Licking Valley courier., 1922-01-19

it, Iain't he? And.we'ye got two migA-
ty good i'll pieces Of artillery that says
he's goln' to have one joyful old time
atakin' i that is, If you're Of the
safge mind thar ! am 1'
:, By Joye 4 wanted to put my arms
around the old Spartan and hug him! |
AS I've said, there were tenspr q dozen
men in that bunch we'd seen In Sfhe
gulch, and he was calmly proposing to
stand up to them, as confidently as 4
1t were all in the days work.
81 get you now, Daddy" said, "and
If there's fight coming to us, your
mind is mine. Wen give them the best |
we've got" n
: l thought the two old-fashioned guns
and Jeanie's pistol promised poor
chance for an effective defense: but
Daddy Hiram proceeded to show lie
that we had at least one other fe.
source. In the mine stores left behind
by the former operating company were
two boxes of sixty-per-cent dynamitet
with fuse and caps. and Daddy pointed
out that,there were good possibilities
wrapped up in the greasy brown-paper
cartridges II the enemy should come
close enough to let US use them.
II believe you had this all topedS otit
in advance, Daddy" I said, when be
had neat. little row of the eaftSlises
laid out on the floor. "But sdfA you
didn't expect to hold out alone ifthnse
|. sharks sent crowd Of jumpef 10
run you OFF, ss'
'%s'Me and, Jeanie," he said Hilhply.
"We'd "a done our level best; elld me
angels couldn't do no more than tRseM Z
s, Here, unless. the old man was sadly
mistaken In his daughter, was another
and wholly unsuspecter side ofthe Blue;
eyed maiden displayed for me, Itried
to imagine Lisette helping hlfs faf fneT.
or me, or any lone man, to defend abe
leaguered mine against an SrfRed az
tack. 1t was so funny that I.shouted.
'Do you mean to say that Jeanif would
shut herself up in here andiload the
guns for you against a mob Of mine
juinpers2' fs..s3
He looked up with prideful sparkle
IN. his mild blue eyes ~
"You don't half Know that little girl
O. mine, yet, Stannie, son." he said
| earnestly. And then she's the only
sbdy 1 ever had, you see; and she hain'i
had any mother since she can remem'
ber.. Maybe hadn't ort to taught hen
to ride hawsses and shoot, and then
things; but it seemed like had tot
''You haven't made her one .iota lesl
womanly,-or lovable," l fastened Il
say. Then blurted out the thing tina
had been weighing on me ever ssnc'
we had found Bullerton loafing on th'
doorstep; do you suppose they coul'
lis there any way they could hav
been married yesterday, Daddyr
"Uh-luh; | reckon there was. The
might "a gone on down to Angels
There's justice o the peace dow
there" 2
Ii 'stlll lacked a full hour of moo
when We got our preparations mad
and we're ready to stand slege.aThe
we waited, and waited some more an
after while / began to grin. Wha
If we had stampeded ourselves neet
Iessly? After all, the men we had see
in the deep gulch might really hav
been tranps, and not a Fullerton arm
= Would the mining engineer, unprinc
pied as he doubtless was go 70 Il
length Of trying to dispossess us 7
force? The more ] thought Of ~, y
more1mlikely it seemed. &S3i
al guess maybe we were scared 4
: a shadow, after all, Daddy" Il sal
: 'CBullerton has had time enough
} bring up his army, II he has one" 4
'I amt countin' much on his back
: down." was the drawing rejolhflf
i''Ye see, know Charley Bulleftpp
old; keen KNOWN him ever sinft.
n first busted into the mlnin' nhtl
That was over in the, Sagauche \ 4
; 'an all.'round cuss, but he's staysf, !, Is
sides, you roughed him. PIP sortse lpa,
full this Ihornin', and he's got Ftlitt
3 make him spltey. wSll be tbsttl
, from him as soon ss4e getS thu
: yanked round into shape to suit hin
D Still, as time passed and nothil
, happened, It looked less and less III
9 ly that we were going to have to az
: for our holding ground. ] DOM kns
= 20 this good day what made Bullert'
\ so slow In bringing up his arnIy, b
y 1t was high noon, and Daddy and
: were eating cold luncheon. with 4
a shafthouse door-sill for a seat VIII
N we saw the army coming. 1t was
N struggling gang Of perhaps . dor
, men, we couldn't count them accura
- ly because the road on the ben
wound in and out among the trees.
h. They came up within easy rife u
- and pitched their camp, II you COT
\ call 1t that, In little glade. At II
- distance we could see that they w
l, - armed, but, Of course, we couldn't I
what kind Of guns they had. AZ
o. they had taken possession Of the SIN
A. open space, two Of them set TO We
n, TO build cooking FIRE. lF =
" AT the halt In the glade one Of
II party-Bullerton, we guessed II Wal
ed broke o branch from pine, strip
C the twlgs rom II, and made, II an
staff for his white handkerchief,
do der this flag of truce he and two Of
M, fi
nn .. r..,us.rr-.