Mountain advocate. (Barbourville, Ky.) 1904-1935, 1915-11-05


receding into distance. The thing was
weird and ghostly. She had not no
ticed In the WEAKNESS of her arrival al
the cabin that the road ran deep in
sand to the corner of the fence and
that after fifty yards of rough and
broken rock It fell away again into an.
other sound -mufiling stretch. She
knew only that she was thoroughly
frightened, and that whatever the
noise was, II proclaimed hot and des.
perate haste.
Yet even in her terror she had
moved only to turn her head and had
opened her eyes cautiously and mar.
rowly.
There was no sound In the cabin
now; not even the stertorous breath OF
q snore. The fire fi.ckered family and
occasionally sent up from its white
bed of ashes d dying squirt, before
which the darkness fell back little
for the moment
She could see that Fletch McNash
had half risen In his bed. His head
was partly turned in an attitude of
intent listening. and his pose was as
rigid as that of u bird-dog frozen on a
point. 1t had ali been monientary, and
as Juanita gazed she saw other fig.
ures stir uneasily, though no one
spoke. The missionary lay still. but
the woman's figure moved restlessly
beneath the heaped.up comforter.
So. for a few moments. the strange
and tense tableau held, and the girl,
watching the householder's alert yet
motionless pose. remembered him as
he had hunched drunkenly over his
plate few hours ago. The two pic
lures were hard TO reconcile.
Then, at some warning which her
less acute ears failed to register, she
saw Fletch McNash right hand sweep
outward toward the wall and come up
gripping the rifle.
Still there was no word. but the ED
pallet.
Keyed now to concert pitch. the girl
held her body rigid. and through half
closed lids looked across the dim
room. While she was SO staring and
pretending to sleep. there drifted from
a long way off an insistent. animal.
like yell with a peculiar quaver in it's
final note. She did not know that it
was the famous McBriar rallying cry.
and that trouble inevitably followed
fast In the wake of its sounding She
knew only that IL fitted In with her
childhood's conception OF the Indians
warwhoop. But she did know that
In an instant after II had been borne
along the wind she had seen a thing
happen which she would have disbe
lieved had she heard 1t from the lips
Of narrator.
She saw in one breathing space the
halfraised igure OF Fetch McNash un.
der the quilts of his bed. and that OF
young Jeb under the covers of his
pallet She saw in the next breathing
space. with no realization of how II
had happened. both of them crouched
low at the center of the floor. the ia
theirs eyes glued to the front door.
the sons TO the back. The older man
bent low, like a runner on his mark
awaiting the starting signal His right
hand held the rifle at his front, his
left lightly touched the floor with
fingers spread to brace his posture.
and his face was tensely upturned.
So. while she counted ten, father
and son crouched in precisely similar
at the front with repeating rife. the
other seeming to stare through the
massive timbers OF that at the back
with leveled pistol. No one spoke. No
one moved, but the regular swelling
breath OF sleep mad died, for every
its breath, bsted,
Then came fresh pounding of hoofs
and scattering or gravel and chorus
or angry, incoherent voices sounded
above the noise VI right-oF WAS II
pursuit. Whatever words were being
shouted out there In the night were
swallowed in the medley. except a
wake OF Ogths that seemed 10 rioat be.
hind.
The noise. like the other which had
preceded II. died swiftly. but In the
instant that II lasted Fletch McNash
had lifted his left hand and brought
his rife TO the ready" and his son had
instinctively thrust forward his
cooked revolver.
For q full minute. perhaps, the girl
in the bed had the picture OF two tig-
ures bent low like bronze emblems of
motionless preparation, yet not a syl.
liable had been spoken. and when. from
quite a distance beyond. there came
the snap OF a single shot. followe ed by
the retort OF volley. they still nei
Their spoke nor moved. But at last,
as II by one impulse. they rose and
turned TO face each other,
( Then. and then only. was there ut
terance OF any sort inside the house.
In voice so low that Juanita would
not have heard II save that every
sense was painfully alert Fletch said