The herald., 1898-04-08
"well, then, the sreasers is only walt.


in fer night to rub US out.
II suppose So"
"Weli. then, let's fool EN-" And to
Stanhope's astonishment the shaggy
man collected lot Of mesquite roots
and lighted a fire.
What the devil are you UP to, man?'
he demanded, roughly. Dye want to
fix 'em a light to kill us by?"
| "My son, I've been in this game longer
n YOU have" replied Upton.
Stanhope held his peace. After Tip
ton got the fire started he made two piles.
one on each side of the fire, out Of Stan
homes saddle and what was left of the
mesquite roots he had collected. He COW
cred one with Stanhope's blanket and
threw his own buckskin jacket over the
other. When he finished he looked up:
"Now, Stanhope. we'll hide in that
patch O. chaparral yonder an wait till
they turns up"
"Why not clear out O. this altogeth-
err" asked Stanhope.
"Ain't one chance in million that we
could get away" said Upton, "an' we
can entertain 'em better here"
Stanhope saw the wisdou, Of Tipton's
scheme, and. picking up his rife, 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 shivering in the
chaparral until Tipton's fire was moth
ing but a pile of red embers. The moon
pushed it's silver rim over the eastern
hills and shed ghastly light over the
prairie, metamorphosing the clumps of
Nd icnlokad SNrf1h oaks tNvO
fantastic shapes.
Not a sound disturbed the stiffness ex-
cept the chirp Of insects, the wall of the
coyote and the occasional rustling Of the
chaparral as breath of wind stirred 1t.
Stanhope was Just dozing Off when he
felt Tipton's toe scraping against his
shin. He was wide awake In an instant.
Look" said Upton. II thought there
was too - many insects bout"
Stanhope looked toward the fire, which
consisted now Of one or two dim red
Goals. A dark form was stealthily worm
ing it's way toward the pile OF mesquite
roots that his blanket covered.
Good job you ain't under that blan-
ket," whispered Upton.
Stanhope thought 1t was. The wrig-
Cling figure approached nearer and near
er to the pile. Suddenly a hand was
raised and a cleaning knife sank into
the blanket. At the same instant Tip
tons rifle went off. The dark form rose,
gave a piercing yell and fell with out
stretched arms. Four other figures rose
from the prairie, and Stanhope's rifle ex-
ploded. There was another yell, and an
other dark form dropped. The three fig
ures lodged bockward ana forward, and
vanished In the uncertain moonlight.
Upton laughed-a wild, terrible laugh.
that sounded like the howl Of a whole
pack of coyotes.
Answering yells came from every live
oak about them.
"Thems Kiowas," said Upton. ram
ming a charge home. "Guess old Con-
zales lowed he'd lift all the cattle in
this part o. Texas"
Stanhope didn't have time to say he
thought SO, too. Fifty rifles flashed about
them, and as many bullets tore through
the chaparral overhead. Two rifles spit
back their streaks Of fire from the thick
ct, and two robust voices yelled out their
defiance. The cracks of the rifles con-
tinued for two hours, the circle Of flashes
without the chaparral drawing closer
and closer, and the yells of defiance
within it becoming feeoler 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 snarl-
ing coyotes rending the flesh Of dead
bronco, three Kiowas and two Mexicans
near the ashes of a camp fire. Another
pack was circling warily about a clump
of chaparral a hundred yards away.
Breaking into the thicket the rangers
found two bodies full of bullet holes.
That's Tipton," said one ranger. look
ing down into the faceof one.
Eyes; an here's Stanhope," said an
other.
"Well, this beats me-" they all said to-
gether.
They scooped a deep hole in the chap.
arral with their bowie knives, laid the
two bodies in it, filled the hole up with
powders and dirt to keep the coyotes
out, fired salute, mounted their nofses
and galloped up the trail.
AS the beat Of their horses toofs died
away in the distance the coyotes skunk
back to the bronco, the three Kiowas
and the two Mexicans.
The affair of honor between John STAN
hope ranger, and Col. Edward Upton,
road agent, was not settled on the prai-
ries that morning-Chicago Times-Her-
aid.