Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1896-09-03


every movement of his chief adversary.
Suddenly the tall man gave short
quick order, and the youth, stepping to
the door, opened it, and whistled shril-
ly. We heard an answering signal,
followed by sounds of some one ap-
preaching the house, and then fourth
man, dressed like the ruffian at whose
hands / had suffered, appeared in the
doorway. The light dazzlcd him ut
first, and he halted on the threshold,
shading his eyes with his left hand and
displaying an ugly-looking knife in his
right. While he stood there, his mate,
with an oath, whipped out similar
weapon and sprang toward the table.
Quick rs the man was, however, John
son was quicker, graphing him and
hurling him back against the wall with
such force that he lay stunned by the
blow. had had high respect for the
fishermnn's muscles, but never had l
credited them with the ability to put
forth such power as was evidenced by
the crash of the burly stranger against
the wall.
Again the defense had gained an adj
vantage, but the odds were still against
it. Three able-bodied assailants re-
mained, and all of them now gave proof
that they were armed; for, while John
son was putting his man out of the
fight, the leader and the young fellow
opposite me had drawn daggers, al
though they had been unable to Use
them in aid of their ally, SO speedily
had he been worsted. ! dare ray they
had revolvers as we'll, but preferred
cold steel for the work they expected
to do. Even on that lonely knoll a
fusillade of pistol-shots might have at
tracted attention from the people of the
knot of houses half q mile away. l
know that the blades had most wicked
look, and that the sweat gathered on
my forehead as I watched them and
wondered which of them might be dcs-
tined for me. / was frightened, thor
oughly frightcned; such courage as
possessed vanished at the CLEAN of the
weapons, and, could l have fled, not
a moment would l have tarricd. But
there was no escape; l was forced to re-
main and to see the end, which, though
it involved the defeat of the enemy,
had no hand in bringing about
Well-laid plans once disarrangcd arc
generally worse than none at all. The
programme Of the assailants, no doubt,
had been prepared most carefully.
After posting one of their number on
he landward side of the knoll, the only
direction from which, in their ignorance
of the line of communication with John
sons cottage, they would reasonably
look for interference, they had ah-
yanced, and forced an entrance to the
house. Once within, their prey was 30
completely in their grasp that, dare
say, they felt able to go about their
business with cold-blooded delibera-
ton. do not flatter myself with the
belief that my presence disturbed them
in the least. But, while the arraign-
ment of Lamar may have been intense
ly satisfying as prelude to thcdr ven
ycance, it was 4 sad blunder; for it
gave johnson time to reach the scene
and to change the whole aspect of the
affair.
Had they pressed the attack as soon
rs their comradc was overthrown, it is
altogether likely that one of them
might have reached Lamar; but, I'M
luckily for them, they failed to seize the
opportunity in the second or two of it's
existence. Their hesitation, brief as it
was, meant defeat; for no sooner had
his man fallen than Johnson drew
brace of revolvers from his pockets, and
when the strangers started forward
they looked into the muzzlcs of the
pistols. Lamar, too, thus protected,
had pulled out key and wns unlocking
a drawer of the table; and presently he
added another ugly-looking weapon to
the array trained upon the foe.
"Sorry there amt none for you, doc
tor" l heard johnson remark, "but I
guess we can attend to our friends
now"
For a moment I thought that two of
our adversaries would risk the bullets,
though the last conner quailed at the
first sight of the firearms; buteven for
them the odds were now too great.
They dared not even risk trying to
reach their own pistols. They probably
had no stomach for such a combat as
was now offered them. Reluctantly,
step by step, they retreated toward the
door. Then, suddenly, with an oath,
the leader wheeled about, and, gnash-
ing his teeth in baffled rage, strobe from
the room.
"IIere, you two" cried johnson,
"carry off your wounded"
doubt if they understood his words,
but his gesture as he pointed to the
man lying unconscious on the floor was
plain enough. Sullenly they picked up
their comrade and bore him into the
open air. The fisherman followed them
to the door, and watched them hurry
away toward the stream on the north
side of the little hill.
"Come in boat, eh?" said he.
"That's it; you can hear the oars. I'll
bet they've something to do with that
schooner lying off there in the bay.
Well, Mr.. Lamar, they're off, and I
guess they've had enough, thank ye, for
one evenin'."
at was fortunate they chose to do
their talking first and their business
afterward," said /. But think we're
quit of them for some time to come.
The abuse that tall chap showered on
you was unpleasant, but it was mighty
valuable, as l figure it out"
"Did you comprehend" Lamar
asked.
mo, except that he was cursing you
as energetically as he could"
He seemed relieved at the answer.
"How are you feeling?" said /.
"That's not the sort of entertainment