The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-03-15

her mind like a light. The three men,.
late of the feed box, were beneath the
floor of the barn and were now scrap
ing their way under this beam. She
did not consider for a moment how
they could come there. They were mar
velous creatures. The supernatural was
to be expected of them. She no longer
trembled, for she was possessed upon
this instant of the most Interchangeable
species of conviction. The evidence be-
fore her amounted to no evidence at
all, but nevertheless her opinion grew
in an instant from an irresponsible
acorn to a rooted and immovable tree.
1t was as if she was on a jury.
She stopped down hastily and scan
a -air Of hands hauling at the dirt
where the sod had been displaced.
Softly, ir a whisper like a breath, she
said: Hey
The dim hands were drawn hastily
under the barn. The girl reflected fer
a moment. Then she stopped and whis-
pered: Hey It's met
After time there was a resumption
of the digging. The CHASTITY hands be-
gan once more their cautious mining
| She waited. In hollow reverberations
from the interior of the barn came the
frequent sounds of old Santos lazy
movements. The sentry conversed with
| the prisoner.
At last the girl saw a head thrust
slowly from under the barn. She per-
ceived the face of one of the three
miraculous soldiers from the feed-box
A oair of eyes glinted and wavered,
then finally settled upon her, a pale
statue of girl. The eyes became lit
with a kind of humorous greeting. An
arm geStured at her
1 STOPPING, she breathed: "All right?'
/ The man drew himself silently back
under the beam. A moment later the
/ pair of hands resumed their cautious
/ task. Ultimately the head and arms
of the man were thrust strangely from
/ the earth. He was lying on his back
The girl thought of the dirt in his hair.
! Wriggling slowly and pushing at the
beam above him, he forced his way
out of the curious little passage. He
| twisted his body and raised himself
upon his hands. He grinned at the
I girl, and drew his feet carefully from
under the beam. When he at last stood
erect beside her, he at once began me-
chemically to brush the dirt from his
clothes with his hands In the barn, the
sentry and the prisoner were evidently
engaged in ar argument.
The girl and the first miraculous sol
der signalied Warily. 1t seemed they
feared their arms would make noises
in passing through the air. Their
/ lips moved, conveying dim meanings
In the sign language the girl described
! the situation in the barn. With guard
ed motions, she told him of the i'm
| portance of absolute stiffness. He nod
ded and then in the same manner, he
told her of his two companions under
the barn floor He informed her again
of their wounded state and wagged his
head to express his despair He con
torfed his face TO tell how sore were
their arms and jabbed the air mourn
FULLY to express the remote geographic
cal position.
This signalling was interrupted by
the sound of body being dragged OF
dragging itself with slow swishing
sound under the barn. The sound wa:
too loud for safety. They rushed t.
the hole and began to semaphore wild
ly at it, bur the swishing continued
until shaggy head appeared with roll
ing eyes and quick grin.
With frantic downward motions O.
their arms they suppressed their grir
and with it the swishing noise II
dramatic pantomime they Informed thi.
head OF the terrible consequences of 81
much noise. The head nodded anC
painfully but with extreme ease tn,
second man pushed and pulled himsel
from the hole
In faint whisper the first man said
Where's Sin?''
The second man made low reply
He's right here" He motioned reas
suringly toward the hole.
When the third head appeared a sof
smile of glee came upon each face anC
the mute group exchanged expressly,
glances. When they all stood togeth
err free from this tragic barn. they
breathed u long sigh that was confennpor
aneous with another smile and anothe
exchange of glances.
One of the men tip-toed to a knot-hoI
and peered into the barn. A sentry wa
at that moment speaking. Yes "
know EN- all. There isn't a house
this region that we don't know who is
II most OF the time. We collar EN- ono
in aWhile-like we did you. Now. tina
house out yonder, We"
The man suddenly left the knot-hol
and returned to the others Upon hi
lace dimly discerned, there was an ir
dlcatIOn that he had made an astonfshin
discovery. The others questioned hi1
with their eyes but he simply waved a
arm to express his inability to speak q
that spot He led them back toward tn
hill, proWling carefully At A safe dis
lance from the barn he halted and a
they grouped eagerly about him. he ey
ploded in an intense undertone. ''Wh
that-thats Cap'in Sawyer they got i
yonder."
,,Cap'n Sawyer incredulously whisper
ed the other men.
But the girl had something to asl
How did you get out of that feed-box
A man turned to her at once. oh! TIL
f fee He smiled. We'll, when 70
put us in there, we was just in
minute when we allowed it wasn't
mighty safe place and we allowed We
get out. And we did. We skedaddle
round and round until it 'peared like W
was going to get cotched and then W
flung ourselves down in the cow-stal
where it's lowiike-just dirt foor-an
then we just naturally went a-whoopin
under the barn-hoor when the Yanl
come. And we didn't know Cap'n Saw
discoursing and we allowed it was
mighty pert man but we didn't know thu
it was him. Nom'm.''
These three men so recently from
, situation of peril seemed suddenly to hay
, dropped all thought of it. They stoc
: with sad faces looking at the barn. The
seemed to be making no plans at all
, reach a place of more completes safet-
They were halted and stupefied by SON
unknown calamity.
How do you raikon they cotch hin
SIM" one whispered mournfully
= Il don't Know" replied another in II
} same tone. The girl was staring at II
barn. Suddenly she turned and whispe
ed: who is hep
He's Cap'n Sawyer, m'm" they told h.
SorroWtully. He's our own cap'n.. He
been in command of US yere since a lor
: time. He's got folks about yere. Rake
they cotch him while he was a-visiting
She was still for a time and thel
aWed, she said: "Will they-win the
hang him.
"No'm'm. Don't raikon no such thin.
: No'm'm''
: The group became absorbed in a col
temptation of the barn. For a time n
one moved nor spoke. At last the ei
Nv eli