Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1919-09-18
CHAPTER VI-continued.

IT can't afford to give you that
Theodore"
I'D die for dat" he declared.
"Take this handkerchief instead -
but, meanwhile, my eyes were open
ing. "Take this instead, Theodore" !
suggested.
I'D die for dat he repeated, touch
ing the tie.
His voice and touch made me sick
and afraid, just as people in a lunatic
asylum make one afraid.
Look out!' murmured Tom at my
elbow.
And just then I noticed hiding in
some bushes of seven-year apple trees,
two faces 1 had good reason to know.
had barely time to pull out the
commandments revolver from my
pocket. I knew 1t was to be either
the pockmarked genius or the engi-
neer. But for the moment / was not
to be sure which one / had hit. For,
as my gun went off, something heavy
came down on my head, and for the
time was shut off from whatever else
was going on.
(Which did 1 hit, Tom?" were my
first words as came back to the
glory of the world; but / didn't say
them for long time, and, from what
Tom told me, it was a wonder I ever
said them at all.
"There he is, sar," said Tom, point
ing to long, dark figure stretched
out near by. I'm afraid he's not the
man you were looking for
"Poor fellow!" said it was George,
the engineer; I'm sorry-but ] saw
the muzzles of their guns sticking out
of the bush there. 1t was they or
me-"
THAT no lie, sar, and IL it hadn't
been for that suckin' fish's skin you
wouldn't be here now"
1T didn't save me from pretty
good one on the head, Tom, did it?"
"No, sar, but that was just tiff
it hadn't been for that knock on the
head, pulling you down just that min
ute, that thar pockmarked fellow
would have got you. As it was, he
grazed your cheek and got one of his
own men killed by mistake-the very
fellow that hit you. There he is
over there"
"And who's that othery Tom?" I
asked, pointing to another dark figure
q few yards away.
"That's the captain, sar."
3 oor+oipo nJ, IT,. 90
that. God knows I'm Sorry for that"
Eyes, sar, he was one of the finest
gentlemen I ever knowed was Cap
tain Tomlinson; brave man and a
good navigator. And he'd taken pow
erful fancy to you, for when you got
that crack on the head he picked up
your gun and began blazing away, with
words should never have expected
from religious man. The others, ex-
cept our special friend"
Lets call him Tobias from now on,
Tom" I interposed.
"Well, him, sar, kept his nerve, but
the others ran for the boats as If the
devil was after them; but the cap
tain's gun was quicker, and only four
of them got to the Susan B., The other
two fell on their faces, as if some
thing had tripped them up, in couple
of feet of water. But just then Tobias
hit the captain In the heart; ahl if
only he had one of those skins-but he
always laughed off such things as su-
perstitious.
"There was only me and Tobias
then, and the dog, for the engineer
boy had gone on his knees to the Su-
san B. fellows at the first crack, and
begged them to take him away with
them. There was no one left but To
bias and the dog and me, and I was
cure my end was not far off, for / was
never much of shot.
"As God Is my witness, sar, was
ready to die, and there was moment
when I thought that the time had
come; but Tobias suddenly walked
away to tho top Of the bluff and