Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1918-08-16

into his hand and found Hilario exam
lining a large pair Of timers shears.
do you wish me to go with your"
he inquired Of the guide.
The latter shook his head. "Antonio
will go; he will keep watch while I
clear path. If anything goes wrong,
wait here. Don't ride away until 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 row when they discover
that I have played Cuban DAMON
upon it." The old man seemed less
surly than before.
us the way clear?" O'Reilly in
CURED.
.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 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 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 a
taut strand of barbed wire. The metal
lie snip Of Hilario's shears sounded
like a pistol shot to O'Reilly. 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
his rifle in their direction.
$50! They are shooting bats" Hi
lario grunted.
Antonio swung about and cooked his
Remington, but the other spoke sharp
ly. "Fool! If you shoot they will see
the fire and riddle us. A curse on the
spider that spun this webb"
1t was 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
the sound of running feet, suddenly
putting an end to further inaction. An
tonic began to hack viciously with hts
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; it is
a game that we can play!"
O'Reilly had been gripping his rifle
tensely, his heart in his throat, his
pulses pounding. AS near a panic as
he had ever been, he found, oddly
enough, that the mere act Of throwing
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
pathway.
It 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 it's shelter to
cut the muff1es from their horses feet.
BY this time the defenders of the tro-
cha were pouring volley after volley
at random into the night.
Now that the skjrmish was over,
Jacket began to boast of his part in it.