Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1896-09-17

the house. an then you'n NELL go smoke
'em out. When they shows up. you take
the young un an leave the colonel To
me. l reckon I'll show him that don't
miss the same man twicet."
How bout the gal?'
Needn't TO mind bout herr she'll
look out for hcrself;" and then the same
voice added; N reckon Jcd"d he glad
enough 10 take keer o her, if she'd low
hit"
Even after the convincing oh icct-lcs-
son of the attempt upon his own life,
Ringbrnnd could scarcely believe the
| evidence of his sens, =. Could il he
| possible that these two men were calm
ly discussing plot which pointed Ia
"A double murder as its object? They
were speaking again, and he strained
his ears TO catch every word.
"Thcy's only one thing about hit
that looks sort q shaky, jeff; that's
the part about the gal Course
knows wC-all amt fightin' wccmiu'
but hit III I've takin' n right smart mo-
chances il she gets n sight o wc-nll."
'She bain't gwine TO. When the fires
done started, you'n me can hide in the
ivy bushes"
That II fix hit; an afterwards We
low Ia ride for McNairville?'
"Uh-huh; we can Jest bout make hit
in time for the cyars, if we put out
sort a lively"
''lIow about the bosses? Vail sold
'em with the place, didn't yc?'
Il did 50, an the Teller can take EN-
wharsomevcr he's lucky enough Ia fin
'em, cayn't he?"
They were silent again. and Ring
brand smcllcd tobacco smoke. lie stood
motionless in the darkness, trying 10
think of some way in which the cold
/ bloodcd plot could Ice frustrated; there
/ seemed 10 he but one way, and his de-
/ sire for vengeance cooled n little as he
! thought of il. but he crept into posi-
| tiou where he could commands he widest
range of space in the other chamber.
and watched for the men To cross the
narrow field of vision on their way hack
/ to the mine. Ii seemed hours before
they spoke again, and then the gruffer
voice said: Il don't believe that thar
lamps gDyinc out, Buddy"
81 reckon hit air. for shore" was t-,,-
reply; but hit don't make no diff
cnce; we-all can fin the way without
| hit"
A little later the light faded and flick
cred and then went out, leaving behind
it a darkness that was almost tangible,
! and Ringbrand's heart sank as he real
lied that one chance of saving lIester's
father and brother was gone. 1t was
only a chance, he knew, for the noun
tainecrs were two to one, and he was
mot enough of a marksman TO be sure of
| disabling even one of them; ncverthe-
less, he had made up his mind 10 fire
upon them when they came again in
view, trusting Ia the shortness of the
range 10 offset his lack of skill with the
weapon.
lie thought he heard them when they
left the chamber, and again, after what
seemed an interminable interval, there
was faint rustling such as might have
been made by the two men climbing
| out of the cave. The correctness of this
/ last superstition was confirmed short
| IN afterward by the dull rumble of a
distant explosion. and the listener knew
that another of the mysterious attacks
had been successfully made on the
I working in the McNabb mine.
With the certainty that the men had
| left the cavern, and that with their dis
| appearance his only chance of prevent
/ ing the terrible conclusion of their plot
had taken flight, Ringbrand sat up and
strove fiercely to concentrate his mind
--run some eNpedient that would free
| him in time to enable him TO warn the
I.atimers. For awhile the awful re-
sponsibility resting upon him pushed
| him so near to the edge of distraction
that connected thought was an impos-
.sibility, and he got up and tramped up
/ and down the familiar limits of his cell
| i'm feverish agony of hclplessness.
/ Then his brain cleared again, and one
| plan after another WINS considered and
rejected. The sandstone was compare
| lively soft-could he not dig through
10 the other chamber?-yes, possibly,
but it would take too much time. The
other end of the cavern was filed with
broken rock and earth which had fallen
| into the crevice from above-could he
not dig enough of this down 10 make il
| possible to climb out on the heap of de-
bris?-undoubtedly, in time, but the
finding in the mass of a single bowlder
too large TO be loosened might cost the
lives of two men. No, there must be no
| more experiments.
At last, when the travail of sugges-
ton had become well-nigh unbearable
in its hopeless insistence, he stumbled
over the log; at the same instant, as
II the shock had opened the door of his
understanding, n possible solution of
the problem, clear and distinct in every
detail. flashed upon him like an inspira-
| ton, and he threw himself down upon
the sand to watch for the coming of the
daylight, praying with what faith there
was in him for strength and dexterity
TO enable him TO earn his freedom quick
ly.
- Y.
DIVERSITY OF OPINIONS.
Kind-hearted Mrs. Ludlow, overflow
| ing with the sympathy which is the