The diamond drill., 1919-02-22
=.

Had Time to Raise My FIaIf and
Bring II Down Upon the Head OF
the Leader.
had time to raise my fail and bring It.
down upon the head of the leader,
who fell as / had seen beef fall un-
der the ax. Another man stopped be-
yond the reach Of my fall and. after
seconds hesitation. turned and ran
away In the darkness.
could bear or see no other motion
In the field. turned and ran ON
down the slope toward the village. In
a moment / saw someone coming out
of the maple grove at the fields end,
just ahead, with a lantern.
Then heard the voice of the school
master saying:
us II you, my ladf"
"Yes," / answered, as 1 came up to
him and Mary, In condition OF
breathless excitement.
told them of the curious adventure
/ had had.
"Come quick" said the schoolmas-
ter. Lets 90 back and find the man
I'm the stuhble."
I remembered that I had struck the
path in my flight just before stopping
10 swing the fail. The man must have
fallen very near 1t. Soon we found
where he had been lying and drops OF
fresh blood on the stubble.
"Hush." said the schoolmaster.
We listened and heard wagon rat
Ting at wild pace down the road
toward the river.
"There he goes" said Mr.. Hacket.
ellis companions have carried him
away. Ye'd be riding in that wagon
now, yerself. my brave lad, If ye hadn't
"a made a lucky hit with the fail
God bless vel"
"What would they "a done with
me?" / asked.
"Oh, reckon they'd "a took We Off.
lad and KEEP ye for year or so untii
Amos was out o. danger" said Mr..
Hacket. Maybe they'd drowned We In
the river down there an left YER
clothes on the bank to make II look
like an honest drowning. The devil
knows what they'd "a done with We.
laddie buck. Wen have to keep an
eye on ye now, every day until the
trial is over-sure we will. Come. wen
go up to the barn and see II Kate is
there"
Just then we heard the recedlng
wagon 90 roaring over the bridge on
Little river. Mary shuddered with
fright. The schoolmaster reassured us
by saying:
Don't be afraid. brought my gun
In case we'd meet n painter. But the
danger Is past"
He drcw long pistol from his coat
pocket and held IL IN the light OF the
lantern.
The loaded cart stood in the middle
Of the barn floor. where / had left It.
but old Kate had gone. We closed
the barn, drawing the cart along with
us. When we came into the edge OF
the village l began to reflect upon the
strange peril out of which / had so
luckily escaped. II gave me heavy
sense OF responsibility and of the
wickedness of men.
thougnt or OLD Kate ana her broken
silence. For once / had heard her
speak. l could feel my flesh tIngle
when I thought OF her quick words
and her hoarse. passionate whisper.
knew, or thought knew. why she
took such care OF me. she was I'm
league with the gallows and could not
bear 10 see II cheated of It's prey. For
some reason she hated the Grlmshaws.
i had seen the hate In her eyes the
day she dogged along behind the old
money lender through the streets OF
the village when her pointing finger
had seemed 10 say TO me: There.
there Is the man who has brought me
TO this. He has put these rags upon
my back, this fire In my heart. this
wild look In my eyes. Wait and you
VIII see what ! will put upon him"
Continued Next Week.