The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1907-09-20

The youth lowered his rife, whipped
out pocket knife, severed the pack rope,
threw off roll of blankets and a sack of
-four that were lashed across the seat of
an old riding saddle, and hurriedly mounted.
AS he settled into his seat the tall man
emerged from clump of willows with his
cudgel
For moment he stood angrily trim
ming the stick, then suddenly raising his
eyes, he gave the boys fierce stare, and
perked out revolver
"What you doin thereP'' he yelled
shrilly.
''Don' t you blow in his earr' Don't
you?' begged the youngster, in scared
stage whisper, scrambling frantically for a
position behind the saddle. "Don't you
blow in his ear till | get on.
The youth expected to be shot, but he
sat motionless.
Bang! The tall man bullet struck the
saddlehorn and flew off, screaming.
"Mike, you fool, he yelled, ''head
EN- off Shoot EN-! Shoot EN-, quick,
| or We lose the sack
As he leveled his revolver and fired
again, the youth felt wiry pair of arms
clamp his waist, and bulging toadlike from
deep inhalation, he leaned quickly for
ward and sent blast of air into Donk's
fuzzy ear, at thesame moment turning him
about by sharp blow on tho cheek with
his hat.
The bullets were flying from both gull
lies now; and as Donk whirled to lope
homeward, his master pufed at his ears
till he stretched himself like a greyhound.
For a hundred feet the trail kept the
ridge top. The boys rode in full view of
the murderous partners, clinging like leech-
es to their mount, terribly scared by the
shots and shouts from behind and the bull
lets that whistled by them.
Still unharmed they dashed over the
crest of the ridge. They were now out of
sight indeed, but they were in new danger.
For Donk, thoroughly reused at last,
was racing down the side of the mountain
like bounded rabbit His master had
blown in his ear too hard and too often.
1t is against burro nature to run away,
but once started, it is also against burro
nature to stop or to swerve aside for any
thing whatever. Donk, entirely oblivious
to the safety winding switch backs, went
down the rough and precipitous slope with
the headlong velocity of rolling boulder
The boys had blown too hard in Donk'
ear before-nothing else saved them. With
cool headed precision the youth calculated
Donk' leaps and bounds, and with knees
tepsely gripped and shoulders deftly shifting
into balance, successfully offset them.
The youngster, his arms clasped tightly
about his brother waist and his heels dig
ging into Dunk's fanks, clung blindly.
So, breathless and nerve-strained, they
made the descent to Sluice Valley in
safety. Just before dark that evening
battered burro bore his two years masters
to the door of their mothers cabin, and
while she welcomed them with tears and
oaresses, Donk, intent on retrieving a lost
opportunity, licked up the potato parings
which he had failed to come for that
morning.
Later, when they, including Donk, went
into the cabin, and with barred doors
awaited the appearance of the sluice rob
bers-who were never again seen in that
part of the country--they discovered
shot-bag full of il-gotten gold wrapped in
a coat tied behind the saddle
When the men had all struggled back
from the rush to Coarse Gold Creek, it
was planned to divide the sack in equal
parts among those who had lost by the
rifing of sluice- boxes But every miner
scornfully refused his share, and the gold
was laid aside, to be used little later for
the boys education.