The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-08-19

fallk Oh the Hunks df 4 HE leaders md
wheelers, lssy wing wherever II falls, great
Welts that show plainly through the dust
az and & foam that cover the; horses. cuts
aud raises ridges on the TANKS of the
leaders, while he shouts at them with
fierce Spanish curses. $5E5
No wonder the horses grow wild with
pain and fear and dash muddy on.
II is only a question of time before they
aIe oyerta ken, unless something intervenes
to save them. IA broken trace, cracked
spring-and then Il few shots, d rush by
the Indians, and MI would be over; the
next passerby would find their lnitilated
bodies lying IN the road, amid the rined
| trunks and inaiibags. 81
No One speaks. 81 s.s IS :s.S
They are utmost at the ltoiht where the
marrow road begins to climb the moln.:
Behind them, less than a mile away,
come the Apaches their horses fleck,A
As soon as the blackboard. begins to
| ascend the mountain it viii be madness
| to drive as they have driven on the
plains. To do so might throw them into
the canyon hundreds of feet below, Or
| break the vehicle against the boulders TINT
line the roadside. ( rs. St
Already Jose is getting his horses in
hand, as If to check their speed. Here the
Indians hare the advantage, aud their
| sure-footed mustangs, nntempered BY har-
aS Snek Or w u will soon overtake the
There IS one chance. Hawley, whose
face is white and stern, SAYS. facing Duns,
| ..Dunsmier, from the top Of the noun,
tam 1t Is hardly three miles into the next
station, Camp Date Greek, and you and
!, by getting out here, can keen back the
1TNfI <kp0
we only hold them back for; ten minutes
It will be enough, for, by that time the
wagon can reach the top of the mountain,
and then there will be no. chance for the
Indians to overtake it. i r :ss@sSS y. =,
AS he faces Dunsmier, for the first
time FOR months, he again looks into the
eyes of the woman he has loved. How
;Ihey look pleadingly into his and his
heart is filed with pity for this woman
who sits there in silence, with death so
near, Z = 80 Is So =. EGz.-5I
Her eyes never lesxe his face, as if
longing for him to4speak, if only to par.
don the past: AS the old love comes back
to him, he feels as if he would give his
HE to take her again in his arms. ~
| AS he thinks it can never be, he puts
| the thought from him, and in it's stead
comes the pain that she has brought to
Cant we escape without Z" asks Duns-
mier, his lips ashen with fear.
tempt, and new hatred, born of the
mans ,cowardice, in his heart; ut is the
only chance for your wife, and we had
better do it right ahead, where the climb
ing begins and where we can get in
among the boulders." .,1.|.
ing oS to- nt one as Dc IT, .tof be will!
ceased abruptly, as he caught the stern
look iii Hawlet's etes: I,< =. :. 49,
You coward! Are you going to come
with me Or not? asks Hawley,7 as he
rises in his seat, rifle in hand. ,s.u.
T The horses, under the close rein that
Jose is drawing, have. slightly slackened
| their speed, for they are already in the
pass. 80.
"Yes-yes, of course I will go with
you,' comes from the white lips Of Duns-
mier. =.
Hawley reaches within his breast, and
taking from it purse, hands it to the
woman
"Mamie, this is all have" he says
simply; see that my mother gets it. You
T.. Mrs. Dunsmier> stretches out her hand,
as it to prevent him from leaving the
:'buckboard." ~ -. ..ss-@ .ssE:
There are tears in her eyes as they
meet his, and her Voice trembles MS she
implores him not to throw his life away
for her sake.
Almost before she>can frame the words
he leaps from the wagon into the road
In an instant he gathers himself to-
| gether and looks toward the ''buck
| board" - a..
Dunsmier is still seated in it, holding
| his wife as if to prevent her from jump
ing from it. A wave of exultation seems
to pass over Hawley as he sees this man.
! who was to have stood by him in facing
the Apaches. while his wife escaped, thus
| leave him to his fate. -.
/ For an instant the 'buckboard' al
most stops, as if in response to some
command from the woman; while Duns-
mier, who seems beside himself with
| fear, has taken from the drivers hand
| the whip, and is striving to lash the
| horses into greater speed.
| Hawley smiles to him.eIf bitterly. -
| He can yet overtake the blackboard"
Or, easier still, he can hide among the
| bOulders and pbrushwOOd that. line the
canyon from the Apaches, and after they
have passed, easily make his escape Bet
ter to let all end here. -, ~.....s -
She would escape, and would know that
it. was to him: she owed her life e.
| He took off his hat and threw it into
the air; as a signal for Jose to drive OH
! He does not even look where it falls.
| He will never need it again, he thinks,
az he crouches behind a boulder =.
| He raises his rifle and fires at the fore
| most of the Indians who are galloping
! into the canyon.
: In an instant they slip from their horses,
and after firing a few shots at him, begin
! to climb the mountain side. =, &s>+i
This is VIVA. ne expected They will
| climb the mountain side, and probably
shoot him in the back from above: But
before they. can DO 50 and remount their
horses, the "buckboard'' and it's passen-
gers will be beyond pursuit. ,...:.s4tS q.
He had feared that. they would rush in
on him. and after d few shots all would
have been over with him. and his life
would have been thrown away in vain. 1t
was for this he had wanted Dunsmier to
come with him. Two might do what one
could not -. IL. ~: -. = 4
Enraged at the escape of the .'buck-
board through the delay he had caused
| them, the Indians fire volley after volley
at him, until the canyon echoes so with
the reports that he cannot tell from which
| direction the shots are coming. He looks
| up toward the summit to see If any Of
his enemies are above him, and, as he does
SO, he catches d glimpse of the ssbuck-
board with a woman's white face looking
backwards. An instant and it is gone.
| mesa now, and she is safe. :z5se ~
a straight, level road is before the wag-
| on, and at it's end they can see. against
the dark side of the mountains beyond, d
cluster of: adobe buildings, with: a. fiae
floating high in the air over the parade.
ground: The horses are again running as
# mad, with the stingings Of the whip
| that seems to be forever falling. 4<-s sci =
The shots in the; canyon die away in the
distance. r. H.. $ =
A mile is passed, and then another. 81
Already the wild race had been noticed
at the post, and, while they are still
couple of hundred yards away, the ring
ing notes of the bug1e are sounding above
the hard breathing Of the horses and the
rafting of the .buckboafd;'' for, to the
old soldier in command, such driving
means that there is succor needed. S
As the buck b0ard" passes the sentinel
q few words explain all, and. while the
foam-covered team still stand trembling
from their wild race, a troop Of cavalry
dashes BY at d gallop to the rescue Of the
man who is facing such odds in the
canyon. I'D 85ssz y RI -
The woman who. has come in with the
blackboard" watches the blue coated men
with staring eyes. VS.
L