The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1907-12-18

enough in this affair already | don't
intend for that petticoat man and his
putin petticoat kid in there to get any
satisfaction out O this at ALL Hear
me-"
There was no response None was
needed
Some shots found harmless lodg-
ment in the outer walls of the shanty.
They were the result of an unavailing
attempt to pick the window whence
Williston's shot had come Mary
could not keep back little womanish
gasp of nervous dread.
Grip your nerve, Mary, said her
father. That's nothing-shooting
from down there. Just lie low and
they can do nothing. Only watch,
child, watch. They must not creep
up on us. Oh, for d moon."
She did grip her nerve. and her
hand ceased its trembling. In the
darkness her eyes We're big and
solemn. Sometime, tomorrow. the re-
action would come, but tonight
Yes, father, keep up your own
nerve, she said in brave little voice
that made the man catch his breath
Again the heavy minutes dragged
away. 'At each of the two windows
crouched a tense figure, brain alert,
eyes in iron control. Ii was fright
full strain, this waiting game. Could
one be sure nothing had escaped ones
vigilance? Starlight was deceptive,
and ones eyes must needs shift to
keep the mastery over their little
horizon. 1t might we'll be that some
one of those ghostly and hidden sen
tinels patrolling the lonely homestead
had wormed himself past staring eye
balls, crawling, crawling, crawling; it
might well be that at any moment
sudden light flaring up from some
corner would tell the tale OF the end.
Now and then could be heard the
soft thud OF a hoof as some one rode
to execute an order Occasionally,
something moved out by the sheds.
Such movement, if discernibe from
the house, was sure to be followed on
the instant by quick, sharp remon-
STRANGE from Williston's rifle. How
long could it last? Would his nerve
wear away with the night? Could he
keep his will dominant? If so, he
must drag his mind resolutely away
from that nerve-racking, still, and UNI
seen creeping. creeping, creeping,
nearer and nearer How the stiffness
weighed upon him, and still his mind
dwelt upon that sinuous, fat-bellied
creeping, crawling. worming. God it
was awful! He fought it desperately.
He knew he was lost if he could not
stop thinking about it. The sweat
came out in big beads on his forehead,
on his body: he prickled with the heat
of the effort Then it left him--the
awful horror-left him curiously cold,
but steady of nerve and with will of
iron and eyes, cats eyes, for their
seeing in the dark Now that he was
calm once more, he let himself weigh
| the chances of succor. They were
| pitifully remote. The Lazy S was
situated in a lonely stretch of prairie
land far from any direct trail. True,
| it lay between kemah the county
seat, and the Three Bars ranch, but
| it was d good half mile from the
straight routs. Even so, it was late
hour for any one to be passing by. 1t
| was not Travelled trail except for the
boys of the Three Bars, and they
and little given to spreeng. AS for
| the rustlers, ii rusters they were,
they had no fear of interruption by
the officers of the law, who held their
places by virtue of the insolent and
arbitrary will of Jesse Black and his
brotherhood. and were now carousing
in Kemah by virtue of the hush-money
put up by this same secret tribunal
Watch, child watch.' he said
again, without in the least shifting his
tense position.
Surely" responded Mary, quite
steadily.
1 Now was her time come. Dark
sinister figures fitted from tree to
tree At first she could not be sure, il
was SO heartlessly dark. but there was
movement was different from thai
terrible blank quiet which she hat
hitherto been gazing upon till her eye.
burned and pricked as with needle
J points, and visionary things swan be
fore them. She winked rapidly tt
dispel the unreal and floating things
1 opened wide her longlashed lids, fixet
them, and-fred. Then Willisto1
knew that his little girl" his one eve
ramp, all Inat was lett 10 MIN OF Iut
and gracious past, must go through
what he had gone through. all thai
} nameless horror and expectant dread
and his heart cried out at the unholy
injustice of it all. He dared not go tt
her, dared not desert his post for al
instant If one got within the shadow
of the walls all was lost.
Mary's challenge was met with {
rather hot return fire. 1t was probably
given to inspire the besieged with {
due respect for the attackers mum
bers. Bullets battered around the out
side walls like hailstones, one ever
whizzed through the window perilous
ly near the girls intent young face.
/ tn oh