The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1912-11-30

horses picketed over near the creek
until dark tonight. an they rode north
toward the main road. There was
maybe a dozen in that party"
We followed the general direction
the fellows seemed to have taken.
Conroy and ! on foot. scanning the
trail by aid Of h pine knot The dust
lay thick on the clay road through
the cut. where We had charged the
foragers. and it was easy to see the
band had turned east There was but
one conclusion possible; II this was
Fagin's gang Of cutthroats, as l sus-
pected. then they were either return
ing to their sand caves in Monmouth
county after raid. or else were start
ing forth on some new project near
at hand. Whichever was true. Elm,
hurst lay in the direction taken. De-
termined to learn the truth. we
pressed forward. riding rapidly. yet
exercising the precaution OF keeping
two scouts well in advance. 1t must
have been nearly three o'clock when
We reached the summit Of the low hill
y
house, and found the two scouts
awaiting us.
My first glance across the ravine
revealed the outlines Of the house
above the low trees OF the orchard.
All appeared peaceable enough. and
felt sudden relief. There were lights
burning on the lower floor. streaming
through several windows. while up
stairs one window was ablaze Late
as it was. this illumination was not
surprising, however, as the care of the
wounded man would necessitate night
watchers, while. no doubt. Claire
would anticipate by reaching there
before morning. All this flashed over
me. as my eyes hastily surveyed the
familiar surroundings. Then l be-
came aware that the older scout was
reporting.
There's quite a bunch of horses
picketed down there in the ravine.
sir" he said. pointing toward the
right.
How many?"
'Oh, maybe twenty-five or thirty;
Joe an l couldn't get very close, as
there's a couple of men on guard on
top of the bank. A hundred feet down
you can see EN- plain against the
sky"
Wasn't what you saw cattle
herd?"
mo, sir" positively They're
horses. picketed in line like a cavalry
troop. and they've got their saddles
on"
What this all meant could not be
guessed at. but there must be some
scheme of deviltry under way.
Have either of you crossed the ra-
| vine?" l asked, endeavoring to reach
| some conclusion.
Yes, sir, Joe did He was up in
the edge of the orchard?"
See any men?"
Not a man, sir, outside" answered
| the other But ! saw shadows against
the curtains on that lower floor
couldn't tell how many; they Just
come an go, only they wasn't dressed
| alike"
One thing was sufficiently certain
We could gain little Information re-
naming where we were.
Sergeant" said, determining
swiftly on a course of action. take
your men. dismounted, across the ra-
vine, and into the orchard. Keep un-
der cover, but get as close to the
house as you can safely. Picket your
horses back there beside the road"
And you. sir?"
'I'll take Tom with me, and we'll
circle that horse herd, and come up
10 the house from the rear want
to discover where those fellows are,
and what they are up to. See this
whistle. sergeant"
Yes, sir"
1T gives sharp. shriil blast. II
blow 1t twice, get your men inside
the house instantly. I'll not sound
it unless | need you at once. Wen
wait here until you get across"
They disappeared into the black
depths of the ravine. moving cautious
ly and with little noise. Tom and I
plunged down the steep slope, feeling
our way through the darkness. but
moving to the right, toward where
the scouts had indicated the horses
were being herded. We skirted these,
creeping along the opposite bank be-
hind a fringe Of bushes, certain that
the darkness concealed our move
ments from the two men on guard
We crossed fifty feet above, gained
the top of the bank. and crawled
down, sheltered from observation, un-
til we were directly above the two
guards. Peering cautiously over, we
could easily distinguish the black out
lines on the hillside below.
One man was standing up, leaning
against the trunk Of a small tree,
while the other was sitting on the
ground, his head bent forward, and
his hat drawn low over his eyes. Mel
ther had uttered sound, but as my
eyes strained through the darkness I