Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1922-06-29

appOintedly:
"Well. then, hang"
And Heck knew that Dale had re-
fused TO sell the Morennd coal for a
song even 10 save his life. AS Coz
stepped backward. the muzzle OF the
tall hllnan's rifle went against the
small OF his back, and the tall hillman
whispered hoarsely, through teeth
tightly clenched:
"Slash at rope, d--n yore soul |!
Slash at rope, or / wisht may drap
dead eff l don't shoot yore backbone
into four thousand pieces, igod Slash
1t
Con- Strengthened In surprise. The
rifles muZzle went harder against his
back and he knew IL for exactly what
IL was. lie moved a hand upward,
then downward and the cotton rope
was severed in half n dozen places.
"Stiddy thar, now" whispered BY
Heck. and he began to back away.
Come along wi me, We dadslatted,
banjer-bellied skunk. Bill he'll foller."
The three of them hurried into the
deeper shadows. Soon Heck halted
Con and turned TO Dale.
"S'arch him TO a gun, Bill, old boy"
Dale lifted from Henderson COTS
right-hard coat-pocket blued and
stub-nosed magazine pistol.
'Dang my eyes and blast my for
rard!' Heck exclaimed in a muflled
voice. Hes plumb death on them
little popguns, amt he? Say, Con-,
ef ever ye shoots me with a thing like
that and find it out, DANCED ef l don't
spank ye ontel yore nose bloods; Now,
les go, youuns. And ef ye jest cheep
out noise, Mister Goff, the buzzards
will pick the meat often yore bones
afore tomorrer night"
Move, shyster!" frowned Bill
Dale.
BY Heck led the way to the line OF
cliffs to the westward. They had
climbed the rugged wall and were
about TO set out through the pitchy
dark woodland, when voice that
they knew we'll hailed them softly
from the laurels to their left:
Hold on. thar"
John Moreland, by jiggersl" NUT
tered Heck.
Moreland FASTENED soundlessly to
them. Il reckon We didn't mean no
harm, By" he said in tones that ex-
pressed deep regret, "but yt l shore
wisht We hadn't ha' done It,"
Il Of
himself. He Strengthened there in the
darkness.
"Whatn the name O. the devil makes
We wisht sech thing as that, John?"
he demanded in half angry voice.
Cause" growled the big hillman,
"you went and spilled HI out O. the
main big picnic. We meant to wipe
out all o. them thar lowdown Balls
and Torreys, BY. When they went to
hang Bill Dale in the mornln', we'd ha'
had a good reason 70 a-killin' 'em every
one-the weasels! Ye see, BY, every
man Moreland but Caleb, and every
man O the Littlefords, is hid here in
these laurels, and has been ever sense
that thar fool trial begun. We was
jest a-waitln'. How did we happen
to know IT?
cats easy, BY. Me and Ben Lit
tleford was on our way after more
dynamite, when we seed Bill Dale
a-follerin' that stranger man, and Golf
a-follerin' Bill, and you a-follerin' Golf.
We knowed somethin ongodly mean
was in the wind. SO / follered you,
BY, a-breakin' off bushes as / went
to mark the trail, and Ben he went
back and got the rest of 'em and fol-
Tered me-"
Then TO Dale, "Well, Bill, what're
we a-goin' TO do with this here cussed
polecat Goff?'
Dale turned to the shyster coal man,
who was still being closely watched
by Heck.
II told you l was pretty apt to
thrash you the next time we met,
didn't IT. clipped Dale. do you want
TO get out OF this country for good,
or do you want 10 fight me to a fin
ish? I'm through talking right now,
Goff."
''Td guess I'd rather fade" acknowl-
edged Golf.
"Then fadew
Golf skunk off through the brush.
When they had covered a mile. John
Moreland grasped Dale by an arm and
said 10 him:
81 reckon you think we're sort o. blood
thirsty, by us a-waitin' TO kill off that
pack back thar; don't ye? Well, we
amt blooi-thirsty, Bill. Them Balls
and Torreys amt wo'th nothin' to
themselves, nor to their families, nor
TO nobody else. The sooner they're
dead the better off they'll be, and
the better off their famblies'll be, and
the better off everybody else will be.
You amt safe, nor amt safe, as long
as they're alive.
1--WE like you, Bill Dale" he contin-
ued gravely. "And you're shore wo'th
II. You wouldn't sell out to that
cussed polecat, even to save yore own
life, and ats what I calls narve and
principle in We. Bill Dale, the amt
many men in this here whole outfit
who wouldn't give We the last ID
drop O. blood In their bodies, ef ye
needed It. To the right, Bill--nhead
of &c to Al c1fft