People's voice., 1899-09-28

limbo OF a remote past; his pulses
quickened and his muscles thrilled
with the vibrations of an accommodating
en3rgy that sang iioyously as it leaped
! through the tense rrr~ps and the tbrai
bing arteries. His sharpened senses
were unnaturally acute; he heard the
woody clink of the rails as the men
made a breach in the zigzag fence. then
the smothered hoof-beats of the horses
coming across the soft turf of the lawn; {;
moment later, in an interval of silence,
he fancied he could almost hear the
whispered instructions given to Jed.
When the two men emerged from the
deeper shadows of the grove he saw
them quite distinctly in the starlight;
they came directly toward his hiding
place, and when they paused within q
few feet of the trees he could scarcely
restrain the eager ferocity that prompt
ed him to rush out upon them. In the
instant of hesitation he had time to note
that one of them carried an armful OF
kindling wood; the man gathered il
into firmer hold while they paused,
and there was a smothered tinkle Of
breaking glass, and the pungent odor
of kerosene filed the air.
"What was that thar noise?" asked
the other.
"Hit's that thar blame bottle O. coal.
oil, that's what hit is; hits done
busted an run all down into my boots"
replied the first; and they moved for.
ward and disappeared behind the corner
of the house.
Ringbrand kept them in sight as long
as he could, and then ran across to the
clump of laurels, going down on his
hands and knees and staring intently
into the gloom until he found them
again, two darker blots of shadow
crouching in the angle formed by the
bay window in the parlor. While he
was straining his eyes to ,catch the
gleam Of the match which would be the
signal for their return, he did not hear
the stealthy steps of man who was ap-
preached him from behind, nor did he
know OF its presence when the gliding
figure came quite close and stood with
dubbed gun waiting for him to rise.
The appearance of the third brother
upon the scene was due to the fact that
Ludlow had chosen his position unfor-
tunately and so was unable to see the
men when they dismounted. For this
reason, he waited until he was sure that
the two incendiaries had started for
the house, and the delay gave the holder
of horses time to yield to a sudden i'm
pulse born of desire to know if his
warning to Hester had accomplished its
purpose. Looping the horses brides
together and throwing them over the
branch of tree, he followed noiselessly
in the footsteps Of his brothers; and
coming out on the open lawn in time to
catch glimpse of Ringbrand as he ran
across to the laurels, he crept forward
until he stood with uplifted gun behind
the unsuspecting sentinel. When Ring
brand rose at the fash Of the match,
the poised rifle cut quick circle in the
air and descended with blow that sent
him back to his knees with a thousand
scintillating notes dancing before his
eyes; for single confused instant he
thought the end had come, and then he
felt the revivifying breath of the spirit
of battle which seemed to inspire him
with the reckless and invincible courage
of his warlike ancestors. Leaping to
his feet, he fell upon his assailant with
irresistible fury; there was a sharp,
breathless struggle, fierce elutching
for under-holds, and then Ringbrand
swung the slight form of his ant lronist
over his head and dashed it, limp and
helpless, against the bole of the oak.
While this bit Of by-play was going on
behind the laurels, another incident oc-
cured which further disarranged Ring
brands plans and left Col. Latimer and
Henry in doubt as to what they should
do. When the elder Bynum stopped 10
light the pile of kindings, Bud started
back toward the ambush alone; and as
the first match went out, tine younger
brother had time to reach the clump of
laurels before jeff could find and light
another. Seeing but one of the men
appear, the coloneland his sson both hes
itated, and Bud confronted Ringbrand
just as the latter recovered himself
from the grapple with Jed. There was
no time for delibcration, and, realizing
that the mourtaineer could not use his
rifle at close quarters, he flung himself
upon the newcomer. taking him ur-
aWares ana throwing him heavily Just
as bright blaze sprang up beside the
house and howl OF agoly rang out on
the still air of the night. A single
glance revealed the cause of both. There
was a terrible picture Of man wrapped
in a winding sheet of fame and
running toward him-a yelling human
torch blazing from head to foot and
swinging its fiery arms frantically as it
ran.
At such a crisis, thought and action
are one. Shaking himself loose from
the grasp of the struggling young
brother, Ringbrand quieted him with
single delibeTaJe blow with the butt of
the pistol; the next instant he had
tripped the shrielang frebrand and was
rolling it over and over in the damp
grass when the colonel and Henry ran
up. 1t was all over quickly. and they