Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-08-07

ed away up the pike in the darkness.
About ten minutes later he heard the
freight rumbling along up the valley,
and after 1t had almost got beyond
hearing distance to the west there
came the short, quick single whistle,
Tie signal for brakes. That must have
been somewhere about the long bridge
at the big bend. That was something
unusual. and, coupled with what he
heard the men say, it excited his suspi.
cion, Then when his copy of The Ban
ner told him about Langdon's disap-
pparance he felt sure what it all meant
aud therefore came in to Brentwood to
tell his tale. And it was this that
brought confusion to Belts and the
Brentwood strikers, for it was now evil
dent that Langlon had been spirited
away.
That foul means and force had been
rcsorted to no one who knew Langdon
could doubt. That railway men were
the perpetrators the words overheard
by Farmer Hawley gave presumptive
evidence and that the abducted man
was sorely needed developed in the
course of that very night.
Observant of his counsel, the rifles at
the first intimation of another strike
had Kept guard at the armory, and
this guard was increased to lieuten-
ant and 20 men at noon ON the 2Sth.
Moreover, 1t was made up of men who
would fight, and the scouts of the
strikers sent to reconpoiter and report
on the feasibility of again Selling the
arms and equipments returned and
reported adversely" Two days later,
determined to wipe out the stain of
their military misadventure the prevl-
Gus year, fully GO members promptly
assembled at the call and awaited Or
ders at the armory, and still, barring
the Punishment of Mr.. Burleigh in one
direction and the presumable taking off
of Langdon in the other, no deed Of
damage or violence had been charged
to the strike. The sheriff had eagerly
accepted the theory that Langdon him
self was Cresswell's assailant and had
fed to escape consequences. This
made him solid" with the strikers and
warranted n certain inaction. But now
the business men had taken matters in
hand. The Banner ripped him up the
back" as his friends expressed 1t, and
the governor himself was on his way
to Brentwood, coming up from the cap
ital by cross country spur of the
Union Pacific, and matters were near
ing climax. The Grays We're ut the
station at Gunnison waiting for the
troop train, with Major McConville
and four companies, feeling its eau
tious way over culver and trestle from
the Missouri. If the strikers refused
to disperse at the beck of the governor,
would they finch from the prick of the
bayonet? That was the absorbing
question. The mayor said yes. The
men Numbered no, and Brentwood
held its breath and waited. Meantime
the orders for the rifles were to sleep
on their arms at their quarters. 1t
was the policy of>wisdom.
And now, IF no new complications
arise" said the mayor, 1--WE can hope
FOR quiet night, but it's the calm be-
fore the storm. wonder If that
trains in with the re-enforcements
from up the road?"
I'll telephone and ask" said Boni-
face, leading the way to the rotunda.
1t was filled with men, talking in
low, cautious tones, glancing nervously
about from group to group. Many were
strike sympathizers, several We're law
and order men, most We're DESTROYS of
being considered neutral. The strong
men of the antistrike party, irrespec-
tive Of politics, had attended the meet
Ing and come out in the wake Of BonI-
face and the mayor. A little squad of
reporters bore down on them at once,
but Boniface begged them to wait and
escorted the mayor behind the desk
and rang up the superintendent of the
Big Horn. A quavering voice answer
ed that the superintendent wasn't
there. as that train in with those peo-
pie from Rosebud and the other sta
tons" asked Boniface, and people be-
gan edging up to the desk to listen.
What? | don't hear you," said Boni-
face again. isn't in! Why, they said
they were due before dark. Where
We're they when you last heard?
What? You haven't heard? Lines
cut? Had to wait for women! What
women? | don't understand"
BY this time half the men in the lob
by had gathered about the desk. What
was that about women? No women
were needed. 1t was no place for them
here. They should be at their firesides,
taking care of the children and the
household, while husbands and fathers
hurried down to help the cause of
Brentwood. Here was the seat of
war, here the heart of the battle, here
must the fight be won or lost again.
And the unions had summoned all who
could possibly come, even from the far
Black Hills, to haste by special train
and join their brethren on the battle
line. For over so miles the Big Horn
paralleled the southern verge Of the big
Sioux reservation. Just across the Da-
kota boundary 1t lay, and half the west
bound freight the road carried beyond
the Red Water was for the agents or
the traders at Rosebud, at Pine Ridge,
Sheridan and certain other points of
distribution and supply. Around those
guarded lines, winter and summer
there ever lowered dozens of dissolute
whites, seeking to prey on the red man.
Pirates of the plains were these fell
lows, reckless and outlawed, and more
than one hideous outbreak of the Sioux
had been traced to their nefarious
deeds. Whisky was their stock in
trade, and many an untutored savage
in exchange for Il bottle had parted
with robes, rifle and pony as well as
his senses. Conflict was frequent.
Troops were few. There had been bad
blood between the Indians and certain
settlers along the ChaduZa all summer.
In September two herders were found
scalped and mutilated just one week
after Spotted Elk and Iron Voice, two
young braves of the Brule tribe, had
been slain in drunken row with a
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