The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-11-20
CHAPTER XIV.

Epell to couture UP their forms, III
women, who had fed out Of the hous
from the scene of the combat, no
rushed into the hall uttering viii
screans, which rose high above III
dreadful chorus. and, close upon the
heels, adding no Sun to the wild tn
mutt, but for that very thing striking
o deeper note Of awful terror. came tn
wild. woifish figures Of the Red Men O
the Dusk.
Their naked feet made no sound upo,
the dark flags Of the floor. They gIidet
IN, man after mar some Tapped In tn
bloody wrappings covering wounds
gained on the spot from which they hat
ned but q few nights before, Inc t
which they returned on other footing
For they came as masters now. A
erst It vas not a fight. but a slaughter
The keen pike-heads were driven Xix
serpents Etirgs, time and again. iutc
tie huoGled. drunken mass OF Devil.
cered retainerE, and the terrible sword
OF Ieuan Gsyllt hewed down man after
man.
Even more dreadful and ruthless
than the Men Of the Dusk. their women
swarrued 70 the attack Gaunt, savage
creatures, the!r eyes cleaning Wildly
through fOui tzng.ss Of matted locks.
they drew behind the fighting line.
thr1Gst!ng themselves through Il,
dropped Upon hands T knees, and
crypt softly beneath the pixies. q. long
knife held between the clenched teeth.
Woe 70 n man who lost his footing in
h z rude huddle OF fight! Like quest
ing dogs, che women sought out the
wounded thrust down IN the press, and
stabbed them again and again. with
HhT7eks Of fe-ocious Joy, for. unlike the
men, they were not silent.
This dreadful apparition Of people
rsrn-r all 81 -----
and vanquished, intensified the almost
Euperstitious dread With which they
had ever been regarded, and GRANVILLE
the attack seemed TO shrink from meas
'tring strength with them.
In numbers the men Of the house still
held an advantage. but II was rapidly
being lost, az the Men Of the Dusk piled
in feroc!ous EiIence their deadly
thruEts, II the women shyieked Ike
hends, as they siashed their knives
across the throats Of the grooming fall
en-. But the very extrer1ity Of the dan
ger drove the garrison 10 stand stoutly
together. and they turned their swords
from each other 70 i common foe. Some
OF the cooler heads formed q line across
the hall. and opposed their bucklers 10
the dripping points, thus giving an op-
portunity for their slower friends TO
rally. / saw this was no place for my
!oTe any longer, and / leaped I'd to
the stairhead and called upon her.
she ran to me Il Slant followed.
90? Gwylliaid Cocl1ion! Y Gwylliaid
Cochion!" 4 score Of voices were
scrsaming It. Both Of them cried out.
Yes" said 7. the Red Men Of the
Dusk have broken in and taken those
quarTelsone fellows utterly by sur
prise, but have no fear, dearest, l do
not think"
| stopped short, for Enid uttered a
faint cry n pointed over my Shout /
Der. | turned, but Sir Arthur was a
Doomed M when my eyes fell upon
him He had Just raced into sight.
lying upstairs to seek a hiding place,
and mad barely set foot upon the gal
when & pike whizzef after him
and buried its head deep between MS
He pitched forward on his !
race, and as he fell, two half naked
young fellows and & ran In on
MN ana drove their knives home to-
gether IN his body. The woman was
old NeRan, her great, hollow eyes Shin
with savage Joy, and she plunged in
her knife again and again, laughing
/ caught hold Of Enid and held her
close TO my breast to shut out the
Dreadful sight. She trembled q. little,
ma men held her tighter. for I felt
strength failing. She had received
shock upon shock during the day, be-
tween grief and excitement she was
out, II she now lay fainttng in
arms, I laid her gently down and
delivered her to Slant, keeping myself.
rs u situation demanded, a keen
below.
The three Wild figures struck un-
~eariedly at the object Of their ven
seance, though life had long since de-
parted. then leuan sprang into sight
The young avage showed him their
hands. dabbled IN the blood as their
had promised. and Ieuan's face
into a smile Of gratifed hatred.
he spoke hurrIeGly, and pointed
with his dripping sword. He
.ushed back into the fight. the others
and, as they went, g. pungent
smell came to my nostrtls.
l started, an down several steps.
snuffed It up eagerly. Smoke,
"ithout q doubt, and not Of powder,
l saw faint yellow wreaths
up from one corner of the hall
my heart stood still. Fire, the
was on fire, and my heart stood
TIL. Fire! the place was on fire, and
Te were up here, and the lower stairs
md the hall impossible, for the fight
till ragged f%uricusly.
"Siani!" cried. Quick! quick! run
With your things to the room where
'ou kept the window: 1t is our ONLY ,
"E'S NPI S' - JJIIlC llIO {
ny arms, and ran al swiftly as
ould. SIAM followed me in a mo- f
nent, loaded down TO the ground. We
cached the room safely ana drove /
ONE the great iron bolt which fas- I
encd the door on the inside. l laid
ny love down, and seized the roll of
turf which Slant had brought {
l drew out q yard or two, made the {
fast to the strap which Joined the
addlebags, and lowered them from the
pen window. They were soon on the t
round, and this side of the house, as I
sual, was quite deserted. Tho doors '
'ere on the other side and nc paths {
ame this way. When I felt the weight I
T the bags gone, by reason Of their
on the turf, 1 slashed the T
turf with my sword. There was a g
trip already hanging from the ceiling. |
NOTED u the beam as had fas- /
It In the afternoon. AS Siani had +
ut 1t across close at the window. the
left hung nearly to the floor.
L fastened the end OF 1T to the end I
ad just cut. and we now had a rope to
ground. l pulled several Yards
lore Off the roll and mazda q ctr,r~ :