Gilpin observer., 1915-11-11
CHAPTER X.
Starlight.

For three hours Sally rode without
halt, up hill and down, swimming her
morse across streams till she had near
ly reached the foot of the ridge. Then,
directly in her path, she spied a bear.
grizzly The horse SHE'D, threw her
and galloped away. The grizzly. for
some reason known to bears but not
to men, pursued the horse instead Of
rushing on the girl.
Sally picked herself up, bruised and
sore and terribly fatigued and fright
ened. She must now continue her
progress on foot. She must cross thai.
ridge or die in the attempt.
Hsrdly had she started toward the
ridge when new danger confronted
her. 1t was the laundering herd, again
in stampede. A solitary tree stood in
her path. Sally ran to this tree and
climbed it and came to rest in its
branches. And the herd thundered
past on both sides of the tree. Some
times the impact of thousands OF
heavy bodies against the tree was so
great that Sally feared they would
push it over. But at last, after an
hour of agony. Sally cried out:
Thank God! The herd has passed.
Heaven give me strength now to get
over that ridge before nightfail.'
She sprang down from the tree and
resumed her flight toward the ridge.
Just at dusk, the party of white
hunters on the other side of the ridge
were amazed at seeing the figure of
woman staggering across the clearing
in which they were encamped 200
strong. The staggering woman was
Sally Madison. She was greeted by
the leader of the party, who said:
Il am General King-and good
Lord! know you. You are Miss
Sally Madison, daughter of my old
friend, Colonel Madison. What on
earth brings you here in such plight"
Sally, though nearly exhausted, ex-
planned her mission. Food was given
her. She revived. And then the en-
tire hunting party of 200 men, led by
Sally, with General King by her side,
rode out of the clearing on their way
to rescue their fellow citizens on the
other side of the ridge Fortunately
there was sufficient moonlight to en-
able them to make rapid progress.
Meanwhile, in the pocket in the
rocks, Toms party was in most des-
perate straits. Even the last morsel
OF food. as well as the last drop of
water. was gone. And half their num-
ber lay dead or wounded. Starlight, a
ministering angel, attended the
wounded. And now, the last remain
ing cartridge was announced by Tom.
Here goes!" he whispered to his
comrades. This last shot will be the
cue for those redskins to storm our
citadel For when we no longer fire,
they will know that our ammunition is
exhausted"
The time now was daybreak. Tom
showed his head above a rock. It
served to attract the fire of Twin
Boughs. the medicine man. Tom rec
ognized him and ducked in time to
evade bullet. Twin Boughs was
very bad shot anyway, being more &C
customed to the bow than to the rifle
Quick as flash now, however, Tom
again peered over the rock and this
time fred. And Twin Boughs, the
medicine man, next instant passed
into the happy hunting grounds OF all
Indians.
Two hours passed and not another
shot was fred from the pocket
They have fred their last shot,
Swift Wind told his men. I'VE can
now kill our enemies without much
risk to ourselves"
Forthwith he ordered an assault on
the pocket. In a mass bowling and
warwhooping, they advanced On the
pocket, while the hunters within wait