Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-04-05

tutl uOllb WIFI IDClT tdDIlNCSs
God knows! I could hear them
screaming and praying--those poor
girlsl Mullan and the pay clerk picked
up Feeny after he was stunned. and
they rushed him back through here,
where the paymaster had dragged
himself, to where you found him.
That-that's the paymaster you We got
there. Then they tried to save n
drunken soldier while all &c gang
seemed crowding after the safe and the
girls, but they were shot down inside
and must have burned to death if they
WASH killed. Oh, God, what night"
And weak, unstrung, unnamed, the
poor fellow sobbed aloud.
AT this instant there rode into the
corral couple of troopers.
Lieutenant Drummond heref" cried
one of them. We've found man out
on the plain to the southeast, gagged
and bound. Shall we fetch him inf"
You go, Quinn, but get some one
else to help you. Patterson, your horse
is fresh, gallon back on the trail. Tell
Sergeant Meinecke to come ahead for
all he's worth. Let the packs take care
of themselves. Send Sergeant Lee ia
here to me again" Then with trem-
bling hands the young officer turned hi
attention to his other patients. Sever
ing the cords with his hunting knife, he
freed them from their bonds, then
dashed water over their scorched and
blaCkened faces, meantime keeping up
a running fire Of questions. Between
his sobs, the young civilian told him
that the outlaws had hitched in both
teams and taken also the spare mules
and tho blackboard. They had lifted
the Harvey girls into the Concord, the
safe and Pasqual Morales into the pay
masters ambulance, while the wounded
men and Moreno's people probably were
put ON the open wagon. Then they
had all driven furiously away to the
to complete the work at the ranch.
Finding the paymaster and sergeant
well nigh dead, they had contented
themselves with binding ard leaving
them to their fate, to be cremated when
the roof of the shed came down. Then
one of the gang whom he had once
befriended in Tucson pleaded with his
fellows TO spare the life Of the only one
OF the party left to tell the tale. Pas
quail and the Mexicans were gone.
Those who remained We're Americans,
Judging by their speech. though two Of
them We're still masked. My mans
is Woods, " said the poor fellow. But
that bandit had to beg hard. They
were ready to murder anybody con-
nected with the defense, for Ramon was
killed and Pasqual shot through the
leg. ! did that, though they didn'
know it. They bound and left me
here, but made me swear l would tell
Harvey and his friends when they got
back that it w2s no use following ::
they had 30 armed men and three hours
start. They never thought of any one
else getting here first. Oh, my God!
who can break it to Mr.. Harvey when
he does Gomez"
And then Sergeant Lee came hurry
ing back, one or two men with him,
and together they labored to restore to
consciousness the paymaster. breathing
feebly. and old Feeny, bleeding from a
cash in the back Of the skull and bull
let hole through the body. For nearly
quarter of an hour their efforts were
vain. Meantime Drunmond, we'll nigh
mad over the delay, was pacing about
like Gagged tiger. He set two Of the
men to work 10 hitch the lewildered
little burros to tho we'll wheel and get
up several hugo buckctiuls Of water
against the coming of the troop. He
ordered others to rub down his hand
some sOrrel, Chester. and the mounts of
two Of tho advanced party. At last
after what must Have seemed IN age,
yet could not have been over 80 min
vtes from the time of their arrival, a
soldier running in said he could hear
uoofs out on the plain, and at the same
instant two men appeared tagging be-
tween them. bleeding and senselcss,
the ragged form Of Edward Harvey.
Scratched, torn, covered with blood
and bruises and still unconscious though
he was, Drummond knew him at a
glance. They had met the previous
year, and though only once it was
enough. Men with young and lovely
sisters are not soon forgotten. Kneel-
- ~