The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1902-06-28
His Friend.
The Enemy
BY wILLIAM WALLACE COOK
Author of Rogers of Butte. THE Spur Of
Necessity. Mr.. Fit, Astroloeer," etc.
Copyright, 1901, by the S. 8. Mcclure Cos
CHAPTER Nv.

the county records, he took with him
into the courthouse Winchester
rifle and pint flask. Kentucky born
and bred it is to be presumed that
he was as familiar with one of these
weapons as he was with the other.
Be that as it may, however, it is GER
tain that he fortified his courage
to such an extent that he slept
soundly throughout all the opera
tions connected with the moving of
the building.
So level was the road leading from
the courthouse site in Concord to
the vacant square in Harmony, and
SO sllillfully did the enemy work, that
Col. Keever, if he realized anything
at all, could only think that the
storm was most furious and that
this half-tinished structure was sad
ly in need of underpinn;ng.
"A acknowledgements picture he
presented to Capt. Blue and his In
vincibles, who did the work connect
ed with the moving. In the light of
an occasional lightning flash the
Colonel could be viewed at leisure
By airy one who wished to walk along
beside one of the windows and peer
Into the single unfinished room
which the building contained
The great man was lying upon a
cot in such a way as to reveal the
noble proportions of his platonic
brow. Under the cot was the tin box
,foir 1,n T.,
close beside the cot lay the empty
flask. The Colonel's pillow partly
covered the rifle, only the stock and
nluzzle of the weapon being in evil
6ence. AS the Colonel slept he
emiled-smiled condcscendngly in
that superior manner which was a
part of him. He was dreaming
dreams, no doubt, and pleasant ones.
1t was late in the morning when
the awakening came. The rain had
ceased, the clouds had dispclled and
burst of June sun trailed in
through an eastern window. The
Colonel stirred restlessly, opened his
eyes and yawned. The melancholy
gaze he rested on the empty flask
changed to Il look of pride as his
eyes took in the box of records, all
intact. 1t would have taken an army
corps to separate him from those
documents.
Suddenly he had startling
thought and he jerkcd spasmodically
a1"l blinked in his bcwilderment.
Then he lay quite still, thinking.
What business had the morning sun
shining through a western window?
The courthouse, at the present stage,
hal only one glazed opening and
nothing but blank wall on it's east
ern side. What did this mean? The
Colonel rubbed his forehead. Was it
possible that he had slept into the
afternoon and that the sun was de-
scending instead of rising? He got
up and hurriedly dressed himself.
Then he walked to the window,
Merciful poweys! There were iron
bars across the outside of it! The
mystery deepeEed. AS he stood
there staring 10, the face of Dingle,
of the hated Dinyle, appeared and
locked in at him.
Che Colonel staggered against the
wall and caught his head in his hands.
Was this a hideous dream or was it
reality? Dingle remained at the WIN
dow but spoke no word. All he did
was to grin, in a Sarcastic way and
draw the lid partly down over his
glass eye
That half-wrll broke the spell.
With roar the Colonel rushed to the
cot and grabbed up the Winchester.
"Villain!" he cried, tossing the gun
to his shoulder. your insolcnce has
overshot the mark You have dared
to come into this town again and This
time I've got you. Egad, we'll teach
you lesson now that you won't soon
forget"
Once more Din%le drew down the
left eyeid The Winchester seemed
to have no tcrrors for him and the
Colonel's fury passed all bounds. He
pulled the triggcr-not with the in
tention to slay hui merely to brighten
and to arouse the town. There was
q sharp click. but no report. The
Colonel pumped" the lever and tried
again, but with like result Then Din
gle found his tongue. Don't excite
yourself, Kcever," said he. capt.
Blue unloaded the magazine of that
gun last night"
"Gad!" yelled the Colonel. "Blue
is here, too. is he? And he came in on
me last night and tempered with my
rifle!" He lifted his voice to it's
strongest. Cup Concordians! Hello!
Hey! The enemy, the enemy!"
AS he finished he hurled the Win
chester at Dingle and the resonant
call ended in the crash of glass. Keev-
er sprang to the door. The key had
been removed from the inside of the
lock and the door did not respond to
his furious pull. He hurled himself
upon it and struggled like demon.
So furious was the onslaught that the
knob came away and the great man
was precipitated to the floor. A laugh
floated in from the window. Gaining
his feet after an elephantne tussle
he braced himself in corner and
turned his cleaning eyes upon the
barred opening. Dingle had been
Joined by others, whose heads were
crowded together in the narrow
space; and when the Colonel had rec
ognized Capt. Blue, Mr.. Boomer, Mai
Harp, Vlandingham, Earney and few
: more, his brain became dizzy and he
Il staggered to the cot. Dropping dowr
Z there he buried his face in his hands.
Had it come to this? Was he finall,
bewitched by the spirits of Kentucky
bourbon? He had been a hard drink