Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1901-04-16
CHAPTER XII-tContinued.)


Quick and terrible in his sudden wrath
the giant sprang to his feet and without
word started at rapid walk for the
scene Of conflict. His heavy rifle was
gripped in his left hand and his friends,
fearing he would do a score Of murders
if he went into a fight with that weapon
even though he used it only as club
laid hold of it and of him. crying:
Leave the gun, Uncle David. Leave
the gunr'
A dozen of them together so tried to
hold him, but setting his jaws together
tightly, and with his eyes blazing. he
STROBE on, not seeming even TO observe
what they were doing. And the terror
of his coming few ahead of him, so that
fleeing Mulveils shrieked into McClos-
keys as they darted by:
Run! Save yourselves. Uncle Dave
IS coming"
Camerons, focIing from all directions
at the war-cry, asked no questions and
made no parley, but fell straightway up
on every Mulven IN sight. Speedily the
fighting was general over one-nalf the
town, and the roar of combat was Ike
that upon a hard fought battlefield save
that there was no sound OF firearms.
Strangely enough. though the combat
ants were frenzied with rage, sometimes
in desperate straits and frequently had
loaded guns in their hands all through
the strife, not a single shot was hred,
and though there were many broken
limbs and bruised skulls, no one was snoC
or murdered. That fate, however, would
have befallen John Cameron had his res
cue depended solely upon Uncle David
and his Cameron brethren.
Hctty Mulyeil happened to be in the
street and to hear, before it reached
Uncle David. that alarming cry:
They're killing John Cameron in Nc
Closkey's"
Without an instant's hesitation she ran
TO her lovers aid and fearlessly plunged
into the murderous conflict about him.
In ten seconds more, she would have been
too late.
The second Cameron had disappeared
among the unconscious Mulveils strewing
the floor, and John stood alone, with his
foes closing thickly around him, wound
ing each other by the eager ferodty Of
their blows at him. Still ne welded the
heavy stool, and, wherever .t fell, an
arm dropped disabled, or Il IAN tumbled
headlong with a bruised skull, but the
end was plainly near. He was too much
exhausted to evade blows, and gradually
they were beating him down; his breath
came in hOarse gasps; blood from gasR
in his forehead ran into his eyes and
blinded him; YET he fought desperately
TO keep his feet, knowing well that to
fall was TO lose hope.
AS Hetty sprang into the door, man
knocked senseless by one OF Johns wild
sweeps of the stool. fell against her,
drnaDing into her arms the rifle with
which he had been endeavoring to brain
her lover. She seized the gun and held
it, while slipping on Que side to let him
tur,6le to the hoor where he lay quiet.
No enc seemed TO notice her advent and
for n moment she stood irresOlute, hardly
able 10 see anything clearly in that semi
obsCurity. into which she had so sudden
" crme from the brilliant sunlight out
side. Then her overstrained senses seem
ed to intensity her powers of perception,
and she saw with ineXpressible horror,
aud mere clearly as it seemed to her than
by mere natural vision, death lowering
over her lover.
4 heavy iron weight, hurled by some
cowardly miscreant behind him, struck
the bacs of his head and sent him plung-
ing forward, senseless, with wide-stretch-
ed hands, face downward to the floor. At
that monent came the warning yell from
a fleeing Mulveil at the door:
Run, Save yourselves! Uncle Dave
is coming"
The wolves did not wait to ming,e their
quarry. but struck by Sudden terror,
dashed to the street and bed away; all
save one, Rufus Goldie. He had been
keeping himself as safe as possible, on
the outer edge of the fray. waiting for
such an opportunity as this, and now
sprang forward with a shout of triumph
swinging an ak above his head. But be
fore he could bury its blade in the brain
of the helpless man prone before him, his
Internal Joy was biightcd. Love was
swifter than hate. Strong as an Anna.
ION and quick as a panther, Hetty de
livered crushing blow upon his right
shoulder with rifle than had so provi
dentiaIly fallen into her hands, and he
staggered backward with Il scream OF
pain, as his shattered arm fell to his side
"COwardly murderers!" the girl cried
swinging the rifle to strike again.
With an oath he jumped to the door Il
escape reaching it only in time to NEE
Uncle David, who floored him by one O.
those mighty blows the giant so seldom
trusted himself to strike.
Hetty dropped upon one knee and rails
ed her lover in her strong arms to a sit
ting posture. The sight of his sad pligh
quite overcame her.
oh. my love-my darling. They hav,
killed your she moaned, sobbiug, an,
kissing him.
Uncle David brought in a handful o
snow. which he applied to his brow an,
temples.
Slowly his consciousness returned. an,
without any vague mental wanderings
such as might we'll have been expected
for his first feeble words were:
III This isn't dream. I'm in big luck
Kiss NE again, Hetty, if its real"