Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1893-06-24

those blood-shot eyes 1t was only
the crook of a finger and the boy
would be out of the way, and another
bullet would be ready for his brother.
But even as the tip of the finger
moved the fraction of an inch and
rested lightly on the trigger, there
was a sharp whirr in the bunch OF
sage by the Apache's side, and the
thick head of a rattlesnake circled
slowly out and stopped in the center
of its coil, like the tongue of a @.
Gust ready to strike" thought
Thacker, sand save me the trouble
and -. But PEACHES generally
knows 'nough to keep out of the way
of rattIers. The trumpet must have
drowned the warmth"
The snakes head swaYed a little,
and a breeze moved the leaves of the
sage-clump lightly. Then a figure
stole across the canon and drew near
to the boy. The young savage saw
it, but he paid no heed. 1t was only
his mother, and he held her in the
contempt that all Apaches hold wo-
men. Squaw Mary was as squat and
dry as any desert native, and her
stone jug of face could be read no
easier. But something of expression
had come to her as she sprang over
the gray sand. She had seen the rat
tlesnake.
The man behind the rock saw that
look, and saw that the fame of death
would fash from the sage-clump be-
fore she could snatch the boy away,
for he seemed deaf to all signs, and
was bent only on showing how he
could shiver the air with that won
derful horn
By moving the muzzle of the rifle
quarter OF an inch, it covered the
fancy knob that stuck from out the
coil. Thacker knew that the death
stroke would come the instant the
boy should move his foot, 'and that
| all the mothers effort would go for
naught She was close on now, pant
ing and holding out her hands, while
the big bead-eyes under the thick.
black bang were full Of mother-love
and mother-fear.
Zip" went Thacker's lead, and
down fell the 'srattler's" head, while
the coil writhed in the sand.
Squaw Mary grasped the boys arm
and shook him as if rousing him
from sleep, glancing meanwhile to-
ward the rock from which the rifle
smoke drifted sharply away. Then
she reached for the other twin, and,
knocking their black heads together
in her rush, she ran them down the
common and out OF sight behind
wall of rocks
And then Thacker saw what he
had done, and knew that his life
hung on an Apache's sense of graft
tude. Well, he had snatched a hu-
man being out of a deadly danger,
again the picture took on that
awful red. His darlings, his own
all dead.
The afternoon wore away. and the
welcome darkness in which he would
drag himself forth and away to Ranch
Ii was gathering at last. Yes, he
could go even now, for there was a
deep shadow en- the side Of the canon
where he lay, and it would be hard
even for Apache eyes to see a man in
dark clothes crawling along on the
brown rocks, He buckled on bis cart
ridge belt took another twist in the |
tourniQuet be fhad fast
ened so tightly to his leg just above, |
the bullet hole grasped his Winches-
ter and raised himself upon his knees.
Then he paused Could they see
him? He might be humans blur on
the side of the rock, but that would |
be enough for a SSight"-alI an
Apache needed The mere blur, the
mere Scratch, was enough for d
sight"
''ShaN! Pm gettiR as skeery as,
a woman. It's all nonsense" he
thought
He put one hand out upon the sand
TO crawl forth. The sharp voice of
4 rifle spoke abruptly and he felt
brisk pain in his shoulder, where the
bullet struck. He lodged down
again behind rock but not too
quickly to see dark forms, rushing TO-
ward him. He pressed closely down
against the earth and tried to slip his
rife tohis shoulder, but the right
hand was heavy as leadia and as prickly
IS K it cIutched battery-pOle. His
eft hand--that was free, and it
yrasped the handle of the. revolver in
his belt
But there was tight grip on his
arm, and an Apache knife glittered
before his eyes. How large it seemed,
how keen of edge. Just as it was
drawn across his throat, head bent
over FROM behind the dark forms that
held him down, and he saw in the
starlghA the stolid stonejug face of
Squaw Mary.
At her side stood the ''two twins"
+. B. Willard, in the ArgOnaut
The Telephone.