Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1903-05-01

moved. Soon after I encountered an
other right on the edge of the trail.
Digging my heels into my horses
tanks and forcing my body out OF
equilibrium, forced him to prance. \
vigorous pull on my bride rein by
! JaycOX saved him from going over the
| incline, carrying me with him. But l
| had accomplished my purpose. heard
the stone so crashing down the noun
tain.
You Internal dog" cried the man in
the rear. ''ef yer do tibet agin I'll run
| 4 knife atwiXt yer shoulders"
EFF he does it az in, Yer needn't trou
BILE yerself ter stick him. The fall nd
finish him."
Higher, higher, we mounted, farther
from the dark plain below, upon which
! here and there shone n lonely light;
nearer to the patches Of fleece in the
heavens and the stars looking down
from above. Then came a faint light
In the sky and gray tinge over the
country below. Woods, streams, fields,
houses, barns, grew out Of the darkness.
The light brOadened; there were gilded
clouds in the east; the sun cast its first
beams over the heights and upon the
landscape below. We had reached the
upper level; we were on the plateau.
Espying log house ahead, the men
consulted and determined to try for
| some breakfast. They took the gag
out Of my mouth, and as soon as was
! free to speak, anxious to be at once I It
beyond suffering and the terrible
pense Of an impending murder, / cried:
You dogs! You cowards! You're
going to kill me! Why do you delay"
They looked at each other knowingly
and grinned-a horrible, soulless grin.
| do We reckon yer goin ter git ter
heaven without payin TO tn damage ye
done?' snarled Jaycox, with an ugly
light in his eye.
"Ah, that's your gamer
| 1--WE know you uns ter be MS well
fixed TO- property as any young man in
Tennessee. An we're goin ter hev a
slice too. But yer needn't reckon thet's
goin ter save We. Yer got ter shell out,
an them His look told the rest
"Give me one shot with my back
towards as you"
"Shet up" snapped Jaycox, showing
his teeth within foot 81 my face and
with a glance like that Of an angry
bulldog. Then. riding up to the en-
trance Of the hut, he shouted:
Hello thar"
An old woman came to the door with
an iron spoon In her hand.
"Waal, what's wantedY
| Smack"
"Hain't got nothin but pone"
Got any coffeeY'
Coffee? D'y' reckon Abe Lincoln'a
goin ter let us hev coffee away up in
these mountings when they hain't got
| none down in tn towns? got yart
n do purity wal, though"
My captors dismounted, breakfasted,
then arranged for a short nap, one
| watching while the other slept. Jay
cox first sprawled himself on the
ground and was asleep in a twinkling
while his comrade sat staring at me
with his gun ready cooked. I knew
that II made the slightest movement
with a view to escape he would shoot
me. Occasionally he looked impatient
ly at handsome gold watch, doubtless
taken in spoil. as il anxious for the ex.
piration Of his hour Of duty. Toward
the last he nodded. l was near some
low bushes and began to roll toward
them. He awoke with a start and
quick as fash brought his gun to his
| shoulder.
"Yo' houndv'
Jaycox opened his eyes and, seeing q
murderous look in his companions face
and a gun right over his foot pointed
at me, kicked the weapon upward, dis
charging it. thus doubtless for the time
saving my life.
This finished the first watch, and
Jaycox took his turn, admonishing me
that II tried the experiment again he
would tie me up by the thumbs. l
dreaded this torture and gave him no
cause to enforce it. Besides, he kept
awake during his entire watch.
The men having secured the needed
|
loosened the horses. and his compan-
ion kept me covered with his gun while
l mounted. AS l put my foot In the
stirrup happened to glance aside and
saw two horsemen approaching. In q
moment l recognized Buck Stanforth
and Ginger. How they came to be
there was mystery. only knew they
were there and rejoiced. At seeing
me Buck was about to give a shout
when he bethought himself that such
a proceeding might be fatal and re-
gained his composure just as his pres.
ence was discovered. Ginger showed
no signs Of recognition whatever.
shot quick glance at Jaycox to see II
he recognized the negro. To my relief,
he did not appear to know either Buck
or Ginger.
"Say. 70 men," called Buck, "can we
get somepin to eat hyarT
'Ef thar's any vittels left" said Jay
cox. "What 20 uns dom out this time
O. dayT
"Oh," said Buck-I trembled lest his
wits should desert him Mt a critical
momentum takin this Niger to his
new master. He's sold"
"Yer a peart I'm ter oliver a Niger.
Reckon he don't mind goin with yer"
Buck and Ginger dismounted as we
departed. I was obliged to part with
them without being able to utter q
word or make a sign. Still, their pres
ence gave me hope. Hope! What
could simple negro and a boy do to
rescue me from two stalwart brutes
who were watching me like cats?
All day we moved northward, the
men riding close beside me. now and
again turning their ugly faces toward
me with grin of satisfaction or a
scowl when l did or said anything to
displease them. often bending close to
me, sickening me with their rank to-
bacco smelling breaths or the worse
odor Of their unwashed bodies. We
met no one. The only comfort l de-
rived was from the natural objects of
the mountains. A red fox stole away