Evening star., 1915-12-19
SUNDAY MAGAZINE for December 10, 1915

OF the special menace OF the 2Oth, had yet
caught the first sound of trouble below
in the gulch. How those long blue-black
eyes swept over me, when I'd set her
down in the freight!
My face threw them into fright.
Ericsson dashed into the shack for
buckets. "Hey, got to sneak down to
the creek for water" he said.
We tried to dissuade him. But he
would only grin and cry, "Yah!" We
might need water, one thing with another
1t was the fire, though, that graveled me.
How were we going to keep it up for light?
l piled it high now with logs, and then
chucked all the available rest of our wood
inside the new front cabin stockade.
From there we might be able to shy it out,
a piece or so at time, on the blaze.
Ericsson arrived up the path with
his two buckets of water, putting, in
great spirits. But the herders were by
now close behind him. With farewell
punch at the fire, we all ducked snug away
under shelter of the cabin roof and walls.
An hour and more ago Eloise's father had
fallen asleep on his pine-bough bed on the
floor. The bed was, fortunately, out of
range of the doorway We built traps up
about it-didn't otherwise disturb him.
crawled through the doorway to where
Glendenning was crouched behind the
outer barricade. Our shack faced south;
from that quarter the crooks were riotously
approaching up the mountainside.
"Come on, then-come on!' l heard
Glendenning mutter "'That's right
come a-running! just want to kill shout
three lousy sheep-herders before / die!"
Eloise's pallid face appeared in the
house doorway, and to make her draw
back, l crept in. We waited, very still.
The Swallowfork raiders came smashing
through the dry timber like troop of
elephants. They were raising all this
racket on their own broganed feet, having
left their ponies below in the bottom:
Suddenly flash, crackle, and the
room was alive with lead-spitting, sing
ing, thudding: DEVILS ladleful
THE shack, as l have said, had no door;
and our breastwork outside ran up only
some four and half feet. But the door
way itself couldn't have been more than
five and half feet high. In order to
pour as many bullets as that through so
udIIOW dill OptIiiliS, tHS HllSCTthutS uuSU
somehow have climbed into the air-got
on top Of rocks, lodged themselves, even,
in the branches of trees. Underfoot the
packed earth of the cabin floor was ripped
up in dozen places.
With the rattle of Winchesters split
ting, triumphant yell also resounded.
From behind our outer stockade the four
barrels of our two ten-gauges roared back.
Inside, Doctor Duncannon started up
on his bed with cry.
"Lie down beside him, pressed Eloise.
"Coax him-soothe him-take him in
your arms. Hold him by force, if neces-
sary. That will be your part.
stroked her, kissed her hair, thrust her
toward her father 1t would be safest
for her!
"You must keep him fiat down on the
bed," l insisted. "Lie down beside him
yourself. A bullet might drift in between
the logs"
"I'll do as you tell me-, she said.
With spring of relief, hoped to
the loop-hole in the east side wall.
At almost the same instant Ericsson came
scrambling in through the doorway. He
drew another rain of slugs after him. Out