The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-06-21
PART IL.

in spit of the shadowy nature of my
grounus for anxiety, was considerable,
that saw the whole party safely col
lected at the pleasant picnic meal
which had been prepared under the
wldespreading shade of the great ban
yam tree. I fancied l could make out
9 corresponding look of relief on the
coloners face, and detected him more
than once in a quick, alert glance
around him, but l was conscious that
this might have been n mistake. and /
could even fancy that the old fellow
was chuckling inwardly over my cred
ulity in being so easily alarmed. At
any rate, nothing of an alarming char
acter happened, and the luncheon, with
its luxurious leisure, was the count
erpart of those we had enjoyed
throughout the days of our mountain
picnic. Whatever effect my story
might have had on the coloneps mind,
1t was by no means apparent in his
actions, for he certainly didn't at
tempt to cut short the time allotted
for the midday halt. Looking at him,
as 1 confess l did from time to time,
it seemed to me that he had quite re-
sumed his ordinary easy-going man.
ner, and l came to the conclusion that
1 had made rather a fool of myself by
speaking to him at all.
our halt must have lasted nearly
three hours, and the heavy, still atmos-
phere of the afternoon had fully re-
conciled us to the pleasant idleness of
the moment, when the arrival of the
wagons we had left behind in the
morning served as reminder that the
afternoon was slipping away. The
word was given to start once more, and
by the time the tops of the slowly
moving wagons had disappeared round
the first bend in the road below us we
were nearly ready to follow them. The
ladies were about to mount their hor-
ses, and L fancied 1 could observe a
few uneasy glances cast at my bicycle,
as II they were uncertain how far its
near neighborhood would be conducive
to the good behavior of the animals.
1t was annoying. but there was no help
for it, an making a virtue of necessity
| mounted and prepared to act as an
advance guard. My annoyance was
little more than momentary, for there
Is something in the motion of my wheel
that always seems to soothe my
nerves, and before half a minute had
passed L found myself spinning
smoothly down the long and gentle
slope at the further end of which /
could see through the vista of sunlight
and shadow the hooded OK wagons
that contained the main part of the by
no means inconsiderable baggage of
our party.
1t was pleasant to glide swiftly, yet
without any effort. over the elastic
turf checkered by the light and shade
Of fhn ,,I,,
the 1org succession of gorgeous tropi-
cal plants and shrubs that hedged in
the sloping road on one side, confront
ed by the abrupt masses of rock that
rose, wreathed in creepers and gemmed
with flowers on the other. There was
no need of eXertion, for after the first
few moments the incline was more
than sufficient to insure speed, so that
l had ample leisure to look about me
as L went. Even now the thought of
my apparition was partly present in
my mind, although, as 1 swept past the
spot where the hill path to the old fort
Joined the road on which 1 was travel
ing, had the pleasant impression that
L was leaving it behind. In spite of
this, was conscious that it was to the
upper side of the road that my eyes
turned involuntarily, and that l scar
ned with quick, sharp glances the hol-
lows that opened among the rocks,
and the clumps of luxuriant vegetation
as l swept past them on my downward
course. Suddenly, just as I was smil-
ing to myself for my action, l saw him
again. This time there could be no
mistake. He had not seen me coming.
L feel sure, and of course my wheel
made no sound on the soft path, but
SUDDENLY, within dozen yards in front,
the same figure 1 had seen twice be-
fore, sprang out of the bushes on the
very edge of the rocky wall which at
that spot rose perhaps twenty-five feet
above the road. He had a gun in his
hand, and tied to the muzzle was his
loosened turban which he waved three
times over his head-he was still in the
very act of waving it when l swept
past at his feet. His eyes were fixed on
some point further down the road as I
did 50, and even then 1 don't think he
could have been aware of my presence.
What did it mean? / looked over NV
shoulder and saw our party-some
thirty in all. of whom ten were ladies
-cantering down the road three or four
rundred yards behind. could imagine
l heard their laughter as they came on.
There was danger--danger of some
KIND, L was sure--in the action l had
just seen. If a face, and the expression
of face, went for anything, the dan
ger was imminent and deadly. As the
conviction flashed across my mind I
tried to think what was to be done.
Unless he has actually tried it, no one
can tell how hard a task it is to think
under such conditions of emergency.
The danger evidently lay in front,
where, some two or three hundred
yards off, the oX-wagons were travel
ing along uncOnsciously. but the party
against whom it must be aimed were
still behind. / hesitated for a moment,
and then feeling the necessity of do
ing something, 1 turned half round in
my saddle and, waving my arm franti-
cally over my head, / shouted the
words: "Halt! Danger! Back! / hadn't
tried to stop, and 1t was probably for
tunate that l hadn't for the echo of
my last word was still ringing in my
ear and my eyes were still fixed on
the party behind me to see what effect
my warning had produced, when some
thing whistled closely past me, and at
the same moment the sharp report of
a gun startled all the echoes of De
spot.
Had l thought for an hour l could
have hit on no better plan for giving
the alarm, and even as involuntarily
bent my head, as If to escape the shot,
it was a sensation of no little relief
that l heard it. At the same moment,
| and while l was in the act of looking
back again to see what effect it had
had, my hand went instinctively to the
belt under my loose coat where / had