The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1910-01-28

4 nut ais friend might be in
desperate need Of aid.
Thefs WIN bis heart in his mouth, he
slowly began 10 retraice his steps, walk
ing where he bad galloped moment
before. "a turn III the road caused him
to drawFein sharply, a hundred yards
ahead i've or SIX men were struggling
wRns rideriess bay horse.
ny Jovew calculated Hobbs. Its
his horse! q
As ne drew nearer Il struck him
forciblya that the men were not what
ne mad thQqhf them toll They were
an vH'ldoking lot, more like the strik-
ers he had seen In the town earlier In
the day. Aven a. he was turning the
new thouHht over in his mind one Of
them stepped out OF the little knot
and, without q; word OF warning. lifted
his arm and hred point blank at the
little Engiishpan. A pistol ball whizzed
close BY bis bead. His horse leaped
to the side OF the road IN terror, al
most unseating him.
But Hobbs had fighting blood in his
veins. What is more to the point, he
had a Mauser revolver in his pocket
he jerked It out and, despite second
shQt from the picket. prepared to ride
down upon the party. An instant later
half dozen 'revolvers were blazing
away at him. Hobbs turned at once
and rode In the opposite direction,
whirling to fire twice at the unfriendly
group. Soon he was out of range.
The only thing left for him to do was
to ride at once to the city and give
the alarm.
Suddenly his horse swerved and
leaped furiously out Of stride, STUN
bling, but recovering himself almost in
simultaneously. In the same second he
heard the sharp crack Of firearm far
down the unbroken ravine to his left.
A second shot came, this time from the
right and close at hand. His horse was
staggering, swaying; then down ne
crashed, Hobbs swinging clear barely
in time to escape being pinioned to the
ground. A stream Of blood was pour
ing from the side of the poor beast.
Aghast at this unheard OF wantonness,
the little interpreter knew not which
way to turn, but stood there dazed un-
til third shot brought him to his
senses. The bullet kicked up the dust
near his feet. He scrambled for the
heavy underbrush at the roadside and
darted of into the roadside, his revolv.
er in his hand, his heart palpitating
like mad. Time and again as he fed
through the dark thickets he heard the
hoarse shouts Of men in the distance
At 10 o'clock the next morning Colo
mel Ouinnox and company Of soldiers
riding up from the city gates toward
the north in Response to a call fol
helm from honest herders who reported
attacks and robberies Of an alarming
nature. came upon the stiff, footsore
thorn scratched Mr.. Hobbs not IA
from the walls of the town, The colo
No, was not long in grasping the sub
stance Of Hobbs revelations. He rod,
Off at once for the witch's howell, send
inc Hobbs with a small. instructed es
cort IN the castle. where Baron Dan
gloss was in consultation with Mr.. Tul
Hs and certain ministers.
The citv was peaceful enough, mucl
RI the sunrise of Hobbs. No disturb
ence had been reported, said tn
uuordsmen who rode beside him. u
n the hills there had been some depre
dations Init that was all.
"Auy, proaned Mr.. Hobbs. "All
uono r. all man. wot do Won call all
Won haven't heard 'alf of it vet. l tel
Won there's been the devil to pay
wait IN the colonel comes back fror
Caniook gan. He'll hive news fo
Won. take II from me. he will. Tha
moor chan ,as gone up in smoke a
suro NO nv name % Hobbs"
Tbev met Raron Dapgloss near tn
horrooks across the mark from til
castle He was in close. earnest col
varsat,on with John Tullis and Cour
Ho1font both Of whom seemed labo
;no under intense excitement.
Tho arrival of Hobbs. a pitiful br
heroic object Mt once arrested the a
+ant,or ~ averv one. His story wa
hoord nv q most distinguished aud
r