Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-06-27

frightened the women, they thought
very little more about it and soon
the family retired for the night
Then the Battle Began.
About an hour later, Lee, whose
bedroom is located directly above
the front porch, was awakened by
what he thought was someone try
ing to force the screen on the front
door. Grabbing his gun he de-
scended to the first floor. The man
outside heard him and started to
run. Lee, going onto the front
porch, opened fire, but none Of his
several shots succeeded in stop
ping the man.
Lee then sat down on the front
porch to await developments. Soon
he thought he discerned a form
standing beside the front gate, and
once more he brought his gun into
action. A few minutes later he
espied another figure near the corn
crib and he blazed away in the di-
rection of the shed.
For the fourth time he made out
a suspicious figure in the dark and
this time he started across the yard,
opening fire as he went, His phan-
tom in the dark jumped n fence
and dashed across a meadow. AS
the figure reached a rise in the
center of the field, where his out
line stood out plainly against the
sky, Lee fired again, and he says
the man fell, but crawled along to-
wards the road on his hands and
knees.
Advances, Retreats: Asks SuccOr.
Returning to the house, he once
more took up his vigil on the porch,
few minutes he was chasing a man
up the road, firing point blank at
80 yards distance. A quarter of a
mile from the house his prey met
a group of three or four men,
standing near a machine. They
turned a bright flashlight on Lee
and fired. Thinking that things
were getting too hot for. him, he
wisely retreated, and then 1t was
that Sheriff Fleming was called
upon for assistance.
Countryside Filled With BuckShOt.
The sheriff and his deputy ex-
amined the premises thoroughly.
The corn crib, front gate post and
several of the outbuildings were
filed with buckshot, but no blood
spots could be found in the
meadow, where Lee declares ne
brought down one of the band. In
the road, there we're only prints of
a bare-footed man, those of Lee, and
other tracks were not discernable.
4T~- 1f- diGRnunrn6
and it appears that a machine had
stopped at once place, but there
were no signs of group of men
having gathered near there.
At the request of the Nelson's,
Sheriff Fleming stayed with them
throug hthe rest of the night, but
nothing further developed. He re-
turned to Aledo shortly after 6
O'Clock this morning.
Authorities MyStified.
Local authorities are at loss as
to what to make of the affair. Sew
eral possible explanations are offer
ed, but none seem to give any sub
stantial theory. It was known in the
neighborhood that Mr.. Nelson's
father took a shipment of cattle to
Chicago last week and that he had
just returned. Thinking that the re-
ceipts from his sales might be in
the house, robbery might have been
the motive of the attack. The idea,
advanced by some, that crowd of
young men were merely playing a
joke on the Nelson's is not serious
ly entertained by the authorities.
Draw up Battle Lines.
In the meantime, the Nelson
household is preparing for war and
it will be a warm reception that
any midnight providers will receive
if they venture near the place to-
night. Guns are loaded and the ar
tillery is stripped for action. And
Lee declares he will done a more
suitable uniform than his flimsy
nightie before he again goes lover
the top"