Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-06-26

fully to know what 1t was. Stand
firm!" i shouted loudly. stand firm.
We are safe as YETI
Even the uproar without seemed 10
abate "A little as the first fury of the
mob died down. Probably their leaders
were concerning fresh action. / went
n knelt beside Master BERTHE n
made a thorough examination of his
wound. He had received a nasty blow
on the back of the head, from which
the blood was still oozing, and he was
insensible. His face looked very long
and thin and deathlike; but, so far as
l could ascertain, the bones were unin-
jured, and he was now breathing more
quietly. Il hin he will recover" l
said, easing his clothes.
Anne was crouching on the other side
Of him.. AS she did not answer, locke
up at her. Her lips were moving, but
the only word / caught was Clarence
l did not wonder she was distraught.
1 had work enough to keep M own
wits. But l wanted her help. and / re-
peated loudly, Anne. Anne!" trying to
rouse her.
She looked past me. shuddering.
Heaven forgive you!" she muttered.
You have brought me to this! And
now / must die! / must die here! In
| the net the nave SET IOI ollcIS IL llc
own foot takeni"
She was quite beside herself with ter
ror. / saw that she was not addressing
me, and / had not time to make sense
of her wanderings. / left her and went
out TO speak to the duchess. Poor wom-
an! Ever her brave spirit was giving
way. / felt her cold lands tremble as
/ took the halbert from her. Go into
the room awhile" / said softly. He is
not seriously hurt, / am sure. | will
guard this. If any one appears at the
window, scream
She went gladly, and l took her place,
having now to do double duty. / had
been there a few minutes only, listen
ing, with my soul In my ears, to detect
the first signs of attack, either below
me or in the room behind. when l dis
tinguished a strange rustling sound on
the staircase. 1t appeared to come from
a point a good deal below me, n prob
ably whoever made ii was just within
the doorway. l peered into the gloom,
but could see no one as yet. and
/ cried in a tone of warning. who is
that?"
The sound ceased abruptly, but it left
me Uneasy. Could they be going to blow
us up with gunpowder? No! | did not
think so. They would not care to ruin
the gateway for the sake OFF capturing
so small a party. And the tower was
strong. 1t would not be easy to blow
1t up.
Yet in a short time the noise began
again, n my fears returned with it.
stand" l cried savagely, cor take
care Of YOURSELF"
The answer was a flash of bright
light, which for a second showed the
rough stone walls winding away at my
feet, a stunning report and the patter-
ing down of half a dozen slugs from the
roof. / laughed, my first start over.
You will have to come a little higher
up" / cried, tauntingly, as l smelled
the fumes. My eyes had become so &C
customed to the darkness that / felt
sure / could detect an assailant, how
ever warily he might make his ap-
proach, and my halbert was seven feet
long, so that ! could reach as far as l
| could see. / had had time, too, to grow
cool.
After this there was comparative
quiet for another space. Every now
and then a stone, or, more rarely. the
ball OF an arquebus, would come whiz-
zing into the room above. But I did
not fear this. 1t was easy to keep UNI
der cover. And their shouting no longer
startled me. / began to see q glimpse
of hope. 1t was plain that the towns
folk were puzzled how to come at us
without suffering great loss. They
were unawa of our numbers, and,
as it proved, believed that we had
three uninjured men at least. The stair
case was impracticable as a point of
assault, and the window. being only
three feet In height and 20 from the
ground, was not much better, If de-
Tended, as they expected IT would be,
by a couple of desperate sWordSmen.
I was not much astonished, therefore,
when the rustling sound, beginning
again at the foot of the staircase, came
this time to no more formidable issue
than a hail in Spanish. will you sur
render?" the envoy cried.
mo-" i said, roundly.
"Who are you?" was the next ques-
ton.
I'VE are English" I answered.
He went then, and there for the time
the negotiations ended. But, seeing the
dawn of hope, l was the more afraid of
! any trap or surprise, and cried TO the
duchess to be on her guard. For this rea-
son, too, the suspense of the
next few I'M was almost more
trying than anything which had
gone before. But the minutes
came at last to an end. A voice
below cried loudly in English: "Hulloa!
Are you friends?"
Yes, yes" / replied joyfully before
the words had we'll ceased to rebound
from the walls, for the voice and ac-
cent were Master Lindstrom's. A cry
of relief from the room behind me
showed that there. too, the speaker was
recognized. The duchess came running
to the door, but l begged her to go
back and keep a good lookout, and she
obeyed.
(Ccntinued Next Week.)