Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1920-09-30

Anyhow, that's how ia figure If was
in his place But my idea is to pull
one of on him, an start the minute
it gets dark enough so them lads can't
see what's goin' on out yere.r
wen fight our way throughT'
"Not a fight, my son; we'll make
it so softly that not a son-Of-a-gun win
ever know how 1t happened. When
they wake up Wen be twenty miles out
in the desert, an stiIl goin' Thar's a
big log clinging ter the upper end o.
tn rock. / saw it when fust come
over; an bout an hour ago crept
back through that gully an took a
good look. A shove will send it fioatin'.
An with good pair o. legs to steer
with, thar amt nuthin' to stop it this
side the curve, an 1 don't calculate
any o. the rifle brigade will be down as
fur as that. It sounds blame good ter
me, Jim; what dye sayT"
Westcott's hand went out, and The
fingers Of the two men clasped silent
ly. There was no need for more
speech; they understood each other.
The night closed down swiftly, as it
does in the West, the purple of the
hills becoming black as though by
some magic. There was a heavy
cloud hanging in the Western sky, con-
stantly' sweeping higher in pledge of
dark night. The banks Of the stream
became Obscured, and finally vanished
altogether; while the water ceased to
glimmer and turned to an inky black
ness. Lights twinkled in the distant
shacks, and the front of the Red Dog
burst into illumination. Brennan
chuckled, and pointed his finger at
the glare.
Lacy amt fergettin' the profit in
all this" he whispered hoarsely. "The
boys are gOin' ter be dry, an HEN sell
'em all they want-wouldn't mind if l
had some myself. Is it dark enough,
mater"
''The sooner the better!"
THAT'S my ticket. Come on then,
but don't make sound; them lads are
more liable to hear than they are to
see us. Let me go first"
The log was at the other end of the
little island, but there was a consider
able rift in the rock surface, not deep,
but of sufficient width to permit the
passage Of a body. The Jagged stone
made the way rough in the dark, and
Westcott found himself at the upper
extremity, gashed and bruised by the
contact.
Brennan lowered himself into the
water, assisted in the downward climb
i by some low, tough bushes whose ten
drills chung tenaciOusly to the smooth
rock. Westcott followed silently, and
found footing in about three feet of
water, where it swirled around the
base of the island. Brennan put his
lips close to his companions ear.
Got yer cartridges tied up? That's
all right; hand 'em over. You hang
on to the outside, an I'll push off. If
yer have ter paddle ter keep in the
current, don't let yer hands er feet
come to the surface understand?
Certainly"
"All right then; are you all seti
Holy smoke, this is going to be some
yacht ride"
The log did not even CRATE as it lOOs-
| OAACh Alo oAASAL AAOlu Oll lAlC IOCh3 anu
began the voyage downstream. The
current was swift enough to bear
it and it's burden free from the island,
although it moved slowly and noise
lessly on its way. The two men deep
ly submerged on either side, with heads
held rigid against the wet bark, were
indistinguishable. Out from the deep
er shadow, Brennan gently controlled
the unwieldy affair, and keeping it as
nearly as possible to the center by the
nOiseless movement of a hand under
water. No alarm greeted it's progress,
and at last, confident that they were al
: ready safely below the extent of the
guard line, the two men, clinging to It's
wet sides, ventured to kick out quietly,
and thus hasten it's progress. 1t came
ashore at the extreme end Of the curve,
and, after a moment Of intent listen
ing, the voyagers crept up the sand,
and in whispers discussed the next eff
fort of their escape. The belts were
unstrapped from about the log, reload.
ed with cartridges, and buckled around
dripping waists before they clambered
cautiously up the low bank. The road
was just beyond, but between them
and it arose the almost shapeless form
of a small house, a mere darker
shadow in the gloom of the night.
where are WEI" questioned West
colt.
"Just back of old Beecher's shack.
He's trucking down Benson way, but is
, liable to have some grub stored inside.
l was countin' on this for our COM
missary department. Come on, Jim
. time is money just now"
The door was unlocked, and in less
than ten minutes they emerged once
more into the open bearing their spoils
-Wescott, a slab of bacon and small
frying pan; Brennan a paper sack Of
cornmeal, with couple of specimens
of canned goods. He had also resur-
rected a gunny sack somewhere, in