The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1901-07-17

ing howl of a coyote; instantly the
mountain walls took 1t up. tossing It
back and forth until the canon rang as
though all the fiends in hades had
broken loose. Scarcely realizing what
| did. with my every nerve tingling
and twitching, sprang wildly to my
feet and fired a shot in the direction
thought the NANCY little beast to be,
and the canon roared with the echo
Slowly the uproar died away, and
then | collapsed as a chuckle came
from Lewis direction, and he re-
marked, Reckon yuh wouldn't have
much show with er ghost pardner, IL
er pore little cuss of er kyote en- start
yuh ter shootin' wild like that"
| made no answer | was indignant
with myself for losing my nerve so
easily. lay down again. but not to
sleep; | was quivering with nervous
ness. The coyote did not howl again
my shot had scared him away-but
the wind rose presently, and began
wailing in a most nerve-distracting
way in the rocks above me.
"S-w-i-s-s-s-h, oo-oo-oo, r-a-h-h-h,"
| stronger gust would go sweeping past,
and then from across the canon would
come a series of faint, mournful
sounds, such as sorrowing ghosts
might be expected to utter. began
TO understand how Dominguez came to
lose his mind through his experience
in the canon, and to wish that l were
| anywhere else. when the wind died
away as suddenly as it had risen, and
there was absolute silence. | fell to
watching the stars again; the hours
dragged slowly by, and at last ! fell
into a half sleep.
| Suddenly ! awoke and sat bolt up
right, straining my ears for a repeti-
tion Of the sound that walked me. Soon
heard 1t again; 1t was Helen whis-
tling and plunging in fright. He was
picketed behind point of rock where
| could not see him. Hastily felt
under my pillow for my revolvers, but
could not find them. Helen's snorting
and plunging grew more violent with
every moment, and at last, fearful lest
he break his rope and we lose him, |
gave up hunting my revolvers and
started running toward him. The
moon was now shining brightly, and
when | came to where could see the
mule, saw something just beyond
him, something that brought me to a
sudden standstill, and that seemed to
freeze the blood in my veins-a beau
tifully marked piebald pony, its legs
moving naturally, but its feet seeming
not to touch the ground. And 1t was
moving directly toward me!
Paralyzed with terror, l stood as
though grown to the spot; nearer came
the pinto, and | tried to yell to Lew
but a harsh rattle was the only sound
my throat would make Quiverina
with fear, Helen was standing as close
to me as he could get, his rope
stretched to the breaking point. Now
the pinto was passing close beside
him, when he suddenly wheeled round
giving a wicked squeal, and like 9
streak of lightning, his heels flashed II
the moonlight, striking the pony will
a surprising crash fairly in the side
Giving a strange grunt, for a pony, thu
pinto staggered and fell on its side
floundering helplessly; the next mo-
ment, however, its side burst open
and a naked Apache Indian sprant
out and ran at me, long-bladet
knife gittering in his hand. Instant
ly my superstitious fears vanished ant
my muscles regained their power. I'm
armed, turned to run; but my foo
tripped, and | fell with the lndiaI
sprawling on top of me. realize,
that it was a struggle for my life, and
yelling to Lew at the top Of my voice
grappled with the Apache. Bacl
and forth we rolled and tumbled,
trying to obtain possession of tn
Knife, and he to put an end to m,
struggling with It, neither gaining an
advantage over the other. Minute
seemed hours. Could Lew never heal
| wondered, my breath coming il
, sharp gasps. my strength almost gont
, How long we fought | can only con
lecture; the Indians powers of endur
: ance were greater than mine, and a
! last he forced me over on my back, hi
I one hand clutching my throat, hi
4. other, grasping the knife, raised
strike saw the steel flash and glitts
, in the moonlight and a sickening fea
/. shot through me; the knife was in tn
5 act of descending, when two shot
rang out in quick succession, and
A few to one side, while the Indian san
4 down on me, quivering in death. TIL
( sudden reaction from utter hopeles:
ness to a sense of safety was more tina
my tortured brain could bear, and
/ tainted where | lay; the next thin
!. knew Lew was pouring water on m
face, and | saw that day was breaking
| When | had recovered sufficiently "
e made an examination of the pony
e hide. finding it partially stuffed wit
It grass which rounded it out, giving
O life-like appearance, though the d
| ception would have been readily d
!, tected in daylight. Later in the da
e following faint trail We climbed l
II TO the cliff village and found that Il
q Indian had made his home in one