 1.-The sound came to me as if from
afar. 1t was faint, but it was distinct.
1t seemed as If some one were whis-
pering it through telephone.
For an instant felt the lessening
of the strain about my neck. Then the
warm fluid in my throat came up and
choked me and felt myself falling
through what seemed infinite space.
Something hard between my teeth
revived me and found myself against
a tree-the one from which had a
moment before been dangling-and a
man holding whisky flask to my
mouth.
"'That was narrow squeak, pard,
said my attendant How y feelin'
now, comm round all right? Take
another drop o the Ticker; it'll liven y
up a Bit
"sWe'll have ter beg yer parding,
captain said man in a big SLOUGH
hat, coming forward. We thought y
was tn Teller wot stole TIL black, and
so we strung y up. Y low the
evidence was strong 'gainat ye. But
Jest to show there's no ill feelin' the
blacks yours. I'VE learned him,
reckon, anyway. Shake hands, will "?
Il shook hands. / was yet too mys'
titled to understand anything clearly.
1 But when at last did regain my
senses more completely l heard the
whole story. The men about me were
ranchmen from 'Stockers,' thirty ode
miles above. They had lost number
of valuable horses, and finally. the day
before, the black had been missing
That settled it They at once went
on the trail and though they were 6
long time coming up with the object, o.
their pursuit, owing to the doublings
and trickery of the gentleman who had
trade d me the black horse the evening
before, they had finally sighted me
run me down and later strung me up
"'What saved y, pardner,' said my
friend of the slouched hat later on in fin
ishing his story, was them boots. They
werd too small and light for ther fel
lers round here, and anyways they
hadn't no spurs on them, and thu
blacks sides showed as how the fellel
what had rid him had wcrn the "Mexi
cans, and used 'em, too.
4,sAn hour later we started back alonl
the trail, for the men hid insisted oil
my going with them " the neares
ranch and resting over night wa
riding the black. Two miles or NOR
had been gone over whe't little bod!
of horsemen cut across the trail ant
J pulled up short as they saw US.
;" Well. we got him, lin said one o
them, and he's hanging back Their
near thar Mezos trail. fIe told us al
bout the black fore we strung him up
J and see v got him. Pointing to tn
black horse.
Yes said Jim, who was the maj
hfiwith the SLOUGH hat, and we come nea
Ia maxim, bad mistslee.' "-Franci
Churchill Williams, in Detroit Free
! Press,
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= HER RULES.