The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1919-05-22
CHAPTER Iv-contInued.

CHAPTER W-contlnued.
~
'eThey vas hitched Jest about a hun.
dred yards below Mr.. Curtis propity,
I'm the of side O. the road. 1 hadn't
any more'n got to u front gate when
1 heard some one running in the road
UP there behind me-. Fore I knowed
what was %happenin', bang went a gun.
/ almost jumped out'n my boots. The
runnin' had stopped. The horses was
rarin' an tearing so I thought I'd"
"Where'd the shot come from" de-
manded Jones.
"Up the road some'eres, I couldn't
swear just where. Must'a' been up by
the road that cuts in to Green Fancy.
So I thought I'd hustle in an see If
pa was awake, an git my gun. Jest
then pa stuck his head out'n the win
der en- yelled what the hell's the mat
ter. You betcher life I sung out who
I was mighty quick, cause pas purity
spry with a gun an I didn't want him
takin' me fer burglars sneaking around
the house. While we wuz talkin' there
one Of the bosses started our way
n~ckety-split, an in about two seconds
it went by US. It was purity dark, but
we see plain as day that there was a
man in the saddle, bendin' low over
the boss neck and shoutin' to 1t. We
waited a couple o minutes, wonderin'
what to do, an listenin' to the boss
gittin' furder and furder away in the
direction Of tho crossroads. Then
way down there by the pike we heerd
another shot. Right there an then pa
said he'd put on his clothes an we'd
set out TO see what it was all about.
WELL, pa ONT out with my gun an
hls'n an we walks up to where 1 seen
the bosses. Shore 'nough, one of 'em
was still hitched to the fence, an
t'other was gone. We stood around a
minute or two examinin' the boss an
then pa says let's 60 up the road a ways
an e If we en- see anything. An
by gosh, we hadn't gone moren' fifty
feet afore we come plumb on a man
layin' in the middle of the road. Pa
shook him an he didn't let out a
sound. He was warm, but deader'n a
tombstone. I WIZ fer leavin' him there
till we cd git the coroner, but pa says
no. We'd carry him down to our porch
an lay him there, SOS he'd be out o.
danger. I jumps on Polly an lights
out fer here, Mr. Jones, to telephone
up to Saint Liz fer the sheriff an the
coroner, not g1vin' q dang what I run
into on the Way. Polly SHE'D some
thin terrible Jest afore we got to the
pike an I come derned near bein'
throwed. An tight there side the road
was this felier. all in a heap. Thinks
!, you poor cuss, you must "a tried to
stop that felltr on hossback an he
plunked you. That accounted fer the
second shot. Tie thing lat worries all
Of us is did the SAM man do the
shootin', or was there two of 'em, one
waitin' down tae cross-roads?"
"Must have been two,' said Jones,
thoughtfully. "The same man couldn't
have got down there ahead of him,
that's sure. Did anybody go up to
Green Fancy to make inquiries2"
"'Twasn't necessary. MI. Curtis
heard the shootiu' an jest before we
left he sent q man out to see what it
was all about. The old skeezicks that's
been drivin' his car lately come down
h6lf-dressed. He said nothin' out of
the way had happened up at Green
Fancy"
cts most mysterious" said Barnes,
R1ancing. round the circle of awed
faces. "There must have been some
One lying in wait for these men, and
with a very definite purpose in mind"
"Strikes me-" said Jones, "that these
two men were up to some kind Of dirty
work themselves, else why did they
cay they were goin' to Spanish Falls
They were queer actin men, I'll have
80 say that"
His eyes met Barnes and there was
} queer light in them.
"You don't happen>to know anything
bout this. do you, Mr.. Barnes2" he de
handed, suddenly.
CHAPTER v.
.H1o Farm-Boy Tells q ohastiy etoN
and IN freshman Entera
Barnes stared. "What do yol