The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-12-20

III. NfSI thfE, after pTOionEcu
silence led us To believe that the raid
ers had Withdrawn 10 study up some
fresh scheme for getting rid Of US, was
to get bar and PR our two doors
open 50 thar the hrseze might blow
tlsr gh and air The piace ouf a biz.
Closing and barring the doors after
fiIe sulphur stencil had been reduced
10 Il mere. matchbox odor. we estab-
IIsfled our night-watch. Daddy Hiram
taking tie first trick under a solemn
promise TO cali me at the end of
couple of hours. This time he behaved
better. rousing me a little before mid
night He reported everything quiet.
and pointed to the sleeping dog as evi-
dence that there were no intruders
within smelling distance.
Been hathaway ever since you
turned in he said, meaning as l took
it. that the dog had been resting easy
You can just keep an eye on Barney.
If anything goes to stirrin'. he'll know
il afore you Will"
Nothing did stir: and after Daddy
had gone to wrap himself in his damp
blankets. / had my work cut out for
me keeping awake; in fact, 1 shouldn't
want TO swear that / was fully awake
during all of the one hundred and
twenty minutes that my sentry-go last
ed No matter about that Fullerton
didn't spring any more surprises on us
during my watch: and when / turned
the fortress over to Daddy at two
O'Clock / was able to pass the "all
quiet report back to him and go to
the blankets with an easy conscience.
| had just dropped asleep, as 1t
seemed to though in reality had
slept like a log for more than two
hours-when Daddy Hiram came to
shake me awake
"Somethin' dom" he announced
quietly, and when sat up saw that
the collie was moving uneasily from
one door to the other stopping now
and then TO stand molesnless with his
ears cooked and his head ON one side:
Barney hears something" / ven
tured; and moment later Daddy
broke in:
Huh! it's plain enough for my old
ears, now; it's a wagon comm across
the bench"
Now the presence of a wagon on our
bench at this early hour i'm the morn
ing might mean either one of two
Numerically opposite things: Our
deliveranee; or the upconiing of re-
Inducements for the raiders. We were
not left long in doubt Shortly after
, the rack-rack of the wagon wheels
stopped we heard footsteps and the
hair stiffened on Barney's back Next
we heard Bullerton's voice, just out
side and apparently under our window
openings.
''Broughton ~ the voice called; "can
you hear meY'
so well that you'd better keep out
of range" I~snapped back.
All right-listen. You've got to get
out, Broughton-that's fiat / haven't
wanted TO go TO extremes For per-
fectly obvious and commonplace rea-
sons I don't want to have to kill you
! to get rid of you But we are not go
ing to gentle you any more. You've
already hurt four of my men. and two
Of the four are crippled The next
time we hit you. it'll be for finish"
YES" said /. "You brought the
new club up in wagon, didn't your"
He ignored this.
''We could starve you out if we
chose to take the time know pretty
well what you've got to eat--or rather
what you haven't got It's your privi-
lege to take your life in your own
hands, Broughton; that's up to you.
But how about the old mann"
1.-THE old mans a-pIenty good and
able to speak for hisself" yapped
Daddy. You do your durndest,
Charley Fullerton ~
''All right, once more. You'll hear
from us directly. now; and as / said
before, we've quit gentling you. That's
my last word"
For a time after this the silence,
and the darkness, since it was the hour
before dawn, were thick enough to be
cut with an AK But the dog was
more restless than ever, and we knew
| that something we could neither see
nor hear must be going on. After a
while / asked the question that had
been worrying me ever since had
heard the wagon wheels
What did they bring up in that
wagon, Daddy-a GatlingT
1.-THE Lord only knows, Stannie-and
he won't tell,'' was the old prospector's
| reply, made with no touch of irrever-
ence; and the words were scarcely out
of his mouth before a thunderboIt
/ struck the shafthouse.