The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1899-02-16

iisagreeably familiar, shouting:

disagreeably familiar, shouting:
"Hl there, you fellers. Get up if you
don't want to be scalped in your Sleep"
Bill thought If he was to be scalped
it was quite the proper thing to do it
while he was asleep What he said
however was in camp vernacular and
will not be reproduced here. There was
the sound of life in the camp, so Bill
got up, opened the jutebag door, and
craWled through the hole. There was
the three foot wide creek at his feet,
There was the five hundred foot bluff
towering above him, and the moon
above the bluff, and the camp astir
thirty yards away, about on a level
with his head. Butisomehow there was
an unreality about it all that didn't
seem to belong to getting-up time.
"Roll out Charlie-there's something
wrong. The Gangs all up and the
herd is coming in"
Leaving Charlie TO do as he pleased.
Bill climed the bank and started for
the cooks tent. Sure enough the camp
was all up. Here and there were ex-
cited groups talking in undertones.
The wagons had been drawn into cir
Gle about the tents. Elbowing his way
through the largest group of shivering
teamsters, Bill saw in the dim light
what seemed to be Jim Buckley. sitting
on sack of oats in their midst. Now
Bill knew that in the ordinary course
OF events Jim should be in bed asleep
at the tie-camp FIVE miles away. His
head was bare. His teeth were chat
tering. There seemed to be something
the matter with his feet as he held first
one and then the other in his hands,
and groaned between each word.
81 tell you the red devils will be here
in less than an hour Brady's Tie Camp
is sure wiped out. Pm the only one
left to tell the tale. L knowed
they was there when they let
out that first war whoop. Then the
bullets commenced flying right
through the tent. was sleeping with
the old man. We grabbed our clothes
and started to run. The old man will
never run any more. He fell by my
side, and died with a groan. The dog
was shot and went into the brush 10
die. 1 had my boots in my hand but
lost them in swimming the river. AS
1 ran up hill on the other side, there
was another war whoop and the bullets
WAS knocking the gravel into my face.
[ didn't dare look around to see
what the other boys were
doing, just hit the high places in get
ting over here"
"How many do l suppose there was?
Well there was plenty. You can gam
BILE on that-being in hurry 1 didn't
stop to count them"
Tex, the night wrangler had now
Joined the group. He said he had herd
shots off in the direction of Brady's
camp an hour or so be fore: Jim had re.
gained his breath and his assurance
but not the use of his feet. Them he
could practice surgery on for the next
week or two. If Jim had taken the
longer route by the river bottom he
would have avoided the prickly pears.
But being in hurry he took the short
er route through the hills and his feet
were sight to weep over. The prick
ly pears are of the cactus species having
thorn about an inch long, infinitely
sharper than a needle and so brittle
that it breaks off in the flesh. The hill
country there is full of them. 1 leave
this condition of Jims feet to the
imagi' alton of the reader.
The boys had by this time about all
the information it was possible to get
from Jim, and began to consider what
was best to be done in the way of de-
fense. Some were for scattering off
through the hills in the direction of
the railroad. The more nervy were for
standing ground and keeping together.
Among the latter the most prominent
was "Palouse," and in the hour of dam
ger it seemed but natural that he
should take the lead. He went about
giving orders in quiet voice encour-
aging some and ridiculing others. To