The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1916-05-26
Are the ladies in the back

Yes. I'll go with you to the
door"
The two men strelled 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, a 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 door
again, Upton saw, mile away. a col.
umn of red dust swirl up to the anne.
thystine sky and heard series OF
long, joyous yells that cut the desert
silences like a knife. Yell after yell
broke out, then firing. and then more
yells.
Thatll be the arrival of the re-
endorsements they spoke Of" said Ky.
naston. I'm off, old man. Adios,
Give my love to-your-daughter."
Upton frankly choked as he watched
the younger man swing off down the
hill.
Steadily Kynaston tramped down
across the dead olive-green Of the
parched alfalfa patch, skirted the dead
brown of the sugar cane. paused to
wave his hand to the Oh miner. and
disappeared from view among
the cottonwoods.
Upton, signing. turned back to the
house. He tramped through the great
room amid great silence. Men
turned from their loopholes. scanned
his face. and furtively fell to rubbing
spotiess rife-bolts with their shirt.
sleeves. They saw in his face such
grief as is above mere words. and
after the manner OF the southwest. re.
spected it,
Dorothy and Mrs. Fame he found i'm
the back room. They knew, or sus
pccted Mrs. Fame was sitting in
chair at the head of the table. her face
in her hands, frankly weeping. with
her arms spread upon the table. her
beautiful figure racked with sobs.
Dorothy, mixture of fire and ice
stood by the window. which was closed
and barred, confronting Mr.. Wilkes.
who .airly cring6d before the concen.
trated fury in her eyes.
Il say il was a shame-a shamer"
Gh q cd l..
Did they not try to kill him first. and
have they not stolen first from us. and
for two lays now tried to kill us alI9
Did he not peril his life to get us wa.
ter? Did he not cross the line and
risk his life and. more than his life,
his reputation as a soldier to help us?
What must he think Of us? To
nave us accept such a sacrifice from
him! Oh. father, | cannot stand it,
Marion, say something,"
But Marion was long past saying
anything that could be of even the
smallest comfort 1t was Mr.. Upton
who said slowly:
we did the best we could, daugh-
ter. We are but human, after ali
Neither kynaston nor were sure
which OF us shot the man. Anyway.
they promised us immunity If the man
who killed their leader should give
himself up to trial by court-martial--'
Which means DEATH" interiected
Dorothy scornfully.
And as we could not tell which OF
us-he or lit was who did the kill
Ing, we played a hand OF poker to
decide. That was what we were doing
when you came in
"Gambled away a life!" calculated
the Mortified girl
And you mean that this"-she
picked up the cards lying on the table
this was the price of his life?"
The tears were running down her
cheeks like rain
And you had What did you
have. father"
Three jacks-and-"
The old miner never finished his
sentence.
He started back from the table as il
coiled rattlesnake lay within a foot
OF his face; for his daughter had
dropped the hand that had saved his
life and had turned up the hand that
kynaston had thrown so scornfully
In the middle OF the table, disclosing
TO his horrified eyes-four nines'
CHAPTER VII.
A Canteet ~ Nuik.