Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1916-01-03
Continued from Wednesday,

Mary's eyes stared DULY, back
through the mist of twenty years
; Her voice faltered-and stopped.
"The bedroom on the second floor,
repeated June, land then"
And then we put her to bed be-
tween us, Mr.. Travis and me. He
had to go down and speak to some
men on business. He had gone out
West on some business about gold
mine he was interested in, you know.
And the reason Mrs. Travis went
along was because she was so sick
and nervous, she said, it would "a
killed her to stay behind. And then,
that afternoon, Mr.. Travis and most
all the men in the town went into
the mountains to see a new gold
claim.
They were the toughest looking lot,
an there was one big, powerful fell
low, a gambler-Jim Borden they
called him.
"Jim Borden.' cried June. WHY"
| "And he was rougher even than the
rest of 'eln; but they all minded what
| he said. They went off riding OH
horses and mules with packs and
guns slung on their backs, and | re-
member l lifted Mrs. Travis out Of
| bed and into a rickety, old rocking
chair near the window, SOS she could
wave her hand good-by and throw a
! kiss to Mr.. Travis.
"That night her little baby was
born. l was all alone there, and 1t
| went awful with her-I thought she
was dying. After q little while
called Jake, and / told him about the
| baby. He said it was fine and he'd
send one of, the boys out to the mine
! to Mr. Travis with a note and tell
him about the good news.
"Then, lust as he was going down
| the stairs again he turned around
and said he'd have to make 1t a
| double note; because Jim Borden's S
wife had just had a baby an hour
| before and Jim would want to know,
! too.
! A sharp little breeze that sprang
| from nowhere rustled the branches
| OF the trees, and moved the low
bushes with sudden wild touch. the
old nurse jumped to her feet, drag
ging frantically at Junes hand.
The unexpected break in the ten
| sion that had held her. tortured the
| girls nerves. 1t was with difficulty
| she stified the shrek that rose to her
| lips.
"It was Just the wind" she heard
| herself saying as she pulled Mary
down on the bench beside her, Just
! the wind. 1t startled me. And Jake
sent the note to father and Jim Bor-
den, you were saying?"
Eyes, he sent the note. on, tho
/ night was longi Mrs. Travis was un-
| conscious. And every minute of the
| time when l wasn't trying to bring
| her to. walked the floor with this
mite of a baby of hers trying to save
| them both.
"The next morning early, it seems,
| outlaws outside the town heard that
a big shipment of gold was in the
roadhouse waiting to go out. They
| knew most of the men were away at
the mines, so they attacked the place.
I'll never forget the minute ! heard
the first firing. Short and sharp
mostly revolver shots.
"All of a sudden Jake and another
man run out and started to gather
up the women and children from the
shacks and bring them over to the
roadhouse. l watched from the win
! dow, with the baby in my arms. And
I saw Jake and one of the miners
| named Joe carrying a woman in
wrapper from one of the shacks-a
poor, white thing she was-and right
behind them ran another woman with
| a little bundle wrapped in shawl in
her arms.
II could hear the women and chill
dren herding in the barroom down
stairs. | could hear 'em calling,
frightened, for their husband that
wasn't there Then heard the doors
slamming and the bolts shot into
place. And in the midst of it all the
door of the bedroom flung open and
Joe and Jake came in dragging the
| "a,
This is Jim Borden's wife,
SAYS Jake to me, and here's Mrs,
IToole carrying Jims baby-you an
lher'll take care of the two sick wona-
en- and the babies, won't you? And
we said yes
MRS. Toole put Jim's baby down
on the bed next to Mrs. Travis,
was one of them narrow, no count
beds-and went to fussing over Mrs
Borden. And just walked the hooi
with the other baby and prayed. The
fight was awful! Every now and
again some woman downstairs would
scream and a child would cry for, it,
father. Above the shooting coult
hear the men swearing and yelling
The women were loading the guns
for 'em and helping 'em all they
could-but they weren't like men.
The shooting lasted all morning
| our men were ReItlllS near tno eiit
of their bullets and their strength
and Slim Bob the head of the out
laws, was firing at tho saloon door
that near he was-when he heard
shot from different direction ant
We saw Slim Bob duck and dodg'
away, sinking alongside high woot
fence: and at the same time one @
the three men that was carrying |
big timber that they were going t.
use to batter in the saloon doc
dropped dead in his tracks!
Away off in the road at the edg
OF the town we saw galloping horses
and then men scrambling off horses
backs and running toward us. The,
were the men back from the mine:
They fired as they ran and the out
laws turned tail, trying to escape
all except a few-'Slim Bob was 70
one of 'em. I saw Mr.. Travis max
for him. and then made up my min
I'd GO downstairs and call Mr.. Travi
to come straight up to his poor, i'm
conscious wife.
"On the table was Mrs. Travis
open grip, just as I'd left it whe
the baby was born. 1t had a lot Q
soft, white, woolly things in it. S
;, ! laid the baby on them when ] ra
downstairs--it was safer than the. be
II thought it was safer than tn
bed" she repeated incoherently.
"Mary-Mary!". June shook be