The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1898-04-26

the mesquite roots he had collected.
He covered 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 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, "and
we can entertain 'em better here
Stanhope saw the wisdom of Tipton'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 Tipton's
fire was nothing but pile Of red en-
bers. The moon pushed it's silver rim
over the eastern hills and shed ghast-
ly light over the prairie, metamorphos-
ing the chumps of chaparral 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 a 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. 81 thought
there was too id many insects
bout
Stanhope looked toward the fire,
which consisted now of one or two dim
red GOALS. A dark form was stealthily
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 cleaning knife
sank into the blanket. At the same in
slant Tipton's rife went off. The dark
form rose, gave piercing yell and fell
with outstretched arms. Four other fig
ures rose from the prairie, and Stan
AOPO 14llO OApAOOOIs 4AoE6 was duOUu-
er 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.
GGTboY,,bc VI - co;l ra,,,
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 chaparral 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 a pack of
snarling coyotes rending the flesh of a
dead broncho, three Kiowas and two
Mexicans near the ashes Of campfire.
Another pack was circling warily about
oIump of chaparral 100 yards away.
Breaking into the thioket, the rangers
found two bodies full of bullet holes
"That's Upton said one ranger,
looking down into the face Of one.
Eyes, and here's Stanhope, y said an
other.
"Well, this beats me, " they all said
together.
They scooped deep hole in the
chaparral with their bowie knives, laid
Ihe two bodies in it, filled the hole up
with powders and dirt to keep the
jackals out, fired salute, mounted
their horses and galloped up the trail.
As the beat of their horses hoofs died
away in the distance the coyotes skunk
back to the broncho, the three Kiowas
and the two Mexicans
The affair of honor between John
Stanhope, ranger, and Colonel Edward |
Upton, road agent, was not settled on
the prairies that morning New York
Sun.