Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1896-10-15

N'l ul'h III Ms ilol lH's ''iih wv ''A'' 1 -
gathered round.
Wa 5 closed" said the leader. sen
tentiouSly. "Got to fight here or sur
render"
"Or cut our way through suggest
ed the man from Harvard,
"The women" remarked Slater. and
the other accepted the fact
IF they were only mounted" NUT
tered Il trooper.
The Spanish riders were now draw
ing in. and II volley of cnrabineS ran
before. They had aimed high, with
the result that three men of the troop
toppled from their saddles This left
the number of mounts free.
Cant you ride. SenOra?" said Sla-
ter. Both replied in the affirmative.
"Then mount here. if you please. We
must try to cut our way out %
Are you afraid?'
1T is the privilege of a Cuban wom-
an to fear nothing except capture by
these
The man from Harvard was struck
by her courage. but he could not stop
to admire it, The women were helped
astride the dead troopers saddles-it
WaS no time for false modeSty-and
the rest formed up around them. One
of the women held out her hand to-
ward Slater'S holsters. but he pointed
out the fact that there were pistols al
DIV in tl,n hpl,,tnp,, hnf Il
took these out and handled them with
familiarity.
The SpaniardS had paused Il few hun
dred yards away, and were scrutiniZ-
ing the men they had pursued. | do
not know why they did not rush down
and overwhelm them by sheer weight.
Possibly so much coolness made them
suspect a ruse or ambuScade At any
rate they stood still moment till they
saw the band form in hollow square.
with the women in the center, and
charge down upon them.
Slater was leading. The guerillas as
sayed to move forward to meet the at
tack, and when they came within fifty
janus lhN ploloiS DNSdh W tluChle oIl
both sides. A charging horse stum-
bled heavily to the ground. throwing
his rider headlong. An incessanl vol
ley poured from the deft revolvers
of the assailantS. and the Spanards
recoiled from the spot on which it was
directed, where men and horses rolled
together on the earth. moment. and
the little company. with the Impetus
of bullet, had crashed into this
shrinking spot and sunk right in for
tve horses lengths. There was SHIN
mer all about as the men swung the
machetes above their heads and urged
on the plunging horses. The Span
iards directly in front strove to get
GEAR to nave more room for fighting.
ana the insurgents pushed forward to
the furtheSt inch. 1t really seemed,
for little, that they would win through
the Spanish ranks.
The guerillas next the troop were
exchanging desperate sword strokes
with their antagonists. while those far
ther out were pressing closer, and fir
ing wildly into the swirl of fight with
reVolverS. Five of Slater's men had
gone down beneath the blows that
came from the front and rear alike.
There were but twelve left. and these
redoubled their efforts TO break through
the trap that held them fast. Slater
rode in front, slashing to right and left
with huge machete. He cut down
ah opposing trooper, pistoled the horse
as the rider fell, and spurred forward
INTO the space thus provided. His
men followed. and by sheer dint of
blows managed to gain few yards
more. But the foe gathered close, and
again two of the handful went down.
Ihe air was all a-Quiver with steel
blades about the fight. but now that
the insurgents, had got fairly in mo-
ton once more, they were slowly vet
surely thrusting their way through the
crowd. But they lost man
for every yard they won. Pistol bull
lets hummed through the melee. strik
ing down friend and foe alike. One
or the women was hit as she fired into
the dense gray ranks; the other, either
wounded or fainting, slid from her sad
ile' and both disappeared beneath the
press.
while Slaters horse thus melted
apace, Slater rode in the front, and
knew not how the others Jared. He
only knew that he was hewing his
desperate way forward as a bushman
news his way through the tropical Jun
gle. lie had lost his hat and his hair
was clotted and dripping with blood,
but he took no heed of the wounds; all
MS effort was to reach the open space
beyond. And ut last, bleeding horse
and man, he swayc into the clear
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