The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1912-02-09

struck and material on the ground to
start drilling AS soon as the weather
permits.
The Ohio oil Co. has leased up about
700 acres in this district since the Nor
rison well was completed.
Suddenly, far away to the north,
his rowing eye caught sight of NOV
ing speck crawling like a fly along
the line OF the HORIZON. Soon another
speck appeared, then another and an
other. AS the boy gazed breathlessly
at this phenomenon, which was elo-
quent with meaning to the faithful stu
dent of the career Of Long Tom the
Scout the professors satisfaction at
the prospect of camping expressed
itself in a quavering, but resonant
scrap Of half-forgotten hymn, more
or less appropriate to the circum-
stances of his approaching deliver
ance:
He gave my sharpest torments ease,
And silenced all my fears.
A violent nudge from Sam, who was
pointing in speechless excitement at
the ominous signs in the north, inter
rupted his song at this point and he
looked inquiringly in the direction the
lad indicated. Though he lacked the
secondhand experience of his gifted
offspring, it did not take him long to
make up his mind.
"Injuns!" he calculated; and his en-
ergetic "whoa!" suficed to bring the
entire caravan to a standstill. The
creak of the axles had hardly ceased
when, as if by magic, the moving
specks entirely disappeared from the
horizon
Sans vast, if wholly vicarious ex-
perience of western life easily enabled
him to read these signs Alright, and he
expounded their meaning with obvious
pride to the excited little council that
was gathered about Prof. Todhunter.
The Indians had been watching them
and knew by the stopping Of the
wagons they had been observed. They
numbered a score or more and must
have been headed for the water-course
ahead.
Prof. Todhunter's first idea was to
push on and gain, if possible, the shell
ter Of the trees before attempting to
withstand the inevitable attack, but
he had not gone far when the Indians
reappeared so much nearer than be-
fore that it became evident that there
would be no time for this. In the
clear air of the plains he could now
see them with some distinctness, al
though they were still three or four
miles away 1t was clear that with
he overwhelming odds of at least ten
to one in their favor they would not
wait until night, but that they were
planning an open attack which could
not be delayed for more than fifteen or
twenty minutes, even if the caravan
were to be kept moving at its best
speed. There would thus be no time
to reach shelter, and there was no 9th
er cover in sight-only rolling prairie
with low knolls rising here and there
from it's own face
So he again called a halt, and sum-
moned his little fighting force of two
men and boy.
Boys" said he, slowly, we've got
ter take keer of ourselves the best
way we kin, an there amt much time
ter spare. This amt much Of a pitch
for Todhunter's Great Moral Wax
Works, but my rule is to allus give the
best show l kin fer the money an
please the public"
And Matthias, whose professional re-
lation to the entertainment when on
exhibition was that of ticket taker, re-
sponded with dismal grin:
well, guvnor, this'll be the fust
time l ever tried to let in all the dead
heads I could"
Their arrangements were soon made.
The professor chose a spot near at
hand where his movements we're con-
cealed by a knoll, and then hastily ar
ranged his three wagons in a triangle
with the horses in the CENTER barri-
cading his wife and little girl behind
a wall of bedding and supplies within
the tilt cart Sam was sternly counted
out of the defending party, to his abb
solute despair Nothing but an adroit
appeal to his chivalry had kept him
from absolute revolt.
mo, Sam" Todhunter had finally
said; you stay in the cart with your
ma an sister, an take keer O. them"
There were precedents for this sort
of thing among the myriad expert
ences of Comanche Dick, so Sam re-
luctantly yielded. This left an effec-
tive garrison of three men, opposed to
an attack from perhaps ten times that
number. There were plenty Of guns,
to be sure, and the Indian of the fif-
ties was only occasionally supplied
with that weapon, and still employed
very largely the aboriginal bow and
arrow, but the odds were fearfully
against the attacked
The professor finally broke the
anxious silence:
"Ef we could only have reached
cover" he said. "Then they couldn't
have told whether we was three or
thirty; but out here we can't make no