The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1904-04-14


aperture in the skirts of his brown coat.
| The house commanded the road, and:
| the rush of the mob into the village
was checked, but only for the instant
A rickety woodshed which formed a
portion Of the Skillet mansion closely
Joined the Last Chance side of the:
| family place of business. Scarcely had
the guns Of the defenders sounded
when, with loud shout, Lige Willetts
leaped from an upper window on that
side of the burning saloon and landed
on the woodshed and, Immediately
climbing the roof of the mansion itself,
applied brand to the dry, time worn
clapboards. Ross Schofeld dropped on,
the woodshed close behind him, his
arm lovingly Unfolding gallon jug of
whisky, which he emptied (not without
evident regreD upon the clapboards as
Lige fired them. Flames burst forth
almost instantly, and the smoke, unit
ing with that now rolling out of every
window of the saloon, went up to heav-
| en- in cumbrous, gray column. IS
| AS the flames began to spread there
was rapid fusillade from the rearsof
| the house, and hundred men and
more, who had kept on through the
| fields to the north, assailed it from be-
hind. Their shots passed clear through
| the f1imsy partitions, and there was
screaming like beasts bowls from with:
| in. The front door was thrown open,
and lean, fierce eyed girl, with a case
| knife in her hand, ran out in the face
Of the mob. At sound of the shots in
the rear they had begun to advance on
the house second time, and Hartley
| Bowlder was the nearest man to the
| girl. With awful words and shrieking
inconceivably she made straight at
Hartley and attacked him with the
knife. She struck at him again and
again, and in her anguish of hate and
fear she was so extraordinary specta-
Gle that she gained for her companions
the seconds they needed to escape from
the house. AS she hurled herself alone
at the oncoming torrent they sped from
the door unnoticed, sprang over the
fence and reached the open lots to the
west before they were seen by Willetts
from the roof.
Don't let 'em fool your he shouted
"Look to your left! There they co.
Don't let 'em get awayv'
The Crossroaders were running across
the field. They were Bob Skillet and
his younger brother, and Mr.. Skillet
was badly damaged. He seemed to be
holding his jaw on his face with both
hands. The girl turned and sped after
them. She was over the fence almost
as soon as they were, and the three ran
in single file, the girl last. She was Ell
Their magnifcently sacrifcial and fear
less or she cunningly calculated that
the regulators would take no chances
OF killing woman child, for she kept
between their guns and her two COM
panions, trying to cover and shield the
latter with her frail body.
"Shoot, Lige," called Watts eff we
DIRE from here We'll hit the girl Shootv'
Willetts and Ross Schoield were still
standing on the roof at the edge out
Of the smoke, and both fired at the
same time. The fugitves did not turn.
They kept on running, and they had
nearly reached the other side of theI
field when suddenly, without any pre-
monitory gesture, the elder Skillet
dropped fat on his face. The Cross
readers stood by each other that day.
for four or five men ran out Of the,
nearest shanty into the open, lifted the
PROSTATE figure from the ground and
began to carry it back with them. But
Skillet was alive. His curses were
heard above all other sounds. LigeI
and Schofield fired again, and one Of
the rescuers staggered. Nevertheless
as the two men slid down from the roof
the burdened Crossroaders were seen
to break into run, and at that, with:
another yell, fercer, wilder, more 10y
GUS than the first, the Plattville men!
followed
/ The yell rang loudly in the ears Of
old Wilkerson, who had remained back: