Year: 1875

One afternoon, when we'd got well
down among the lower ranges, we
were Just looking about for n place to
camp (for the Spaniard who had got
hurt was beginning to give up,) when
one of the niggers said suddenly


"Senor, man watch us ~


looked up, and there, sure enough,
was a man IA savage-lOoking fellow
enough, but evidently no TndIan)
watching US from the top of ridge a
little to the left He kept looking
after US little while, and then dis
appeared as it the earth had swallowed
him.


"Don't like that" says Seth, ''That
critter sees that we carry a heavy
swag, and he's gone to tell some ofhls
chums, you bet"


S'When one has found pumpkin-pie,


He goes and tells the t'othersp


'I feel like campin' in a strong
place tonight, do 90


And SO we did-With deep canon
gorge behind US going sheer down
nearly hundred feet and thick
clump of trees in our froEt that made
cover, while beyond it the ground was
smooth and level for good eighty
yards, so that no living thing could
come near us without being seen and
fired at. .r .-..-..


Just as we'd lit our fire, and were
beginning to cook, we saw first one
man and then another, till we'd
counted fifteen in all, come zigZag-
ging in and out of the bushes, down
the face of the opposite ridge. They
halted just at the edge of the thicket,
anu took look at the smoke of our
fire rising above the trees and then
two of them laid down their rifles,
and were coming across the clearing
to us, looking as friendly as they
could, when old Seth shoves his head
through the leaves, and say in Span
ish-


"Gentlemen, we're talking over a
little business of our own, and wish
to be private, so you'll Oblige us by
keeping your own side, and we'll
keep ours for we have a way of
shooting things that come too near
US, and we should be sorry to lift you
by mistake !"


Back the two beauties went, locking
as silly as ha'pOrth of treacle in a
two gallon jug, and Seth rubbed his
hands and gave q chuckle.


They'd got bottle in each hand,
them two,3 says he /; "they war
gWine to make us slowed, and then
cleaned out our swag but they don't
fool this child, nohoW. Meow, We ses,
they'll wait till dark, aud then go for
us with rush-that't what's the
matter with them-but guess we'll
be mot at home when they call"


He whispered to me to cut down
81 kn
and twist them into a rope and ],
guessing what he was up TO, did Ii
with q will. In q few minutes we
had rope that would have stood
any thing and then Il hitched one
end around tres, and let drop the
other down the ravine-the rest max.
ing great shouting and singing
meanwhile, by way OF q blind. Then
the old Indian (who was as nimble as
3 cat, slid down to the bottom, and
we lowered our packs to him one by
one.


"That's all right,n says Seth land
now well just take it easy till dark,
and then take passage by this new
overland line of Ourn."


But one don't tske it very easy
when there's a gang Of bloodthirsty
rascals, twice your strength and
armed to the teeth, every man of 'em
sitting waiting, barely eighty yards
off, to cut your throat aud think /
never found any time yet go so slowly
as those two last hours before sun
down.


"Neow," says Seth, at last, when
the darkness had fairly closed in, 81
guess we'n begin to leave" ~


But just then, as if this had been
signal, there came a flash and q bang
! from the other side of the clearing,
and half q dozen bullets came pepper
ing in among the trees / felt some
thing warm spurt over my hand and
the niger who stood beside me fell
all of q heap. Like lightning / up with
my piece and let fly, and heard
somebody give yelp as If that letter
had gone to the right address. And
then for a few moments it was just
flash, flash, bang, bang, like q fire.
work-Seth and I keeping them in
play while the rest slid down one by
one. And mighty ugly work it was.
too, can tell you, blazing away in
the dark with nothing TO aim at, and
hear the bullets come rattling about
you without ever seeing who sent
them. But the rope was soon clear,
and then Seth set the dead nigger
against tree, with his gun across
fork of ii, that they might see the
CLINT of the barrel and think we were
still on the watch. Then he slid
down and / after him.


The first thing we did was to take
the gold out of the poor old nigger's
pack, and part it among US. The rest
OF the things we threw away, as we
had thrown away our tools long be-
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