Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-05-14

lone Of the emlgrants. Al hesitated
saw q little movement In the shadow
OF = great pine tree behind the two rob
bers, who were standing, and not two
steps away from them. Silent as q
shadow, the form Of a man blended
with the dark tree trunk, and through
the darkness I saw the cold CLEAN Of
two revolvers that he held, one In each
hand. The feature of the man i could
not distinguish, but by his huge bulk
and the white CLINT Of the eye, like that
of an angered horse, knew 1t was
Sam Brown. His long hair fell down
over his shoulders, and that was sign
always that he was out for killing.
Something the robbers had to say about
him was not likely to soothe his feel
ings.
1.-THE man beside the leader spoke.
The whisky had got into his tongue or
he would not have said a useless word
at such time as this.
"Number Five wrote me from Bo-
die that Sam Browns gang had this
outfit spotted and meant to run of
their horses on the way. But they
slipped or day earlier than he ex-
pected, and he missed 'em. Won't old
Brown shake his long hair and flourish
round when he hears we've got the
Doodle. Maybe he'll be over to see u.s.
Brown be hanged said the leader.
He's cur, anyway. He went to Bodie
because he was afraid he'd get killed
If he stayed at Lone Pine. You
couldn't drag him there with a rope to-
day. Here, Six, don't miss that girl
and the poor little banjo player
shrieked, and her mother screamed
still more loudly, as one Of the seach-
ers seized her roughly.
! ut was right at this point that Sam
Brown came in with his little piece Of
business, and 1t was all finished in five
seconds. The girls scream was lost in
the cracking of two pistol shots that
sounded like one loud report. Sam
Brown had taken one step forward and
| fired from each hand. The two masked
men covering the emigrants with
pistols fell two ways, both dead before
they struck the ground. Crack! His
right-hand pistol spoke again and one
Of the searchers, as he started up, sank
back and lay still. The man who had
started to search the little banjo player
turned at the sound and held the child
before him as shield, so that Sam
could not fire without hitting the child.
He drew his pistol as he did so. In an
instant more Sam had closed in upon
him, reached above the girls head and
smashed the robbers skull with his
heavy revolver. The fellows pistol ex.
ploded, sending the ball into the ground
as he dropped down senseless. AS he
fell the mother sprang forward and
drew the shrieking girl away.
"Sam fired pistol ball into the mans
head as coolly as he might have shot
snake on the prairie. Then he turned
round to survey his work. STOPPING
over, he pulled each one of the robbers
up from the ground by the hair or col
lar and tore the mask off and looked
at his face. He nodded his head and
through the dark I thought could see
the grim smile of satisfaction on his
lips.
L
himself as il no one had been round.
TT was bound to come, but I didn't
think 'twould come so soon. Four at a
lick! That's high! Reckon won't have
to go to Lone Pine! I'll take drink
now He turned to the emigrants
Where's your whisky? The jugs up
setv
N1,n fsrvo be- mn IN
alized-and no wonder-to attend to
anything. but one Of the young men
found quart bottle that had been over
looked by the robbers. The stopper was
sealed and Sam knocked off the head
against the wagon wheel, and drank
from the bottle. He took two or three
deep gulps.
"Thats good he said. I'll take the
rest of it along with me- and he slid
the bottle into the rear pocket Of his
long tailed frock coat. L wonder il
these fellows have got anything about
'em that 1 want he continued, and
went through the pockets of the dead
men. He looked their weapons over,
but threw them down. They're not up
to mine he said.
"Then he turned over the canvas bag
that the robbers had put their plumber
In and picked up the money.
"There's $50 sure enough he said.
I'm little short. Reckon I'll borrow
half Of it. Call it $50 for even change
There's the rest And he handed the
old gray-haired patriarch what was left
with an air of great consideration.
I'D been working back toward my
wagon but still could see him and hear
what was said at the emigrants' camp.
thought Sam had got through there
and would come back, and I'd rather
he'd think didn't know all that had
been going on. But nobody could ever
tell what Sam Brown would do next
at any place or time, except that it
would be something cussed. He had
one more thing to say to make himself
agreeable to the emigrants.
"'Won't We sing me that plantation
song againT heard him ask the banjo
player; asked it in that camp after
what had Just happened, with four dead
men lying there, and the girl shrieking
in Mysteries. Sam gave up his point
for once and came over to where 1 was
sitting by my wagon. 1t isn't as rule
best to say much to a man that's been
having a shooting scrap until you find
out whether he's got all off the idea of
killing. But / saw that Sam was in high
good humor.
"Likely you heard some shooting