The Minneapolis journal., 1905-11-26

and came on tiptoe to the other tent,
his right hand In tho pocket where the
bandanna handkerchief had been but
was no longer. He came close up
to the sunny side Of the tent and
listened vainly for a sound. But stin-
garee lay like a log in the shade on
the far side, his face to the canvas and
his straw sombrero tilted over it. And
so Vanheimert found him, breathing
with the placid regularity Of sleeping
child. -,
Vanheimert looked about him; only
the ring Of impenetrable trees and the
deep blue eye Of heaven would see what
really happened. But as to what exactly
was to happen Vanheimert himself was
not clear as he drew the revolver ready
cooked; even he shrank from shooting
sleeping man; what he desired and yet
feared was a. sudden start, semblance
of resistance, swift justi6able shot.
And as his minds eye measured the
dead man at his feet, the live man
turned slowly over on his back. f.
It was too much for Vanheimert's s
nerves. The revolver went off in his
hands. But it was only a cap that
snapped, and another, and another, as
he stepped back firing desperately.
stingaree sat upright, looking his
treacherous enemy in the eye, thru the
glass in which, it seemed, he slept. And
when the sixth cap snapped as harm
lessly as the other five, Vanheimert
caught the revolver by it's barrel to
throw or to strike. But the raised arm
was seized from behind by Howie, who
had crept from the scrub at the snap
ping Of the first cap; at the Same mo-
ment Stingaree sprang upon him; and
in less than minute Vanheimert lay
powerless, grinding his teeth, foaming
and bleeding at the mouth, and filing
the air with nameless imprecations.
The bushrangers let him curse; not q
word did they handy with him or with
each other. Their action was silent,
swift, concerted, pre-arranged. They
lashed their prisoners wrists together
lashed his elbows to his ribs, hobbled
his ankles, and tethered him to tree
by the longest and the stoutest Of their
many ropes. The tree was the one
under which Vanheimert had found
himself the day before; in the after.
noon 1t was exposed to the full fury OF
the sun; and in the sun they left him
quieter already, but not SO quiet as
they. It was near sundown when they
returned to look upon broken man
crouching in his tolls like beaten
beast, with undying malice In his
swollen eyes. And Stingaree sat at his
! prisoners feet, offered him tobacco
without sneer, and lit up his owr
when the offer was declined with 8
curse.
"When we came upon you yesterday
morning in the storm, one of us was
! for leaving you to die in your tracks,
! began Stingaree. He was Immediately
: interrupted by his mate.
"That was me! cried Howie, witt
8. savage satisfaction.
cit doesn't matter which Of us j
was,'' continued Stingaree; "the othe
talked him over; we put you on one O.
our horses, and we brought you NOR
dead than alive to the place which NJ
. other man has seen since we took
? fancy to it. We saved your miserabl
: life, I won't say at the risk of on
own, but at risk enough even If yo1
9 had not recognized us. We were goinl
Q to see you thru, whether you knew u
t or not; before this we should have Sc
b you on the road from which you ha
: strayed. / thought you must know u
Q by sight, but when You denied IT ! say
i no reason to disbelieve you. It onl
t dawned on me by degrees that you wer
g lying, tho Howie here was sure of it.
+ 81 still couldn t make out you
s game; if It was funksI could have VI