The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-06-01

hlA thigh and chucklcd glccfullv.
The old man ain't in ten mile o
this spot.
In Il few minutes Il fire had been
made and the five men were eating
q dinner of broilcd bacon and bak.,!
sweet potatoes. Their frugal meal
disposed Of, Hawkins and his two
companions plllOwcd their heads on
their saddles and were soon asleep
lowing Smith and Lane seated be-
tore the fire. For an hour and Il
| half the old cnlnpnigicr;nI the ten
deriupt sat without speaking, each
| busy wltll l!is own thoughts Tho
| stiffness nf the night was only dis
tuilci by h" steady dripping Of ne
water from the In;lSnulias, and live
oaks, he crHcklinS of the fire and
the noise tho ponies made aa they
nunclcd their fodder.
Lame WAS thinking what Il strange
man this famous Deaf Smith wl..
lie was not the tia*hlng figure Lane
had pictured him to he. He looked
rough and unkempt with hls, shae4y
reddish brown beard and greasy
bucksklns, but he had kindly eyes
ana q nnrvclUusly square jaw. Lane
took all this in in occasional ylarccs
across the lire. The fire burned
lower and lower until ut last moth.
ing remained of it bat Il bed of GLOW;
ing Goals. Lame rose to lllt rolnc
more wood Oh the fire, but Smith
deferred him
Never mind that Ivo got ii
scheme, lio said. Lane stopped to
hear what it was. The Grc:.scrs. +"
Smith continued, ";irc bout ten mile
from here, up the creek Santa Anna
an his whole outfit is there. The
olo man wants to know how many
O the varmints there is. Let's 90
and see.
Lane thought that it was pretty
dark to bo prowlng about in the
woods, and he was almost ready to
fall asleep whore he stood, but hc
was too discreet to say so.
AT Smiths suggestion they left
their rifles behind and left CHIMP
armed with their bowie knives only.
Tho Texan walked rapidly and care
lessly through the dripping under
brush, which tlron.hcd Lanes dried
out clothing and wet him to tho skin.
they stumbled over fallen logs, ran
into gullies, STEPPED into pools of
water and got tangled up i'll bricr
patches for half an hour before
Smith stopped suddenly and said in
An UndertOnc:
Wed better lIe more curefullike
We're liable to run :crust some a.
their rrdskin scouts ut any minute
now.
Lame was too weary to make re
ply, 50 Id mechanically .-lnckcncd
his pace and initiated The TeXan's:
htcaltiy movements. He only half
hucccrtcd he thought. The Texan 5;
warning had quickcilcd his senses,
but his tired limls seemed to have
got beyond control, and llo founder
Ell badly. They had gone on in tlIis
way for another quarter of an hour
perhaps when tho Texan suddenly
stopped and raised Il warming finger.
Ssh hi lie whispered. Lie
down, quick!" Lane dropped, AMI
just as he did SO nc heard the sharp
report Of !, rifle AMI simultaneously
tho uncomfortable music Of Il bullet
AS it cut through he bushes over
head. Thcre were moro reports al
Irregular intervals. and, peerin.
through the dripping bushes, he
could soc the flashes of tho rifles ~
yards away.
we run into nest Of EN-, sure, ;"
murmure1 Smith, IAN damme ef l
don't b 'liove they rc shootin ut rls!'
Lame thought they were and became
more and more uncomfortable as
tho rifle cracks continued and tho
bullets seemed to he cutting through
the bushes closer and closer tothen,.
He ducked instinctively every time
ho heard Il bullet sing until he de-
veloped IL crick i'll the neck Nor was
Smiths observation that neither
Grcaser nor Mexican could shoot
straight i'll The least reussuriny.
Lat 'enl waste their amm nj
ton, muttcrcl Smith. They can't
hit MS, an they 10 too lazy to come
out All see what they rc shootin
at.
But Colonel EruStus Smith pro-
Aumcu Oh the national Greascr char
nctcriStics too far, or rather he did
not calculate OH the I,ltSencu III the
Mexican camp of II band Of kiowa
braves, newly come from the Pecos
country, who had not become affect
ed with the Grc;iSer' aversion to i'll
vcstiSation, for when, half an hour
after the firing had ceased, lie raised
himself stealthily on his elbows to
take Il look around IL dark body
sprang from Il nearby bush, anl i'll u
second the two We're rolling on tho
ground.
1t was the work of Al few seconds