The Van Buren press., 1895-08-03

lsenod over. tors 90 the lid and heGaz
hsnlling over the bottles
Il - Gid A. 3 s1he4A -
10at belong to me, and I'd rather
you'd let them aloesr
'0h, never fearl'' laughed tbs man,
. be continued rumnaking Am4ng th<
bottleA IN make Il all rght with
uncle. WhY. he wouldn't like II At ri
II didnT help myself to anything o.
hiA" sAx ssz.x =,
The box contained Ill sorts Of drug
and medicines, but ct last the fellow
found what he wanted and held up
large bottle labeled ''brandy. -
duo we have II. - shouted md,
aStsf Al and the other boys had do
clined to drink, the fellow took . long
pull ct the bottle and set It back In
the box He did not forget where he
put1h however. Int paid his respects
70 II quite often ddring the afternoon.
Al carried shotgun In his wagon,
sad when thsy stSppea p make camp
~ the upper end - Smoky Hollow
that night, the stranger, with Ali
permission, shouldered the gun and
started mp the blum TO kill some par
Itridges, while the boys fixed camp and
cooked supper. The boys waited some
time sitter supper was done, and then,
q II wass Rctting quito dark, they
squstecA abont the hre and began eat
ing, expecting every moment to see
the stranger walk into the camp. Bu,
no stranger came, and the boys began
10 Kroy unsssy. Thinking hehad per.
hsps lost his way, they built q huge
hre and shouted loudly, but their own
ssoises scAoins frenHl TIE 9 Aills'des alons @
answered.
The younger boys became frightened
- they yemelnbered thHif 1sAt seus-
pieions. but Al. although . great dread
had sprung up in bis own bosom,
iaughed to scorn the fears OF his COM
panions, and set about stretching big
CANVAS over his wagon - usual, weight
tag tdown ON all sides with rocks, A1l
forming . snug tent for sthse oeds,
which they spread on the sGEuuna -
tween tho wheels Of the vehicle.
Resssured By his confident manner,
~ tired a1ys wefo W sdscS ~
soundly, when Al slipped quietly out
Of bed and paced silently mp and
down the road. Not sound could be
hsard savs thu champinR Of the horses
at their feed boxes, and after untying
sack OF horse feed and showing the
money down among the oats, ,as far a.
nc could reach, lie tied mp the sack
again and crspt back to bed. hut not
to sleep. Several farmers had been
robbed In the vicinity Of Smoky Hollow
that autumn, and the more AL thought
Of It the moro he became convinced
that his passenger was spy acting
for tho band that committed these
crimes He lay awake Tor hours. No
sound but the hootings OF owls broke
the stiffness, and he waa just falling
into dose when The rush and clatter
Of . troop Of hsrd-riding horsemen
came to his ears
! a"Boysi boysl' he whispered, as he
shook his sleepy companions. wake
up! quick; Somebody is coming, and
I'm afraid It's robbers Now, mind
what | tell you," he continued. as the
sleepy lads sat up and stared ut him by
the light of the lantern. That scamp
was spying, sure enough. Hear them
coming7 But don't you get scared.
I've hidden the money, and Il we keep
enf Wits about u I'VE c4n stA1f them
IN y apme way."l sllIELASs
AZ that moment Wild yen. accom-
pauied by several pistol shots, rang
through the woods, and half dozen
riilespv dssbsd Into The, camp epd sur
roundeds W wagon teat, jrst - the
hosA CANA stnmbling ont. t..---.....-.. -
Throw up your handsr' ordered the
header, d he md one a his men, easily
.JscoshiaSd 81 AZ pssengsr, covered
than with their pistols whilesthe Other
| tN& dfh@dantedl lsnd hogan eearchine
the other bays for money.
Y "Lpotce mere now, my young
friends" shouted the leader, when the
men reported the result Of their
search. ''out time y precicriA and we
ain't lths lklnd Of mon TO 10 fooled
with, 20 The sooner you hand over that
lRsA the hetterit N1M Be for you!"
"WhAt gold arc you talking abouts
We haven't b dollar ID ouf pockets, moi
waep .~ss's~solaly. ..suswerea@sAl. who
did not know the spy had seen him re.
ceive the money. .AAAXAN . ~ I
That may be- replied the robber,
S6nb if yod haveSl y re e in your
l(sslss1ss si1sakid ahsusaysndss wagons
somewhere. There's NO use Of your
btr1ihs ito blun me. My man here saw
you get the money and watched to see
thStsysu dig npt spendsjtv A. jaak trk
" over, and BE- lively aUUdtit; do you
hear?'
Al heard all too plainly.
AS4f that snehlsing blAckguard knows
where there's any gold, let him f1nd
ltr he answered, hotly.
|f{ 'fll do thnA In Ashurryssap," replied
the man, who was about TO throw him
fself on his horse when the leader
checked hinseslE ,zmkEixsW EAS
.Keep "a yopr horse. Billys he Or
dcred. You're sure they had the
monsysv Han they IN ne hndfngT'
As sure - I sit On this horse. an
swered the spy. s'.fhas TELLER there,
the tall one. hAd 1t in his pocket In :
buckslxin ba9.s = fseaaA .lgsaid 80 (.
+ "Doyon hsar that, younsster7"" said
the chief, turning upon Al. : SLOW
we're here after that gold, and, what's
more, wc're going TO have IT. Will you
hand II over ormust make you do it2''
4 Al hesitated He knew he had des-
perate men TO deal with, but was de-
termfned net to yield until obliged to.
! EsLcsk here, thuBdered the ruBan
leader, exasperated BY the LADS stub
bornness, i've fooled away all the
Aixnn I'm, .eix,s. A<, sxixk .xos. s.o...an. al