The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1942-06-04

"Good - Lord!" Con exploded.
"Come on, boy! We've got to do
things"
The child came out of the bushes,
dragging the big Winchester,
sturdy, blue-eyed towhead, who
seemed to Con so tiny that his man.
like way was incredible. He stag
gered slightly as he stood beside
Pancho. A -four sack was wrapped
clumsily around his right arm.
He sagged YEARLY against Con
and his face was hot against Cons
hand. Pancho went on across the
creek, past the bucket which the
boy had evidently come down to
fill. Twenty yards beyond was the
little adobe house. The door stood
open.
Con set the boy down and swung
off. At the door he stopped to look
into dusky, untidy room, that htch-
en- which he had promised Mrs. Ten
ison to examine. In corner
sprawled the body of tall man in
faded chambray shirt and patched
overalls, barefoot. Con went over to
Gracey and looked down at the
grim, beard-stubbled face. Only a
glance was needed to see that he
had died almost instantly, Of bull
| let near the heart.
In the other room Mrs. Gracey
lay upon a homemade bedstead,
breathing harshly through her
mouth. She was fully dressed and
her thin, work-hardened hand picked
at a bandage as rude as that upon
the boys arm. She had been shot
through the right shoulder.
The boy came in and leaned
against the wall, with fever-bright
eyes moving from his mother to Con.
"She's awful sick, amt she?" he
whispered. "But you can get the
doctor, now. I tried to get her to
eat"
Con went at the run to Pancho,
swung up and loped to the dropped
bucket. When he came back with
cold water he took clean white
shirt from his alforja and ripped il
into bandages. He looked doubtfully
at it, then shrugged.
"Well, no way to boil it and dry
it, here. The thing is to get hel
down to the women"
He asked the boy if anything OF
wheels was here.
"Old spring wagon" the child sale
drowsily. zone horse. But Pa hac
to sell Coaly. He was our harnes!
horse. And one shaft is busted anc
SOS the seat. It's out back"
Con heard Caramba calling from
the trail. He went out and waved TIT
two up, to tell them quickly ant
shortly of the woman's condition
Caramba swore incredulously.
! doc ought to be at the house
time we hit there Skeets sai'
, frowningly. Topeka told Gale tina
Docs due out to check up on Mis-
: Tensions heart. Let's look at tn
: wagon"
/ "I'm going to try cleaning up thei
: bandages," Con told them. "I'n b
, out when I get DONE"
He washed the quiet woman
shoulder and she hardly finchec
| then bandaged it cautiously. Tn
/ boys wound was deep cash ik
that on Cons own thigh.
: The old wagon was as dilapidate
/ as most other things on this shabb
place. They took off the wheels an
creased the axles, wired and brace
f the snapped shaft, patched and reir
] forced the harness. Pancho went bt
4 tween the shafts without trouble an
5 only put back his ears nervousl
a when Con drove him experimental
E about the yard.
9 The three of them lifted Mrs. CIR;
j cey gently and carried her, mattres
and all, out to the wagon, packin
e her about with bedding and Of
;, clothes against road shocks. The
!, Con got on the seat with the be
beside him. Caramba and Skee
a helped ease the wagon down to til
: more level range at the mouth of til
narrow trail.
l. ST reckon you can make out,
;, Skeets decided, there. "Me and c;
r ramba better 60 on to Red Mesa Lii
Gale said"
J, He looked curiously at thesboy.
: "Son, who was it that done g
}. this?"
IL 81 didn't know 'em. I was aslee
t and I woke up because someboc
}. was yelling outside the door for F
It to open up. Pa ask him who
II was and he said something and F
% told Nom it was all right He opene
fho door ond y>oxyt y,Ovvt Do fe