The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-12-21
CHAPTER XVI.
20 for Tat.

mfIder than thunder and lightning.
There was flash, a rending. ripping
roar as IL the solid earth were split
ting In two, and the air was filed with
flying fragments and spIfnters. AIR, |
say. but the acrid. choking gas which
filed the shafthouse could scarcely be
called air
Dynamite what they fetched
IN that wagon !" gurgled the old man
at my side. and could have shouted
for JOY at the mere sound of his voice,
since II was an assurance that he
hadn't been killed outright.
IFS only a question Of a little time,
now Daddy" / prophesied. What
you said yesterday Fullerton
would try to get possession without
destroying the property-no longer
holds good He has evidently decided
that we've got to be ousted even at
the expense of building new shaft
house and Installing new machinery.
Why has he changed his mind, when
he knows fhai he could starve us ont
in a few days2"
Il been fhinkin' about that. right
p'intedly. Stannie. Shouldn't wonder
/ If somethIn's in the wind-somethin'
we don't know about"
| aThen there's another thing I mt
in aSupposing. just for the sake OF
argument that our first guess was
right: that he did take Jeanne to
Angels three days ago and that they
were married there. You know your
daughter Daddy. and know her,
little. Nobody but an idiot would sup
pose that she'd live with Fullerton as
his wife for a single minute IL he
makes himself your murderer"
| 1T sure does look that-away to q
man up tree" admitted the stout
old fighter
"I'm hanging on to the little hope
like a dog to root Daddy" ! con-
fessed IF can only keep on believ-
ing that they're not married. can put
up better fight. or be snuffed out-if
have to be-with a good few less
heart-burnings.'
But at this the old man, who. no
longer ago than the yesterday, had
seemed TO lean definitely toward the
ne-marriage hypothesis, suddenly
changed front.
Don't you 60 to bankin' on any
thing like that. Stannie. son." he said
In tone of deep discouragement.
Charley Bullerton's a liar, from the
/ place where they make liars for a
livin', and faint goin' to be no trick
attain for him to make Jeanne, and a
lot o. other folks. b'lieve that we
/ blowed ourselves up with our own
| dynamite. No, sir; don't you go to
bankin' on that"
"Then you do believe that Jeanne
/ went with Bullertonf
Looks like there amt nothing else
left to believe" he asserted dolefully
Look at it for yourself, SON she's
| been gone three whole days If she
hadn't gone with him-and the good
Lord only knows where else she could
i have gone-don't you reckon she'd We
been back here long afore this? No,
Stannie; we been lettin' the wish It
was run away with the had to be- l
reckon we just got TO grit our teeth.
son, and tough it out the best we can -
During this waiting interval, which
seemed like hours and was probably
only few minutes, we were momen-
tarily expecting another crash 1t did
not come; but in due course of time
we heard a stir outside and then
voices, and one of the voices, which
| was not Bullerton's said: "Tll bet
that cartridge smoked 'em out good an
/ plenty, cap'n. Gimme tn ak, Tom, TIL
we bust open the door an have q
squint at EN-"
Just at that moment submerging
wave of depression surged over me
and showed me down so deep that
think possibly IL Fullerton had called
out and demanded our surrender
should have been tempted to tell him
that | was not so much Of q hog as
not to know when had enough. But
the old man squeezed in beside me IN
der the arched boiler plate was made
of better fiber; he was game to the
last hair in his beard With a wild
Indian yell he hunched his Winchester
into position and fired once, twice
thrice. at the door as rapidly as he
could pump the reIoading lever.
4 A SCATTERING fusillade was the reply
to this, but the aim was bad and the
only result was to set the air of our
prison fortress to buzzing as If 9
swarm of angry bees had been turned
loose on u.s. After this, the raiders
withdrew. so we judged at all events
the silence of the dark hour before
dayhreak shut down upon us again
and once more we had space in which
50 gather our minds. as Daddy pul
1t.
Tt may be a dastardly confession o.
weakness to admit it. but am free Il
say that me prolonged struggle was
gradually undermining my nerve I
Fullerton had made up his mind Il
write OFF the loss of the mine building.
and machinery, it was battle lost fol
ms. It could be only question of /
little time. and enough daylight TO en-
able the bombers TO throw straight
until we should be buried in the wrecl
Of the shafthouse and hoist-and with
out the privilege of dying In good
ald-fashioned. stand-up fight.
All Of this / hastily pointed out I.
: Daddy Hiram, adding that. for Jeanie'