The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1911-04-21

The heavier grass which ran along
the outer rim Of the valley wriggIed
mysterfously for several minutes and
the crickets stopped their erezky
songs az he crawled along to get az
far forward az possible He would
surprise them II he could get close
enough, and If he couldn't-welI. then
l 1t was up to the best side TO make
good
He crept onward 20 where the grass
vas too short for concealment, and at
the edge Of q bare spot rested for a
! few minutes, with every nerve strung
| to q pitch
It's strange how. when men know
they are doing wrong, they get as
| alert as wild animals. Jim had hardly
climbed to his feet and started warily
| toward them, when one Of the men
! sighted him and swung a gun into
view, shouting. as he did SO: Stop. or
| I'll shoot"
Jim, seeing that further caution was
! useless, went ahead. II he had be-
| lieved there was a chance of his get
| ting closer he was mistaken. There
was a crash, and all four men opened
| fire on him at once, without waiting to
see whether his eTrand was peaceable
or not. He had served too many years
on the frontier to take chances. and
their shots went above his head, be-
| cause he had suddenly dropped Fat up
on the ground. without hesitation,
he fired back. and the one who had
begun the battle pitched forward, and
was out Of the fight
The others started to get away from
the light Of the fire which made them
too good a target, but before they
could do so Jim fred again. A sec
ond man staggered back. his gun fall
ing from his hands, and did Eab-
bling turn, while Jim watched
I'd give it to you again" Jim
thought. but I'm little shy on cart
ridges, and will take chance on that
one being enough"
The man staggered for moment,
then dropped to the ground, where he
rolled over and over. but without Of
fering further fight Jim saw his fall,
and then sprang up and forward. on
the run The boiling In his blood
! caused b. that first sight Of the
/ burned cabin had long ago given way
to a cooler mood, but it was none the
less deadly. He knew the chances he
was taking in running forward, and
resorted to the border trick Of buck
jumping from side to side as he ran,
rendering the aim of the enemy less
certain
One Of the men stood his ground,
and fred repeatedly. Jim felt quick,
soaring shock that was followed by an
instant's giddiness. but continued his
forward rush. His opponent was ap-
parently out of ammunition, and fran
tically snapped his hammer on empty
shells. 1t was this alone that saved
his life. Jim dropped his gun into
aim, and his finger was conTulstvely
tightening on the trigger, when he
cred the weapon
Drop that gun and put your hands
up" he shouted, and tell your pard-
ner TO come alongside with his hands
up Quick. or I'll get you and tend TO
him later"
The jumper had sense enough to
recognize that this was his only hope.
and did as ordered. The other man,
who had been in the background hur-
rtedly reloading his pistol, came slow
" forward with his hands in the air,
and stopped beside his accomplice.
No one spoke for an instant, and the
whole scene was like q picture: two
men standing there in the light Of the
night with their hands above their
heads, while in front Of them, with
the glow bringing out the grimness
Of his face and the steady, cold glare
Of his eyes, was a man who leaned
slightly forward with a poised pistol
ready for instant action.
As IL to add to the seriousness Of it
all. at one side rested tragically
still shape, and on the ground between
them was seated another man who
wove to and fro as II unconscious Of
the others, and halt-delirious from a
wound in his breast which he clutched
with both hands
Who hired you to jump my Annie's
claim Jim asked OF the man who
had stood his ground, and now there
was no drawl in his voice, but sharp
incisiveuess.
The jumper hesitated. and didn't ap-
pear to want to answer. The packers
gun came suddenly into quick line
with the mans head. and nothing but
a brisk confession saved him. After
that he was ready to talk He real
lied that the one before him was in
no mood to stop at anything, least OF
all his death He read something in
the grim. set face that sent a shud-
dering question through his mind as
to whether even the answering Of all
question would bring mercy. II seemed
that at that moment now it might be-
come an execution. Two examples Of
resistance were at his feet,
There was another instant's silence,
in which time the man who had been
rocking backward and forward on the
ground gave another twist. sagged
gently over on his side, and then