The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-07-29

AhNi@t-Scouted pIalns! surely nothing
ordinary. And why should those bor-
der desperadoes have followed,
through sixty miles of G~solation. to
strike him down? II was not robbcry,
at least In the ordinary sense. What
then? And how was BLACK Bart" In.
volved? Why should he be sufflcienC-
ly interested to swear out warrant,
and then assist In his arrest? There
must be something to all this not ap-
parent upon the surface-some object,
some purpose shrouded In mystery.
No mere quarrel, no ordinary feud, no
accident Of meeting, no theory of COM
monplace robbery, would account for
the deed, or for the desperate efforts
now being made TO conceal II.
Some way, these questions. thus
surging upon him, became a call to
live, to fight, to unravel their mystery.
The memory Of that sweet-faced vom-
an who had bent above him when the
rever began its mastery, appealed to
him now with the opportunity OF serv-
ice. He might be able to clear this,
orlng to her the truth, save her from
despair. and hand over to justice the
murderers Of her husband. 1t was up
TO him alone to accomplish this-no
one else knew what he knew, suspect
ed what he suspected. And there was
but one way-through escape. To re-
main there in weak surrender to fate
could have but one ending and that
swift and sudden. He had no doubt
as to BLACK Bart's" purpose, or of his
ability to use the Red Light" outfit
as desired The whole plan was clear
ly evident, and there would be no de-
lay In execution-all they were wait
Ing for was night, and a lax guard. He
glanced about at the walls OF the
room, his eyes grown hard, his teeth
clenched.
"Neb," he said shortly, II guess that
was your outfit all right, but they
were not killed by Indians. They
were run down by a gang from this
town-the sane fellows who have put
you and me In here. l don't know
what they were after-that's to be
found out later,-but the fight you put
up at the camp spoiled their game for
once, and led TO your arrest. They
failed to get what was wanted in
Carson. and so they trailed the party
70 the Cimmaron Crossing. Then I
got on their track, and fearing the re-
suit, they've landed me also. Now
they'll get rid OF us both as best they
can. These fellows won't want any
tr1al-that would be liable to give the
whole trick away-but they have got
to put us where We won't talk. There
Is an easy way to do this, and that is
by lynching bee. Do you get my
drift, Neb?"
The whites Of the negro's eyes were
very much in evidence, HIS hands grip
ping at the bench on which he sat.
"Fo' de Lawd, yes, Massa Jack. I
sho' does. corroborates de whole
thing"
Then you are willing to take q
chance with me?"
"Willin'! Why, Massa Jack, Use
overjoyed; I amt gwine leave yer no
mo. Use sho' gwine ter be yo' Niger.
Wnat yO gWlno ter dO?"
Keith ran his eyes over the walls,
carefully noting every popularity.
We'll remain here quietly Just as
long as 1t is daylight, Neb," he replied
finally, but we'll try every board and
every log to discover some way out.
lust the moment It grows dark enough
to slip away without being seen we've
got to hit the prairie. Once south Of
the Arkansas we're safe, but not until
then Have you made any effort to
get out?"
The negro came over to him, and
bent down.
II was layin' on a board what I'd
worked loose at one end" he whis-
pered hoarsely, back ob de bench,
but | couldn't ter! 1t out widout
something ter pry 1t up wild"
Where is it?''
Right yere, Massa Jack"
1t was a heavy twelve-inch plank.
part of the flooring, and the second
from the side-wall. Keith managed
W Stl BIlI) uchl W the DldCk UuRGTS,
and the two pressed It up far enough
for the white man to run one arm
through the opening up to his shoul-
der and grope about below.
There's a two-foot space there" he
reported, as they let the board settle
silently down into position. The back
part Of this building must be set up on
piles. reckon we could Dry that
plank up with the bench. Neb, but It's
liable to make considerable racket.
Let's hunt about first for some other
weak spot"
They crept across the floor, testing
each separate board, but without dis
covering a place where they could ex-
ert leverage. The thick planks were
tightly spiked down. Nor did the
walls offer any better encouragement
Keith lifted himself to the grated
window, getting glimpse Of the
wi xrytth A,.k -.