Waterbury Democrat., 1900-11-13

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 | when at last he came whining piteous- | ly back to the ranch it was found that | lie was bleeding from a gash along the, | flank, where an Indian arrow had scared him. Only by fits and starts did | any man sleep. Hour after hour Fol | som's little garrison was on the alert. l The women had all been moved to the deep, dry cellar, Mrs. Hal moaning over | her baby, utterly unnerved, Jessie | silent, but white and tremulous; the l herdsman's wife, an Amazon, demand 1 ed the right to have gun and fight by her husbands side; Lizette, the Indian | girl. faint and starved, asked nothing i but to be allowed to crouch a the door i of the room where Halbert lay, feyered and unconscious, and Pappoose, scoTn- l ing danger, fitted from her brothers bedside to her fathers log-barricade at l the east porch. In dread anxiety the | hours dragged by, and at last Lannion reached forth his hand and pulled the shirts1eeve Of his comrade Jake, half l dozing at his side. In an instant the latter was kneeIing athis post. 'What 1 is it ?" he queried. and Lannion, point ing 10 the first faint, pallid gleam i'll 1 the eastern sky. vvhispered: ''Time to l be up, man. It's coming"
 1 For half an hour, except for the rush ! ing Of the Laramie, silence alncst un- earthly had brooded over the prairie, 1 and even the dogs seemed l.lled to 1 sleep. But now, as the cold light crept { slowly over the distant range, and a ] soft flush began to overspread the pal i Tor of the dawn, far out over the valley i the yelp of coyote began again and i ali men strained their ears and listened, | while strong hands grabbed the growl- ing dogs and pinned them to earth, for, { beginning at the east. the cry was l taken up on every side. Fclsom's ranch seemed belcaguered by the | gaunt. half-famishcd wolves Of the up- i land prairies. Look to your sights, now, men! Down into the cellar. Pap poose." exclaimed Folsom. kindling with fierce excitement. live been the friend of all that tribe for 31 years. but when they break faith with me and mine that ends #! Lock to vnur sights and make every shot count" he cautioned, as he made the rounds of the little shelters thrown up during the past two days. "Wc can stand off a hundred of 'em if you only keep your grit"
 Again the clamor as of coyotes ceased. It was only the Indian signal Ready" and every ranchman knew that with the rising sun, if not before, the swoop would come. Again as the light broadened the dogs were looscd and presently were challenging all four points of the compass. The unseen foe was on every hand.
 Perched as it was on a little rise, the ranch stood forth conspicuous over the valley. At the foot of the slope to the south lay the corral and some of the buildings, about 1C0 yards away, where the shallow Laramie curled and Tapped beneath their walls, and now the dogs seemed to concentrate their attention on that side. Folsom, rifle in hand, was llneeling on the porch, listening intently. Two of the hands were with him. Jake and Lannion, experienced and reliable, had been given independ- ent posts on the other front, and just as objects could be dimly recognized along the flats, there burst upon the ears of the little garrison a sudden chorus of exultant wells. A tongue of | flame leaped upward from beyond the huts lately occupied by the ranchmen. | The haif-used haystacks caught and held one moment the fiery messenger, and then in q broad glare that reddened the flood of the Laramie for miles and | lighted up the ranch like a unburst gave forth huge column of blaze and smoke that could be seen far over the Black Hills of Wyoming, and all the valley seemed to spring to instant life. On every side arose the stirring war cry of the Sioux, the swift beat of pony hoofs, the ring of rifle, and brave John Folsom's heart sank within him as he realized that here was no mere marauding party, but powerful band organized for deliberate vengeance. The Laramie plains were alive with darting, yelling, painted horsemcn, circling about the ranch, hemming it in, cutting it off from the world.
 The bullets came whistling through the morning air, biting fiercely into the solid logs, spattering the chinking, smashing pane after pane. Some of the dogs came bowling and whining back for shelter, though the mastiffs held their ground, fierccly barking and bounding about, despite the whistles and calls from the besieged, who sought to save them to the last, but not once as yet had the ranch replied with a shot. Down in the cellar women clung together or clasPed their wall ing children and listened fearfully to the clamor. In Halls room the fevered sufferer awole from his stupor, and, demanding his rife, struggled to rise l from the bed, and there John Folsom found Pappoose, pale and determined, bending over her weakened brother and holding him down almost as she could have overpowered a child. Lift
 ing his son in his strong arms, he bore him to the cellar and laid him upon q couch of buffalo robes. ''Watch him i here, my child,'' he said, as he clasped her in his arms one moment. But on no account let anyone show above 1 ground ROW. There are more of them | than l thought, yet there is hope for us. Somebody is vexing them down the Laramie
 Bounding up the steps, the veteran was almost back at his post upon the