The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1906-08-21

! form of a man entered the circle of
/ light
This is the way you keep your bar
gains, you old renegade, is it?" Mallock
snarled, pointing to where the lovers
stood hand IN hand.
Il make a new bargain" returned
Burnt Bear imperturbably Il make
any bargain when my pony go lame"
Mallock's loosely hanging hands
clinched themselves into fists Rage
seemed to overpower caution. Mine
Spot lame? Who famed him?" Look
ing about and receiving no answer, he
went on in a louder, more confident
tone: "Who famed Nine Spot?' he in
! quired hotly. "I'm here to prove that
/ Hochaska slipped in and famed the
beast to get even with you about Ally,
and now you give him your daughter
to cure it. Burnt Bear, you're nine
sorts of a fool!'
1t is not courteous or even safe to tell
Sioux chief that he is as much as
one sort of plain, unqualified fool
Burnt Bear started for Mallock, and
the Englishman began to explain how
! he had seen Hochaska tying a horse
/ hair around Nine Spots pastern to pro-
/ duce the lameness.
Burnt Bear halted uncertainty. 1t
was apparent that he had been tricked
| by some one, and when he felt sure
| of the culprit there would be a reckon
/ Ing.
Matters hung thus in the balance for
a moment. Hochaska frightened his
arm about the girl and decided to as
sumo the responsibility of anything
Billy had done, but to keep Altamaha
now he had her.
Hold on, hold on, my noble red
man" cried a cheerful voice, and a rid
er galloped up to the smithy
Its all right to eat Mallock, Burnt
/ Bear" the cowboy explained as he
leaped from saddle, but you want to
know just what you're eatin' i'm for"
The Englishman drew back Don't
co. urged Billy, laying a constrain-
ing hand upon his arm. eve can't
spare you"
He turned to the three Indians, who
stood regarding the white man Gu
riously.
Burnt Bear" he began, "you know
what I've bet ON Nine Spot I've been
watchin' that cayuse most as close as
/ you have. Tonight, before you got
| around to him, | was up on the knob
where he graZes. You thought it was
/ light enough so you could see the
hawse from where you was down at
/ the camp settin by the door of your
wicky-up. But there was a great big
snake in the grass that you couldn't
| see, worming itself along to Nine
! Spots heels, and thinks to myself,
Does the Teller want to have his
| brains kicked out? Then as | watches
i'm he nooses up long, stout hawse-
hair, so fash, and slips it around the
pony's hook"
Let go of me-" growled Mallock
under his breath.
An that there snake in the grass
warn't Hochaska," explained Billy
genially. He suppressed the further
| information that there was a rubber
band in his own pocket prepared to
do a like service at the time he dis
covered Mallock playing the trick
ahead of him.
Heres your pony lamer, Burnt Bear
take him." And with a sudden I'M
expected jerk the cowboy flung Nal
lock almost into Burnt Bears arms.
BLESS you, my children" he con
cluded, turning to Hochaska and the
girl I'll skip down to Casey's and
take some good bets on the pony Nal
lock has done spread the news that
Nine Spots gone dead lame, and we
stand to make good money if it don't
get out too soon that Hochaska has
cured him."