The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-08-29

Will mere OOn I rue away u1Ill We
have time"
Never fear. won't desert you"
the American treasured him.
The two Whitehead figures slipped
away, became indistinct, and then dis
appeared. The night was hot, the mos
Quitoes hummed dismally and settled
in clouds upon the waiting pair, mad
dening them with their poison. A half
hour passed, then the two ghostly fig
ures materialized once more.
'Dios % grumbled HilariO. There
are many strings to this Spanish gui-
tar. What a row when they discover
that have played a Cuban DAMON
upon it, The old man seemed less
surly than before.
as the way clearT' o'Reiry in
quired.
"As far as the railroad, yes. We
heard voices there, and came back
We will have to cut our way forward
after we cross the track. Now, then,
follow me without a sound"
Leading his horse by the bit ring.
Hilario moved out into the clearing,
followed once more by his three COM
panions. In spite of all precautions
the animals made a tremendous racket,
or so it seemed, and, despite Hilario's
twisting and turnings, it was impos-
sible to avoid an occasional loop OF
| barbed wire, therefore flesh and cloth
| Ing suffered grievously. But at length
the party brought up under the railroad
embankment and paused. As carefully
as might be the four men assembled the
| slope, crossed the rails and descended
| into the ditch on the other side. An
| other moment and they encountered q
! taut strand of barbed wire. The metal
| lie snip of Hilario's shears sounded
| like pistol shot to O'ReiIly. Into the
maze of strands they penetrated, yard
] by yard, clipping and carefully laying
back the wire as they went. Progress
was slow; they had to feel their way !;
the sharp barbs brought blood and
muttered profanity at every step.
None of the four ever knew what
gave the alarm. Their first intimation
of discovery came with a startling
"Quien vive?'' hurled at them from
| somewhere at their backs.
An instant and the challenge was
followed by a Mauser shot. Other re-
ports rang out as the sentry emptied
Ills A14AC III lAACAI CCllOA
'Soi They are shooting bats !" HI
lario grunted.
Antonio swung about and cooked his
Remington, but the other spoke sharp
ly. "FooII If you shoot they will see
the fire and riddle us. A curse on the
spider that spun this WEBB
It was a test of courage to crouch
among the charred stumpS, enmeshed
in that cruel tangle of wire, while the
night was stabbed by daggers of fire
and while the trocha awoke to the
wild alarm. From somewhere in the
distance came q shouted command and
the sound Of running feet, suddenly
putting an end to further inaction. An
tonic began to hack viciOusly with his
machete, in an effort to aid Hilario's
labOrs. The sound of his sturdy blows
betrayed the party's whereabouts so
clearly that finally the older man could
restrain himself no longer.
"Give it to them, compadres; 1t is
a game that we can playT
O'Reilly had been gripping his rife
tensely, his heart in his. throat, his
pulses pounding. AS near panic as
he had ever been. he found, oddly
|
his weapon to his shoulder and firing
it Gained him. The kick of the gun
subdued his excitement and cleared
his brain. He surprised himself by di
recting Jacket in a cool, authoritative
voice, to shoot low. When he had emp
tied the magazine he led two of the
horses forward. Then, grasping his
own machete, he joined in clearing 6
pathway.
1t seemed an interminable time ere
they had extricated themselves from
the trap, but finally they succeeded
and gained the welcome shelter Of the
woods, pausing inside its shelter Il
cut the muff1es frem their horses feet
By this time the defenders Of the tro
cha were pouring volley after wolfe!
at random into the night.
Now that the skirmish was over
Jacket began to boast OF his part in it
Hal Perhaps they'll know bette
than to show themselves the next hm'
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INcEcT VIHTiMS M HPn0ZE,