The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1902-02-14
louder and higher. as If he were afre

tHeHl IOr their delay.
Four or five Of them obeyed at once,
two remaining on the road with the
formidable beggar. There was a pause.
then u cry OF surprise, n then j voice
shouting from the house:
"Bilis dead
But the blind man swore at them
again for their delay.
Search him, some of you Sinking
lubbers. and the rest of you aloft and
get the chest" he cried.
could hear their feet rafting up our
Old stairs, so that The house mus. have
shaken, with it. Promptly afterwards,
fresh sounds Of establishment arose:
the window of the captains room was
thrown open with a slam and a Jingle
OF broken glass; u man leaned out into
the moonlight, head and shouiders and
addressed the blind begGar on the road
belog him,
Pew" he cried, they've been be-
fore us. Some ones turned the chest
out allow II uloft."
rs it there?" roared Pew.
The moneys there"
The blind man cursed the money.
"Flints list, l mean," he cried.
we don't see it here nohow," re-
turned the man.
Here, you below here, is it on Bill?"
cried the blind man again.
At that another fellow, probably he
who had remained below to search the
captains body, came to the door of
the inn. "Bin's been overhauled
already" said he. "nothin' left"
ITS these people OF the inn-it's
that boy. 1 wish ] had put his eyes
OUT cried the blind man. Pew. They
were here no time ago-they had the
door bolted when I tried it. Scatter,
lads, and find EN-"
Sure enough. they left their giim
mere said the fellow frprp tho ,-i,J1pr-
Scatter and find EN-! Rout the
house out!' reiterated Pew, striking
with his stick upon the road.
Then there followed a great to-do
through all our old inn, heavy feet
pounding to and fro. furniture all
thrown over, doors kicked in, until the
very rocks reechoed, and the men came
out again, one after another, on the
road, and declared that we were no
whore to be found. And Just then the
same whistle that had alarmed nv
mother and myself over the dead cap
talns money was nee more clearly
audible through the night, but this
time t1Wce repeated. I had thought 1t
to be the blind mans trumphet, SO to
speak, summoning his crew to the as
sault; but l now found that it was a
signal from the hillside toward the
hamlet and, from its effect upon the
buccaneers. a signal to warn them of
approaching danger.
There's Dirk again. said one
I"lce! Wen have to bulge, mates"
Bulge, 0 sulk!" cried Pew.
-Dirk was a fool and a coward from the
irst-you wouldn't mind him. They
must be close by; they ant be far
you have your hands on it. Scatter and
look for them, dogs. Oh, SILVER my
SOUL he cried, "if 1 had eyes!"
This appeal seemed to produce some
erect for. two Of tha ra,l,,,-,' l,,~o -
look here and there among the lumber,
put half heartedly, l thought, and with
half an eye to their own danger all the
time, while the rest stood irresolutc on
the road!
You have your hands on thousands,
you fools, and you hang a leg! You'd
be as rich as kings If you could find it.
and you know it's here, and you stand
there m%alingering. There wasn't one
OF you dared face Bill, and | did ia
lii man! And I'm to lose my chance
Tor you! I'm to be q, poor, crawling
pesgar, sponSing for rum, when +
might be rolling in a coach! If you had
the pluck of a weevil in q biscuit, YOU
would catch them still.'
Hang it, Pew, we've got the doub-
loons!" grumbled one.
.Ihey might have hid the blessed
things said another. Take the
Georges, Pew, and don't stand here,
squalling."
Signalling was the word for 1t. Pew's,
anger rose SO high at these objections;
TIL at last, his passion completely tax
ing the upper hand. he struck at them.i
right and left in his blindness, and his,
stick sounded heavily on more than
one.
These. in their turn, cursed back at
the blind miscreant, threatened him in
horrid terms, and tried in vain to catch;
the stick and wrest it from his grasp.
RMS quarrel was the saving of u.s.;
for While 1t was still raging, another
sound came from the top of the hill
on the SIDE of the hamlet-the tramp
or horses galloping. Almost at the same,
time a pistol shot, fired flash and re-
port. came from the hedge side. And
that was plainly the last signal OF dam
ger; for the buccaneers turned at once
and ran. separating in every direction,
one seaward along the cove, one slant
across the hill, and SO on, SO that in
half a minute not q sign of them re-
NAMED but Pew. Him they had de-
serted. whether in sheer panic or out
Of revenge for his i'll words and blows.
| know not; but there he rena be-
hind, tapping up and down the road
In a frenzy, and cropping and calling
for his comrades. Finally he took he
wrong turn n ran a few steps past
me. toward the hamlet, crying:
Johnny, Black Dog, Dirk" and other
names. you won't leave old Pew,
mates-not old Pew!"
Just then the noise of horses topped
the rise, and four or five riders came
In sight in the moonlight and swept
at full gallop down the slope.
AT this Pew saw his error, turned
with a scream and ran straight for the
ditch, into which he rolled. But he
was on his feet again in a second, and
made another dash, now utterly be-
wildered. right under the nearest of
the coming horses.
The rider tried to save him, but In
vain. DOWN. went Pew with a cru rhnt