The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1922-03-09


me and Jeanie." he said simply.
Wed a done our level best; and the
angels couldn't do no more than that"
Here, unless the old man was sadly
mistaken In his daughter, was another
and wholly unsuspecter side Of the blue
eyed.maiden displayed for me. tried
to imagine Lisette helping her father,
or me, or any lone man, to defend be-
ileaguered mine against an armed at
tack. It was 30 funny that shouted.
do you mean to say that Jeanie would
shut herself up in here and load the
guns for you against a mob Of mine
jumpers7"
He looked up with q 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
boy ever had. you see; and she hain't
had any mother since she can remem-
ber. Maybe hadn't ort to taught her
to ride hawsses and shoot, and them
things; but 1t seemed like had to-"
"You haven't made her one iota less
womanly-or lovable," I hastened to
say. Then / blurted out the thing that
had been weighing on me ever since
we had found Bullerton loafing on the
doorstep: do you suppose they could
lis there any way they could have
been married yesterday, DaddyT
"Uh-huh; l reckon there was. They
might "a gone on down to Angels.
There's justice o. the peace down
there"
1t still lacked a full hour Of noon
when we got our preparations made
and were ready to stand a siege. Then
we waited, and waited some more; and
after while I began to grin. What
II we had stampeded ourselves need.
lessly? After all, the men we had seen
In the deep gulch might really have
been tramps, and not Bullerton army.
Would the mining engineer, unprinci-
pied as he doubtless was, 60 to the
length of trying to dispossess us by
force? The more thought Of it, the
more unlikely 1t seemed.
II guess maybe we were scared of
Q shadow. after all, Daddy" said.
"Bullerton has had time enough to
bring up his army, II he has one."
II amt countin' much on his backip'
down." was the drawling rejoinder.
aye see, l know Charley Bullerton Of
old keen KNOWN him ever since he
first busted into the minin' game.
That was over In the Sagauche. He's
an all-'round cuss, but he's slayer. Be-
sides. you roughed him up sort O. hurt
ful this mornin', and he's got that to
make him spitey. Wen be hearin'
from him as soon as he gets things
yanked round into shape to suit him."
Still, as time passed and nothing
happened, 1t looked less and less like
ly that we were going to have to fight
for our holding ground. I don't know
to this good day what made Bullerton
SO slow In bringing up his army. but
It was high noon, and Daddy and I
were eating cold luncheon. with the
shaft-house deor-sill for a seat, when
we saw the army coming. It was q
struggling gang Of perhaps a dozen
men; we couldn't count them accurate
~ because the road on the bench
wound In and out among the trees.
They came up within easy rife shot
and pitched their camp, II you could
cau 1t that, in little glade. At that
distance we could see that they were
armed. but. Of course. we couldn't tell
what kind Of guns they had. After
they had taken possession Of the small
open space, two Of them set to work
to build q cooking flre.
At the halt in the glade one Of the
party-Bullerton, we guessed it was
broke q branch from q pine, stripped
the twigs from 1t, and made it a flag
staff for his white handkerchief. On
der this flag Of truce he and two of his