Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-04-30
''see this, 2 ar4 Tipton held up bis

Lbs sun uau UlhappBaFEu D6uluO the
hills and in the dim twilight Upton s
shaggy outline looked shadowy and in
distinct to Stanh0pe, SO astonished was
be- lie whistled softly, and the pony
pricked up his ears.
~ b'lieye you are as close to the
truth as You ever get, he said to Tip
ton.
The shaggy man Jared up and Stan
hope could see dangerous glitter in
his gray eyes.
None Of that, !" he growled. "This
is a matter tween Greaser and white
man. I'm with the white man. SaFvy:
After it's over you and NELL have it
out.
"In any way you like, said Stan
hope stifily. lyon know me, Upton. F"
And he returned the shaggy man glare
through the gloom.
81 s'pose them two fellers / run
acrost with their threats cut back up
the trail was your friends?' Upton de-
scribed the men.
eyes.
"Well, then, the Greasers is only
waitin fer night to rub Us out y
II suppose So "
"Well, then, we'll fool 'em, /" and to
Stanhopes establishment the shaggy
man collected lot of mesquite roots
and lighted fire.
"What the devil are you up to,
mani" he demanded roughly. "D'you
want to fix 'em a light TO kill us by?''
my son, I've been at this game
longer'n you have" replied Upton.
Stanhope held his peace. After Upton
got the fire started he made two piles,
one on each side of the fire. ont of
Stanhope S saddle and what was left of
the mesquite roots he had collected.
He covered one with Stanhope's blanket
and threw his own buokskin jacket over
the other When he finished, he looked
up.
"Now, Stanhope, We'll hide in that
patch o. chaparral yonder and wait till
they turns up.
Why not clear out of this altogeth
er?' asked Stanhope.
"Ain't one chance in / 1000, 900 that
we could get away" said Upton, land
we can entertain EN- better here.
Stanhope saw the wisdom of Upton S
scheme, and, picking up his rifle, fol-
lowed him to the chaparral thicket.
The grass was heavy with dew, and
they were soon wet to the skin. The
cool, steady breeze did not tend to make
them more comfortable. They lay shiv-
ering in the chaparral until Upton $
fire was nothing but a pile of red en-
bers. The moon pushed its silver rim
over the eastern hills and shed q ghast-
ly light over the prairie, metamorphos
ing the ohumps of ohaparral and isolat-
ed scrub oaks into fantastic shapes.
Not a sound disturbed the stiffness
except the chirp of insects, the wall of
the coyotes and the occasional rustling
of the chaparral as breath of wind
stirred it. Stanhope was just doing off
when he felt Tipton's toe scraping
against his shin. He was wide awake in
an instant
"Look,'' said Upton. ~ thought
there was too id many insects
bout.
Stanhope looked toward the fire,
which consisted now of one or two dim
rel Goals A dark form was stealtbily
worming its way toward the pile of
mesquite roots that his blanket covered.
"Good job you amt under that blan-
ket, whispered Upton. Stanhope
thought it was.
The wriggling figure approached
nearer and nearer to the pile. Suddenly
hand was raised and a cleaning knife
sank into the blanket. At the same in
slant Tipton's rifle went off. The dark
form rose, gave piercing yell and fell
with outstretched arms. -Four other fig
ures rose from the prairie, and Stan
hopes rifle exploded. There was anoth-
err yell-another dark form dropped.
Three figures lodging backward and
forward, vanished in the uncertain
moonlight. Upton laughed-a wild,
terrible laugh, that sounded like the
howl of whole pack of coyotes.
Answering yells came from every live
oak about them.
"Them's Kiowas," said Upton, ram
ming charge home. Guess old Con
zales lowed he d lift all the cattle in
this part of Texas.
Stanhope didn't have time to say he
thought so too. Fifty rifles flashed about
them and as many bullets tore through
the ohaparral overhead. Two rifles spit
back their streaks of fire from the thicket,
and two robust voices yelled out their
defiance. The cracks of the rifles con-
tinued for two hours, the circles of
flashes without the chaparral drawing
closer and closer and the yells of def
ance within it becoming feebler and
feebler. By and by the fire from the
chaparral stopped and the fire from
without it slackened. Then all was
still.
Half dozen of Hays rangers gallop-
ing toward San Antonio at daybreak
the next morning disturbed pack of
snarling coyotes rending the flesh of a
dead broncho three Kiowas and two
Mexioans near the ashes of campfire.
Another pack was circling warily about
a clulnp of chaparral 100 wards away.