The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-13

surroundings, stretched himself delib-
erately across the threshold There he
now lay snoring deeply, as he ha&
snored for half an hour.
Within the little garrison was pre-
pairing for desperate sally. Brough-
ton still stood at the pony's head. and
Lydia, on her knees, was muffling the
small noots one by one with pieces cut
from heavy bed quilt.
1T isn't as though there was any
| choice" John was whispering to her.
, They'll be back here in the course
of an hour, and when they come they'll
bring warrant They could get one
from Tularosa. If they don't shoot
me on sight, it's all one: they'll never
take me alive out of this canyon. II
will be said afterward that 1 resisted
arrest, fired on them, and they had to
shoot me in self-defense. You heard
what they said to Grafton. I'm to be
shOt-silenced."
| Lydia nodded to him mutely. 'T
know" she murmured. It's the only
way"
And now the crucial moment was up
on them. They had got the pony
through the house and at the front
! door. Here they paused.
She raised her hand to the bar at
the door. They could hear the long.
|
! threshold. An instant Broughton
checked her moving hand and bent to
her ear with a whispered:
| I'm coming back you know, COM
/ ing straight back here with GAYLORD.
| God bless you" and with look that
/ flooded her pale cheek with warm
| crimson, he brought the hand he held
TO his lips. lifted the little girl crouch-
/ ing at his knee, strained her against
his heart and kissed her silently.
whispering i'm her ear. I'm coming
back, dear-don't forget that"
Then, while their hearts stood still.
Lydia slid back the bar and silently
drew open the little door, The dim
moonlight poured in, Illuminating the
| strange group inside, the pale faces,
the man with bandaged head and arm,
the tall, slim, fair-haired woman, the
little child clinging TO them, and be-
yond the bright eyes and keenly
pricked ears OF the broncho.
In Notwithstanding silence Broughton
stepped forward over the sprawled fig
ure. Turning, he looked long in Ly-
dia's face, grasped her hand and
crushed it close in his, then. placing
his own on the pOny's nose. drew gent
ly on the bride rein, which he held
between his teeth.
| The mother cTouched down and
! claSped her child. The knowing little
pony looked dubious for an instant;
then, as the pressure on the bride rein
increased a little he answered it, lifting
| high first one small muffled foot and
then another over the PROSTATE guard
as only clever, sasacious COW pony
could do.
They were out! They were clear Of
that sleeping figure. There was a long,
shivering sigh from the doorway; then
in the dim light they saw him strug-
gle laboriously to the saddle (since
Blue Jim's feet were muffled and
Johns were noD and move slowly
down the trail. turning in his seat to
mutely wave his hand
| The fresh air blowing i'm Lydia's face
seemed to revive her as from a swOon
| or from sleep. She strained her eyes
but there was nothing to be seen. She
listened intently, but there was no
sound save from the snoring man be-
fore her.
Then she turned her swimming eyes
to the little one, and Norah, with her
arms tight around her mothers neck
and her lips close to her mothers ear,
whispered:
He said he would come back,
mama. We weren't to forget that he
would come back
And Lydia smiled as she drew away
into the shadow and softly barred the
door.
| Copyright.