Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-08-18
CHAPTER vl-contlnued.


Well, It would not take long. It
would be over in twenty-four hours,
unless--a horrible thought came to
him--those men below, whose prison
or he would be in two hours, we're
savages in the rough; savages with
the blood-lust fairly reused and In
famed by defeat.
He had heard tales of torture among
the prisoners that he had seen at No
gales-horrible tales!
The thought of having to go with
out even saying farewell to Dorothy
unnerved him for a moment, but he
realized his own limitations. and he
knew that in that last moment he
would betray himself. SO down he sat
at the table and wrote two short
notes: one to his colonel, in which he
explained the whole affair, and the 9TH
er to the sister that lived in a quiet
little Maryland town among the placid
back eddies of the eastern shore.
Kynaston. his notes written, filled
the clip of the automatic and slipped
Il into his bootleg. where its fat frame
would be most likely to lie undetected.
A moment later Upton came into
the room. His face was gray with
suppressed feeling and his gaunt frame
showed unmistakable suffering In the
few minutes that had passed since
Kynaston had left him the whole trag-
edy Of the next twenty-four hours had
been brought home TO him.
Il can't let you go. boy" he said
hoarsely. I'VE had better take our
chance. Bring your men ON over across
the border"
The appeal was almost overwhelm-
Ing in It's intensity.
Don't you know that It means your
ifeY"
Il know. But It means war II I
do; and, Upton. as God is my Judge.
l cannot start war that viii involve
the country to save my own skin.
You see that, don't you3"
Upton licked his dry lips.
''When-when-do you mean to
leave?" no asked.
Right now"
Kynaston's face was pale.
Are the ladies' In the back
roomY'
Yes. I'll go with you to the
door"
The two men strolled listlessly to.
ward the door of the main room, where
the defenders stood eying them
Frank puzzlement was written large
upon their faces as Upton unbarred
the door, letting Kynaston out upon
the smooth four-hundred-yard stretch
OF grass that spread from the door
step to the stream, grass that had
been laboriously planted by hand
through two generations.
Below them the land sloped away
TO the east, riot of gold and dun
pearl and opal, and that curious red
brown that one sees in the southwest
and nowhere else on earth.
Looking out before he shut the doc,
again, Upton saw. mile away, a col
umn Of red dust swirl up to the anne
thystine sky and heard a series O
long. joyous yells that cut the deser
silences like knife. Yell after vel
broke out, then firing. and then NOR,
yells.
"That1l be the arrival Of the re
endorsements they spoke Of" said Ky
naston. I'm OF, old man. Adios
Give my love. to-your-daughter."
Upton frankly choked as he watche
the younger man swing off down tn
bill.
Steadily Kynaston tramped dow
across the dead olive-green of tn
parched alfalfa patch, sklrted the dea
brownNof the sugar cane, paused I
wave his hand to the old miner, an
then-disappeared from view anon
the cottonwoods.
Upton, signing, turned back to th
house. He tramped through the gret
room amid great silence. Me
turned from their loopholes, scanne
his face. and furtively fell to rubin
spotless riile-bolts with their shir
sleeves. They saw in his face sue
grief as is above mere words, an
after the manner Of the southwest, r
spected II.
Dorothy and Mrs. Fame he found
the back room. They knew, or su
pected. Mrs. Fame was sitting in
chair at the head Of the table, her IA,
In her hands. frankly weeping, Wi
her arms spread upon the table. h
beautiful figure racked with sobs.
Dorothy, a mixture of FIRE and iC
stood BY the window. which was clos
and barred. confronting Mr.. Wilkt
who fairly cringed before the conce
lrated fury in her eyes.