Anadarko daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Oklahoma) 1908-191?, 1910-10-12

asked ltaDcTsnaIu
The gui5e paused to examine, and
the faint glow faI down the vale
seemed to perple1 h'm. lie spoke to
one or tws other natives and they
viewed the light runfnatively. as IL
their way
"Thet must be on Ardmore's land"
said the leader finally ut shoots out
all sorts o. ways round hyoh and I
reckon thets wheh Raccoon creek
cuts through"
That's very likely" said Haber-
| sham. i've seen the plat Of what
| Ardmore owns on this side the border
/ at the courthouse, and / remember
that there's long strip in Mingo
county that is Ardsley land Ardmore
has houses Of one kind and another
scattered all over the estate and those
lights may be from one OF them. You
know the place. don't your"
Yes; I've visited there" admitted
Griswold But we'd better give II a
vide berth. The whole estate is sim
ply infested with scarlet fever
They're quarantined"
81 guess that's a Joke" said Haber-
sham. There's a big party on there
now. and have seen some OF the
guests in Turner's within a day or
two"
within how many days." demand.
ed Griswold his heart sinking at the
thought that Ardmore had lied TO him
to keep him away from Ardsley-
from Ardmore's housel The thought
Of It really hurt him now.
Come on" called Habersham.
Half the company rode ahead to
gain the farther side Of the church;
the remainder, including Griswold and
Habersham, soon dismounted and tied
their horses ont of sight of the coun.
try road which they had latterly been
following.
1--WE are I'm plenty OF time" said
Habersham, looking at his watch.
THE rest OF the boys are closing in
from the other side and they will be
ready for Appleweight when he fin
ishes his devotions. We've been study.
ing the old mans habits and he has a
particular place where he ties his
horse back of the church. It's a lit
tie apart from the fence where most
Of the congregation hitch, and he
chose II. no doubt. because in case
of a surprise he would have plenty
of room for maneuvering Two men
are going to lay for him, seize and
gag him and carry him into the wood
back of the church; and then we're
off across the state line to lock him
up IN jail at Kildare and give Gov.
Dangerfeld the shock of his life"
1T sounds simple enough; but II
won't be long before Appleweight's
friends miss him. You must remem-
ber that they are a shrewd lot"
"We've got to take our chances.
Let's hope we are as shrewd as they
are" replied Habersham.
They moved softly through the
wood and presently the faint sound Of
singing reached them
"Old Rabdick has finished his ser
mon and We'll know the worst I'm a
few minutes"
One of the party had already de-
; tached himself and crept forward to-
ward the chuch, to meet his appointed
comrade in the enterprise, who was to
come in from the other side.
The clapboard church presented in
the moonlight the austerest outlines,
and as the men waited rude though
unseen hand was slamming the wood.
en- shutters that protected the win
dows from impious violence.
I'VE could do with less moon," NUT
tered Habersham, as he and Griswold
peered through the trees into the
churchyard.
There goes Bill Appleweight now"
whispered one of the natives at his
elbow, and Griswold felt his heart
beats quicken as he watched a tall
figure silhouetted against the church
and moving swiftly toward the rear
of the building. At the front Of the
church voices sounded, as the de-
parting worshipers rode or drove slow
ly away.
Habersham laid his hand suddenly
on Griswold's arm.
! They've got him! They've nailed
him! See! There! They're yanking
him back into the timber. They've
taken him and his horse!"
Griswold saw nothing but a momen-
tary confusion of shadows, then per.
feet silence hung over the woods be-
hind the little church. The congre-
cation was slowly dispensing. riding
away in little groups. Suddenly a
voice called out in the road 100 yards
beyond the church:
"Hey, there! Where's Bill?"
"Oh, he's gone long ago!" yelled
another.
In a moment more the church door
slammed and last figure rode rapid.
] ly away.