Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1901-09-14

pearance the hounds abandoned their
helpless attempts To reach Saxon. and
flew, with a fierce snarl of satisfaction,
at Reuben and myself. One great brute.
with haring eyes and yawnag mouth,
his white faEgs gliStening in the mOon-
light. Sprang ut my horses neck: but |
met him fair with Il single sweeping cut,
which shore away his muZZle and left
rim wallowing and writing in a pool Of
blood Reuben. meanwhile, had Sptrred
his horse forward to meet his aSsailant:
but the poor. tired steed fiinched at the
sight of the fierce hound, and pulled up
suddenly. with the result that her rider
rolled headlong into the very Jaws of the
animal 1t might have gone i'll with
Reuben had he been left to his own re-
sources. At the most he could only have
kept the cruel teeth from his throat for
Il very few moments; but, seeing the
| miSchance. | drew my remaining pistol,
and Sprlnging from my horse discharged
it full into the creatures flank while it
struggled with my friend. With last
! yell of rage and pain II brought its fierce
| jaws together in one wild. impotent snap
| and then sank slowly over upon its side,
| while Reuben crawled from beneath it.
| scared and bruised, nut none the worse
| otherwise for his perilous adventure.
| Il owe you one for that, Micah. he
said. gratefully. Il may live to do as
much for you
And ! owe We both one" said Saxon,
| who had scrambled down from his place
of refuge. Il pay my debts, too. wheth-
| or for good or evil. | might have stayed
| mp there until l had eaten my iackhoots,
| for all the chance | had of ever getting
| down again. Sancta Maria but that
was shrewd blow of yours. Clarkct
The brute's head flew in halves like a
rotten pumpkin. No wonder they
| left both my spare girth and
my kerchicf behind me. which
would serve to put them on Chioe's scent
as we'll as mine own.
And whore is Chloe|' | asked, wiD-
| ing my sword.
Chloe had to look out for herself. /
| found the hrutes gaining on me, You
| see, and | let drive at them with my
! bankers; but with a horse flying at TWEEN
| ty miles an hour, what chance is there
| for single slug finding its way home?
| Things looked black then. for ! had no
| time to reload: and the napier, though
! the king of weapons i'll the duellO, IL
| scarce strong enough to rely upon on
an occasion like this. As luck would
| have it. just as | was fairly puzzled,
| what should | come across but this
handy stone which the good priests of
old did erect, as far as | can see, for
no other purpose than to provide worthy
| cavalerOs with an escape from such ig
noble and Scurvy enemies. | had no
time to escape i'll clambering up it, for
of the foremost of them, and might have
been dragged down by it had he not
| found my spur too tough morSe for his
chewing. But surely one of my bullets
must have reached its mark" Lighting
| the t0uch-paper in his tOhacc0-bOX, he
| passed it over the body of the hound
which had attacked me and then of the
| other.
why. this one is riddled like IA sieve"
he cried. What do you load your petron-
els with. good Master Clarke|'
With two leaden slugs."
yet two leaden slugs have made a
score of holes Mt least! And, of all
things in the world. here is the neck of
a bottle stuck in the brute's hide
| Good heavens" | exclaimed. Il re-
| member My dear mother packed a bot
tie of Daffy's Elixir in the barrel of my
| pistol
And you have shot it into the blood
| hound"' roared Renben. "Ho! no! When
| they hear that tale at the tap of the
! Wheatsheaf, there will be some Threats
dry with laughter. Saved my life by
shooting dog with bottle of Daffys
And a bullet as well, Reuben, though
| | dare warrant the gossips will soon
/ contrive to leave that detail out II is a
| mercy the pistol did not burst. But what
do You. propose to do now, Master
| Saxon?'
| W ny, 10 recover my mare III IT can
anywise be done" said the adventures
| Though on this vast moor, in the dark
| she will be as difficult to find as a Scotch
| mans breeches or Il favorless line in
| 'Hudibras.
And Reuben Lockarbys steed can go
no farther | remarked. but do mine
! eyes deceive me. or is there n gimmer of
| light over yonderF
"A will-othe wisp," said Saxon.
| An ignis fatuns that bewitches.
| And leads men into pools and bitches.
! Yet | confess that it burns steady and
! clear as though it came from lamp. can
| die, rushlight. lanthorn, or other human
| agency"
Where there is a light there is life. 9"
| cried Reuben Let us make for il. and
see what chance Of shelter we may find
| there
II cannot come from our dragon
| friends, remarked DccmuS. "A muir
rain on them! how came they to guess
our true character; or was il OnA the
score of some insult to the regiment that
| that young Fahnfuehrer has set them on
our track If | have him ut my swords
| point again, he shall not come off so free.
| Well, do We lead your horses, and we
shall explore this light, since no better
| course Is open to us,
| Picking our way across the moor. we
! directed our course for the bright point
| which twinkled in the distance; and as
we advanced we hazarded a thousand
conJcctures as to whence il could come
| If il were "A human dwelling. what sort
Of being could it be who not content
| with living i'll the heart Of this wilder
| ness. had chosen Il spot so far removed
| from the ordinary tracks which crossed
| it? The roadway was miles behind MS.
| and II was probable that no one save
those driven by such a necessity as that
| which had overtaken us would ever find
themselves in that desolate region. No
hermit could have desired an abode more.
completely isolated from all communion
with his kind.
As we approached we saw that the
light did indeed come from a small cot
tage. which was built in a hollow. so MS
to be invisible from any quarter save
that from which we approached it. In
front Of this humble dwelling small
patch Of ground had been cleared of
shrub, and in the center Of this little
piece of sward our missing steed stood
grazing at her leisure upon the scantv
heritage. The same light which had at
tracted us had doubtless caught her eve
ana drawn her towards IL nv bor,oe 20