St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1922-01-07

all is the folks down yonder at Trio
pia a-dreamin' about, to let all this
bangin' and Whangin' 60 on up here
without comm up to find out what's
maxim it?"
The Atropia that remembered was
so nearly moribund that didn't won
der it wasn't making any stir in our
behalf; So when a few pattering rifle
shots which seemed to originate on
the great bench below began to sift
in among the bomb echoes, I took it
that Fullerton had divided his force
and was trying to rattle us two ways
at once. AS for that however, the
bigger bombardment kept US from
Specializing very curiously upon any
thing else. Two more Of the giant
crackers had fallen to the right Of us,
one of them into the wreck of the
blacksmith shop, to send up a spout
ing volcano Of scrap which fell Sec
ond or so later in a thunderous rain:
and then.
For fitting instant it seemed as If
it must drop squarely in front Of the
iron shield under which we were
jammed--in which case even the un-
dertaker wouldn't have been needed
not any Whatsoever, as Daddy Hiram
would have said. But at the critical
point in it's flight the hurtling thing
tucked" the top of the hoist frame
and it's downward course was defect
ed the needed hairs-breadth, causing
it to come down beyond the machin-
cry, and not on our side Of things.
Nevertheless, we were covering in an
ticipation of blast which would most
likely heave the entire machinery ag-
gregation over bodily upon us when
the explosion came.
We saw the belching column of
flame and gas going skyWard beyond
the machinery barrier, taking a full
half Of the roof with it, as If the blast
had come from the mouth Of gigan-
tic cannon. We were dazed and deaf
by the fumes, but neither of US was
so far gone as not to hear distinctly
prolonged and rumbling crash like the
thunder of a small Niagara, coming
after the smash!
1.-THE shaft!' shrilled Daddy Hiram,
in a thin, choked voice; ut went off
down in the shaft! And, sayl-
what-all's that we're a-listenin' to
now!"
If there had been q dozen Of the
bombs raining down l don't believe
the threat Of them would have kept
us from bursting out Of our dodge-hole
to 60 and see what had happened in
the mine shaft. But before we could
determine anything more than that
the mouth of the shaft was complete
ly hidden under a mass of wreckage,
and that the mysterious Niagara roar.
dwindled somewhat, but yet hollowly
audible, was still going on under the
concealing mass Of broken timbers
and sheet-iron, there was masterful
interruption. Shots, yells, shoutings
and hot curses told US that fierce
battle of some kind was staging itself
Just outside Of our wrecked fortress
whereupon Daddy Hiram began paw
ing his way to the door, yelling like
man suddenly gone dotty.
"That there's old Ike Beasley-
dad-blame his old hid6p he chittered.
"There amt nary mother man in the
Timanyonis at can cuss like that.
He's come with posse, and they're
1ayin' out Charley Bullerton's crowdw
There was a fine little tableau
spreading itself out for US when we
had clanbered over the wreckage and 4
had withdrawn the wooden bar and
flung the door wide. Daddy Hiram
had called the turn and named the
trump. The large, desperadoish-look
ing man who had once interviewed me
at Angels, and a little later had
paused in his combing Of the noun
tains in search Of me to usurp my
place at the TWomblys' breakfast Ia
HE. this bewhiskered giant, with
goodish bunch of followers-hard
boiled to a man, they looked to be-
had surrounded a fair half of the
Would-be Jumpers and were hand