The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-12-12

down alone into the shallow ravine.
His nerves were like steel now, his
hand steady, his heart beating with
out an accelerated throb. He knew
the work, and rejoiced in it. The was
why he was soldier. Silently, swift
ly, he unbuckled his belt, refastenine
it across the straps so as to hold can
teen and haversack noiseless, anC
then, revolver in hand, began creep
ing down under cover Of the low
banks. He must explore the path first
before attempting to bear her along
in his arms; must be sure the passage
was unguarded. After it swerved tc
the right there would be little danger
but while it ran straight, some eau
tious savage might have chosen 1t tc
skulk in. TO deal With such he need
ed to be alone, and free.
He must have crawled thus for thir
ty yards, hands and knees aching hor
rib!y, his eyes ever peering over the
edge of the bank, his ears tingling tc
the slightest noise. The tiny glow oil
the fire far away to the left was alone
visible in the intense blackness; the
wind brought to him no sound OF
movement. The stiffness was pro
found, almost uncanny; as he paused
and listened he could distinguish the
throb of his heart. He was across
the trail at last, for he felt and traced
the ruts of wheels, and where the
banks had been worked down almost
to a level with the prairie. He crossed
this opening like a snake, and then
arose to his knees beyond. where the
gully deepened. He remained poised,
motionless, scarcely daring to breathe.
Surely that was something else-th2t
shapeless blotch Of shadow, barely
topping the line of bank! Was it ten
feet away? Or five? He could not
tell. He stared; there was no move.
ment, and yet his eyes began to dis.
Germ dimly the outlines-the head and
shoulders Of a mani The Sergeant
crept forward-an inch, two inches,
f"ot. The figure did not stir Now
he was sure the fellows head was
lying fiat on the turf, oddly distorted
by a feathered war bonnet. The
strange posture, the utter lack OF
movement, seemed proof that the
tired warrior had fallen asleep on
watch. Like a cat Hamlin crept up
slowly toward him, poised for spring.
Some sense of the wild must have
stirred the savage into semi conscious
ness. Suddenly he sat up, gripping the
gun in his hands. Yet even as his
opening eyes saw dimly the Sergeant's
menacing shadow, before he could
scream his alarm, or spring upright,
the revolver butt struck with dull
thud. and he went tumbling backward
i:i,o the ditch, his cry of alarm ending
III a hoarse croak. From somewhere,
out of the dense darkness in front
voice called, sharp and cultural, as II
it's owner had been startled by the
mysterious sound of the blow. 1t was
the language of tile Arapahoes, and
out of his vague memory OF the
tongue, spurred to recollection by the
swift emergency, Hamlin growled
hoarse answer, hanging breathlessly
above the motionless badly until the
"ugh!" of the fellows response proved
him without suspicion. He waited,
counting the seconds, every muscle
strained with expectancy, listening.
He had a feeling that some one was
crawling over the short grass, wig
Cling along like a snake, but the faint
sound, if sound it was, grew less dis
tinct. Finally he lifted his head above
the edge of the bank, but saw moth
ing, not even a dim shadow.
"They are closing in, reckon" he
thought soberly, "and it isn't likely
there will be any more OF these gentry
as far back as this; looks as though
this gully turned west just beyond.
Anyhow I've got to risk it,
He returned more rapidly, knowing
the passage, yet with no less caution,
finding the unconscious girl lying ex-
actly as he had left her. AS he clasped
her form in his arms, her lips uttered
some incoherent words, but otherwise
she gave no sign of life.
Eyes, yes" he whispered close to
her ear, hoping thus to hold her silent.
st is all right now; only keep STILL
He could feel her breathing, and
, realized the danger of her return to
consciousness. If she should be fright
ened and cry out, their fate would be
, sealed. Yet he must accept the chance,
now that he knew the way to be clear.
He held her tightly in both arms, his
revolver thrust back into its holster.
Bending as low as he could with his
burden, feeling carefully through the
darkness before advancing foot, he
moved steadily forward. Where the
gully deepened their heads were at
the edge of the bank, but much OF the
way was exposed, except for the dark
shadows of the slope. Fortunately
there were clouds to the west, already
obscu-ing that half of the sky, but to
the east nothing was visible against
the faint luminousness of the skyline.
! Once, far over there to the left. gun
was fired, the flame splitting the night
! asundor and against the distant re-