The Lehi banner. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1891-1917, 1896-07-02


lie saw the ahsurdity OF u all, and how
much moro sensible il would have been
to- ial'c Ltdlow's suggestion. surround
ing The house with q posse Of armed
mcu whose numbers would have made
Resistance on the part Of the mountain
ccrg uscless and hence improbable.
And what was there to be urged
against such a safe and practical plan
OF procedure Nothing. or lcss than
nothing; merely the denomination OF
ana nbstrusc metaphysical problem
Within himself; the application Of O.
heroic Test which had no place outside
the realm Of fiction. And with this
thought % occurred to him that hc had
unconsc,ously planned the whole thing
upon thc lines that would have made
IL most effective in a storyl Aud then
the suggestion of the calcium light and
the alarmed young woman looking
down upon the theatrical tablenu from
her window came again, making him
Sick with disgust.
Looking at IL from any point of view,
the romantic project, which was more
than likely 20 cost him his life in the OK
ccuting, was merely fantastic idea OF
proving himself in some way knight
without feur-a modern type Of gor-
tcsque medieval parsonage who went
nnout staying impossible dragons and
discmbowcllng NEUROLOGICAL giants.
10 was absurd ridiculous -prepostcr-
ous' and from this point in the argu-
mcnt the descent 10 tho Avcrnus of ter
ror ageasy Atthc end Of a half-hour
he felt Che prcmonitorv spinal chill
hcralding a return Of the wcll-known
symptoms; in Eve minutes more the
puroNram was upon him. and he was
struggling furiously iu the grasp Of his
familiar demon. blind. deaf and help
less, with every fiber Of his being strain
ing itself for fight an impulse so real
that he turned and grasped at the rough
bari, OF the tree to keep himself from
hcmg carried bodily away by the whirl-
wind OF terror.
The attack did not last long. and
about the time the blood began 10 Jingle
in his veins again he heard the mufled
trampling of horses approaching along
the dusty road At the signal the very
recollection Of his late discomposure
seemed somehow TO vanish into the
limbo of remote past; his pulses
quictened and his muscles thrilled
with the vibrations Of an accommodating
ENERGY that sang ioyously as 10 leaped
through tho tense nerves and the throb-
bing arteries His sharpened senses
were uunaturally acute: he heard the
woody clink Of the rails as the men
made q breach in the zigzag fence, then
the smothcrcd hoof-beats Of the horses
coming across the soft turf of the lawn;
moment later. in an interval Of silence.
he fancied he could almost hear the
whispered instructions given 90 jed.
When the two men emerged from the
deeper shadows of the grove he saw
them quito distinctly in the Starlight;
they came directly toward his hiding
place. and when they paused within q
few feet Of the trees he could scarcely
restrain the eager fcrocity that prompt
cd him to rush outupon them. In the
instant of hesitation he had time 90 note
that one of them carried an armful of
binding wood; the man gathered IL
into n Hrmcr hold while they paused,
end there was a smothcred tlnkle OF
breaking glass, and the pungent odor
Of kerosene filed the air.
what was that thar noisc?" asked
the other.
Tits that thar blame bottle o coal.
oil. that's what hit is; hits done
busted an run all down into my boots,
replied the first; and they moved for
ward and disappearedbchind the corner
of the house.
Bingbrand kept them in sight as long
us he could, and then ran across TO the
clump of lourels. going down on his
hands and knees and staring intentA
into the gloom until he found then
again. two darker blots of shadow
crouching in the angle formed by tho
bay window in the parlor. While h'
was straining his eyes TO catch tn
CLEAN OF the match which would he thu
signal for their return, he did not hea
| the stealthy steps Of man who was ap
preached him from behind, nor did h'
/ know OF its presence when the gliding
I figure came quite close and stood will
/ dubbed gun waiting for him to rise
The appearance of the third brothe
upon the scene was due TO the fact tina
/ Ludlow had chosen his position unfor
| tunately and so was unable TO see th'
men when they dismounted Tor thi
| reason, he waited until he was sure tina
| the two incendiarlcs had started 70
/ the house, and the delay gave the holde
/ of horses time to yield TO sudden i'm
pulse born of a desire to know IL hi
warning TO Hester had accomplished IT
purpose. Looping the horses bride
together and throwing them over tn
branch of a tree, he followed noiselessl.
in the footsteps OF his brothers; an
coming out on the open lawn in time Z
catch a glimpse of RinRbrand as he ra
across 10 the laurels, he crept forwar
until he stood with uplifted gun benin
the unsuspectinR sentinel. When Ring
brand rose az the fash of the mattel
the poised rifle cut q quick circle in tn
air and descended with blow that sen
him back TO his knees with a thousan
scintilating notes dancing before hi
eyes; for a single confused instant Il
thought the end had come, and then h
felt the revivifying breath of the spir
of battle which seemed to inspire hiI
with the reckless and inyincible courap
of his warlille ancestors. Leaping I
his feet, he fell upon his assailant wit
irresistible fury; there was sharl
breathess struggle, a fierce clutchin
FOR under-holds, and then Ringbran
swung the slight form of his antagoni'
over his head and dashed il, limp an
helplcgs. npaingt the hole of the oak.