Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-11-09

course. we tacitly understood would be
reserved for the women and the sick
man The blacks kept prowling about,
as usual kiudling only the smallezt
fires and keeping back from them. so
that they might not be marks for our
bullets The Southern Cross had de
scribed a half circle when Daily said
i guess its a fair thing now. Par
ker. What dye say.
Certainly. l replied Times up.
i six hours spell Of this sort Of thing
becomes monoton0us after n bit The
beggars are beginning TO 20 to roost. l
don't think they II attempt anything
tonight
Now that DAILY was in the same di-
lemma as we were my dislike to him
had become somewhat modified, and L
was inclined despite his late conduct,
to treat him civilly One thing was GER
tain-he had not shown any cowardice
when the blacks had made their attack.
For my part. l would just as soon have
watched there all night. knowing that
if l did lie down it would be impossible
for me TO sleep But still the air was
somewhat chilly in that elevated situa-
ton. and having on only 4 thin shirt
confess to having thought just then
that warm over fire would be rather
pleasant experience. Our understand
ing with Savile and Jack had been that
we should awake them at the time APP
pointed for beginning their watch l
told DAILY to keep a lookout and went
into the cave to do so. | groped my way
in for several PAGES and then. bright
light showing from a passage on the
left. turned into it Here near a small
fire lay Gordon, as if asleep. with one
hand under his head. Resting with her
back against the side of the cave sat
Nurah Mackenzie. as if watching the
sick man. She had just sent Elsie Cor
don away to lie down and, had taken
her place. Jack lay some little distance
off He must have been asleep when l
came in. However, he sprang to his feet
and buckled his belt more tightly round
him. Bat the most singular figure of
all was that Of Savile. who sat with his
legs drawn up, his back against a large
bowlder, his head buried in his hands
and the Chinese puzzle on the ground
in front of him Il say, Parker, said
the great fellow as he rose to his feet to
follow Jack out, just have a turn at
that there puzzle I'm blessed if can
make it out
"You must be tired, remarked Miss
Mackenzie pleasantly. You'll find
some freshly made tea in the billy The
others have just had some DAILY and
you require it, I'm sure Luckily we
saved the tea and sugar.
| thanked her, and Daily and l help
ed ourselves. 1t seemed to put new life
into me There is nothing like drink
of good tea and coffee to comfort one
when troubled in mind or fatigued in
body Then beside that f1ickering
fire | sat and brooded. the cankerwo-m
Of disappointment gnawing at my
heart l had tried to prevail on Norah
Mackenzie to lie down, saying | would
watch, but she would not hear of it
and advised me to try to get some
sleep Sleep And with such a fever in
my brain!
After what had passed that day be-
tween us | felt about 90 years older.
What she had told me had sunk deep
into my soul and weighed supon my
spirits with the oppression and persist
ence of some horrible nightmare. If l
forgot it for a minute, the very next it
would loom up and crush down upon
b6b95gjiA1leEss sg il eEsstf ff5w Could have been 50
blind as to suppose that bright young
creature like her could come TO care for
such an old. fever stricken, rolling
stone as myself? | marveled ar my per
sistent blindness and cursed myself for
any folly. / could not blame her. She
had never by word or sign encouraged
me to hope What had becomqrf all
my fine plans for the future now What
did my altered circumstances matter?
Money was only an clement that seem
cd to mock at and make me feel my
position all the mere for there was my
comrade Jack, the man she had chosen
in preference to me, without a sixpence
he could call his own in the world.
Poor Jack, or, rather, happy Jackl And
then a strange conflict took place with
in me, as fends of selfishness and jeal-
ousy fought for my soul
Chill gray eyed morn looked with
wan eyes and pallid face into the cave
and ON the tired, blood stained human
| beings it contained
Though | knew that we were all IN
| imminent danger of being massacred
| or slowly starved to death, these dan
| gers appeared as nothing compared
with that of the demon Of jealousy.