Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1920-10-28
PI I3 5RS!F RaR9sl ~ 5sE Is

evidently startled, but got knowing.
1,viTIsl1s way to taEnga 7le figure oHFtAe,,
! - einaAlifted 81 ~ pSTtiy. and tI.e
fellow must have called tOethe others,
although no sound of "a voice attained
the summit Of the cliff, for the whole
gang rushed in that direction, and
clustered about, gesticulating excit-
edly. :f2's1sqo web
. AEAiAOCcaslohaE Spanish oath exploded
sfrhnIs theImasy With ,sunRCieat @ehe.
,lmaRcA t6s reach the,ffstrained ears
ahoEes Rbditha WatehAtsoWeFe able TO
perceive the fellows lift the fallen man
to his feetl and unite his hands, which
= were apparently secured behind bis
back. He must have been. wounded
also, for one sleeve was Hastily rolled
sup and Water / brought from the stream,
IN which # was Bathed. % Mo6res hard
closed cOnvulsively on the marsRalfs
yarn.eH ~ IL - amin j. II ~
k tits Of Mendez, as I'm lixini sin
ner," he announced ohoarsely. d "An'
somebody's plunked hina. .sWhat'dcyer
make o. that?%, f et4sisr =,
Brennan never removed his gaze
from the scene below, but his face was
tense with interest,
BLAMED if know might be mere
rowLhold on, there! Whoever did it
is in, that cabin; watch what they're
M to. nOwl:n I h35r,H TEg
More guns were brought forth from
the BunkhOuse5H and distributed; the
single horsemah rode swiftly up the
valley, and -half-dozen Of the fell
lows luggedl a heavy timber up from
the,t corral, and, dropped it .On the
ground in front of the smaller cabin.
Mendez, his arm in a sling, passed
from group to group. profapely busy,
Swapping. out orders.
'.'They are going to break in the door
with that togI"- muttered Westcott be.
tween his clenched teeth. 'That white
head down there is boiling with rage,
and whoever; the POOR devil, Or devils,
may be, theysllhave to fight, . *
Eyes, but who are they? and Bren-
nantsatsupCC 1.-THE whole gang must be
outside .bthere;.!fI ccOunted7 fourteen.
Then, did, YOU notice? Mendez had his
hands, bound, behind ibis, back, He
copl}d1n't even get, Up until those, fell
lows iMs, unified him, That's what puzzles
ut Would take more e than 2 one to ofdR do
| chat job. Maybe Wen find 6tit NOW
! hes bbdhdtHgo with a. revolver butt on
! theSfroht dOoF.' ~ ~ 's fa z 81 ! 81
They listened breatHessly, hanging
recklesslyIover the rim oofGthd chasnl
and staring at that strange scene ibe-
lows but the mans words only reached
them broken and detached They got
enough, however, to realize that,he de,
manded the upbarring of the door, and
/ that he. both threatened and promised
protection to whoever was within. Il
was the Language he employed thai
aroused WestGott. u 1921 ''n2 7"
! "Dfd iyouThear Thatf' he asked short
ly.T 1.-The man spoke English. Who
iever's in there doesn't understand
Spanish. Were any Americans down
there when YOU left, Moore2'Ht %an,-'
"Joe Skies, and fellow they call
Shorty but they're both outside Z that
was, Joe who bound up. Oh Mendez'
arm, an Shorty was helpin' bring. up
the log, -... 80 .,,. ..-
\ The eyes Of Brennan and .Westcott
met understandingIy. - 90 =. ~ "
eyer don't suppose that girl" 70.
tAye, but 1 do,"1 and Westcott's
voice proved his fconVictionI! "There's
nothing too rrerpy for herIto tackle if it
needed to be, DONE But she never
could have corralled NIendez .alene,fsr
"Then, there must be another along
with heF-that. fellow yerq told sme
about likely; !, .,i ~ h. ra-r ,
Fred Cavendish! By Joye, it would
be like him, Say, boys, I'm going down
and take a hand in this game.'
The marshall gripped him. 3''
] ''NotYet, Jim It amt dark enough.
Wait bit more AN Pm withIyef, sold
| MANI It'll be blackers than hi
/ down there in fifteen n1inutess n'ethen
4 weAI have some achance. They'd pot
us BOW sure oafQre Yet,gQt.- as far aas
that eeddaqlG, What is thu gang up to
now, Matt?" : a.4
gTbere a goin' ter bust in the door
and Moore Grained his head farther out
over the edge in 'sagerness Etos see. A'I
reckon they didn't git nd Answer that
! pleaSedn'efn!l See Oh Mendez A6ppin'
about! uLordt he'somad 'nouglf to eat
nails. yTRar comes the Iogt-say, they
hit that some thumn ;rthar1 amt inc
wood that's gQin'o ter, stand ,qgin them
blows long. Do yer he9rR H. - W
They did; the duh reverberation as
the log butt crashed against the closed
door was plainly audible Once, twice,
Gthrrieste times it Struck, giving forth at
last the Sharper Grhckling of splintered
Wood y q r - N " Is N q
i The door crashed in; there was a
fusillade of shots, the splits of fire
scleavihg the dusk, and throwing the
figures of the men into sudden bold
relief. The los, wieldeFs sprang aside,
and the others leaped forward, yelling
! wildly. and nlunging in through the