The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, May 14, 1908, Image 2
V r The
S|
By REX ]
Copyright, 1905.
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f Jontinued fr<
The blast had come at their very elbows,
and they were too dazed and
tbaken by It to grasp its significance.
Then, before they could realize what
It boded, the depths lit up again til!
the raindrops were outlined distinct
and glistening like a gossamer veil of
silver, while the office building b>
their left 'was ripped and vended and
the adjoining walls loajnd out into
sudden relief, their shattered windows
looking like ghostly, sightless eyes.
The curtain of darkness closed heavier
than velvet, and the men cowered in
their tracks, shielding themselves U?hind
the nearest objects or behind
One another's bodies, waiting for the
Sky to vomit over them its rain of missiles.
Their backs were to the vigilantes
now, their faces to the center.
Many had dropped their rifles. The
thunder of hoofs and the scream of
terrified horses came from the stables.
The cry of a maddened l>east is
weird and calculated to curdle the
blood at best, but with it arose a human
voice, shrieking from pain and
fear of deuth.
A wrenched and doubled mass of tine
had hurtled out of the heavens and
struck some one down. The choking
hoarseness of the man's appeal tolj}
the story, and those about him broke
Into flight to escape what might follow,
to escape this danger they could
not see but which swooped out of the
blackness above and against which
there was no defense. They fled only
to witness another and greater light
behind them by which they saw themselves
running, falling, groveling
This time they were hurled from their
balance by a concussion which
dwarfed the two preceding ones. Some
few stood still, staring at the rolling
I* ri*oo envAulod hr llA
MllUhl" liillitv il^ il ?ao ivikuivu u,<
explosion. their eyes gleaming white,
while others buried their faces In their
hollowed arms as if to shut out the
hellish glare, or to shield themselves
from a blow.
Out In the heart of the chaos rang
a voice loud and clear:
"Beware the next blast:"
At the same Instant the girdle of
sharpshooters rose up smiting the air
with their cries and charged In like
madmen through the rain of detritus.
They fired as they came, but it was
unnecessary, for there was no longer
a fight. It was a rout. The defenders,
feeliug they had escaped destruction
only by a happy chance In leaving the
hunk house the Instant they did. were
not minded to tarry here where the
heavens fell upon their heads. To
augment their consternation, the
horses had broken from their stalls
and were plunging through the coni
fusion. Fear swept over the men,
blind, unreasoning, contagious, and
they rushed out into the night, colliding
with their enemies, overrunning
them in the panic to quit this spot.
Some dashed off the hluff and fell
among the pits and sluices. Others
ran up the mountain side, and cowered
in the brush like quail.
As the "Strauglers" assembled their
prisoners neai the ruins, they heard
wounded men moaning in the darkness,
so lit torches and searched out
the stricken ones. Glenister came running
through the smoke pall, revolver
in hand, crying:
"Has any one seen McXamarn?" No
one had. nud when they were later assembled
to take stock of their Injuries
he was greeted by Dextry's gleeful announcement:
"That's the deuce of a fight. We
ain't got so much as a cold sore among
us."
"We have captured fourteen," an
other announced, "and there may be
more out yonder in the brush."
Glenister noted with growing surprise
that not oue of the pri?*
jHs9HaUnQH|DllKnHL^^
"Beware the next blast.'"
oners lined up beneath the glaring
torches wore the army blue. They
were miners all. or thugs and ruffians
fathered from the camp. Where, he
wondered, were the soldiers.
"Didn't you have troops from the
barracks to help you 7' he asked.
"Not a troop. We haven't seen a soldier
since we went to work."
At this the young leader became
alarmed. Had this whole attack inisHad
this been no clash with
0
1
toilers. |
E. BEACH.
by Rex E. Beach. > ^
om last week.]
. . . ;.ites forces, arier an?!
. news would never reaeh
Y"' : :i. ami instead of aeeom- '
I' !: r ! < end, lie and bis friends
h:; i" v * -se'vos into the realms |
>f o'vh y. where the soldiers could |
he c\ ' v.-? against them with impu- |
n 'y. where prices would rest upon
, their heads. Innocent blood had been 1
shed, court property destroyed. Mei
Nam arc. had them where he wanted
them at last. They were at bay.
The nnwounded prisoners were taken
to the boundaries of the Midas and i
released with such warnings as tin*
imagination of Pextry eould conjure
up. Then (dlenister assembled his
. men. speaking to them plainly:
"Boys, this is no victory. In fact. ;
we're worse than we were before
and our biggest fight is coming. There's J
a chance to get away now before day- j
| light and before we're recognized, bnt i
j if we're acen here at sunup we'll have j
I to stay and fight. Soldiers will be sent :
! against us, but if we hold out, and the ,
J struggle is fierce enough, it may reach
) to Washington. This will be a differ- ,
' eut kind of fighting now, though. It |
will be warfare pure and simple. How ;
many of you will stick':"
"All of us," said they in unison, and.
accordingly, preparations for a siege
were begun. Barricades were built, j
ruins removed, buildings transformed 1
into blockhouses, and all through the J
turbulent night the tired men labored
till ready to, drop, led always by the '
j yoaug giant, who seemed without fa- i
tigue.
It was perhaps four hours after mid- !
night when a man sought him out.
"Somebody's callin* you on the assay
office telephone?says it's life or death."
Gienister hurried to the building,
which had escaped the shock of the exI
plosions, and. taking down the recelrI
er. was answered by Cherry Malotte.
"Thank God, you're safe!" she began.
"The men have Just came in and
the whole town is awake over the riot.
They say you've killed ten people in
the fight. Is it true?"
He explained to her briefly that all
was well, but she broke in:
"Wait, wait! McXamara has called
fn- ti-nnnc .mil vrm'll nil lie shot. Oil.
what a terrible night it has beeu! 1
haven't beeu to l>od. I'm going mad.
Now. listen carefully: Yesterday Helen
went with Strove to the Sign of the
J Sled and she hasn't come back."
The man at the end of the wire cried
j out at this, then choked back his words
I to hear what followed. His free hand
i began making strange, futile motions
as though he traced patterns in the air.
"I can't raise the roadhouse on the
wire and?something dreadful has happened
1 know."
"What made her go?" he shouted.
"To save you." came Cherry's faint
reply. "If you love her. ride fast to
I the Sign of the Sled or you'll be too
I late. The Bronco Kid has gone there"?
At that name Roy crashed the instrument
to its hook and burst out of the
shanty, eaiimp- iouuiy iu ui?
"What's up?"
"Where are you going?"
"To the Sign of the Sled." he panted.
"We're stood by yon. (Ilen!?tor. and
you can't quit us like this." said one
augrlly. "The trail to town is good.
1 and we'll take it if you do." Roy saw .
i they feared he was deserting, feared |
i that he had heard some alarming ru j
mor of whieli they did not know.
"We'll let the mine go. boys, for i
can't ask you to do what I refuse to do '
j myself, and yet It's not fear that's
j sending me. There's a woman in dan;
ger. and I must go. She courted ruin
I to save us all, risked her honor to try
and right a wrong-and I'm afraid of
what has happened while we were
fighting here. I don't ask jrm te stay
till I come back it wouldn't be square,
. and you'd l>otter go while you have a
I chance. As for me I gave up the old ;
i claim once I can do it again." He
: swung himself to the horse's back, set-,
! tied into the saddle and rode out
! through the lane of belted men.
I
OHArTHR TS
| IS Helen and her companion as-1
/\ eended the mountain, scaled
/ \ and swept by the tempest of i
^ ^ the previous night, they beard.;
far below, the swollen torrent brawl-,
ing in its bowlder ridden bed, while,
behind them the angry ocean spread I
I southward to a blood red horizon. |
I Ahead, the bleak mountains brooded
I over forbidding valleys; to the west a
, suffused sun glared sullenly, painting
! the high piled clouds with the gorgeous (
| hues of a stormy sunset To Helen
| the wild scene seemed dyed with the
! colors of flame and blood and steel.
"That rain raised the deuce with the
' trails." said Strove, as they picked
their way past au unsightly "slip"
whence a part of the overhanging
mountain, loosened by the deluge, had
slid into the gulch. "Ansther storm
like that would wash oat these roads
; completely."
Eveu in the daylight it was no easy .
i task to avoid these danger spots, for
the horses floundered on the muddy j
soil. Vaguely the girl wondered how
she would fihd her way back ia the I
I darkness, as she had planned. She
said little as they approached the roadj
house, for the thoughts within her brab
! 4
Hail begim to clamor too wildly.
Strove, more arrogant than ever
fore, more terrify ingly sure of hit
self, was loudly garrulous. As they
drew nearer and nearer, the dread
that possessed the girl became of paralysing
intensity. If she should fail-but
she vowed she would not, could 1
not. fail.
They rounded a l?eud and saw the
Sign of the Sled cradled l?eiow themwhere
the trail dippnl to a streai
which tumbled from the comb abo>
Into the river twisting like a silvi
thread through the distant valley. *
peeled flagpole topped by a sprue
bough stood in front of the tavern
while over the door hung a sled suspended
from a beam. The house its'"
- . ? ^
vras a quaint sirncture. rauiuung m amorphous.
from whose soil rocfH
sprang blooming flowers and
high banket! walls were pierc
and there with sleepy windi
had bean built by a homesick for*. _
of unknown nationality whom the
my of mushers" who paid for
clean and orderly hospitality had c
l>ed duly and as a matter of caiirs
"Swede." When travel had changed
the river trail, leaving the house lorn
some and high as though left by a r<
ceding wave. Stmve had taken it o*
011 a debt and now ran it for the jtfj
venience of a slender traffic,
sfampeders. who chose the
route toward the interior. His
si>eut the Idle hours In prosper"!!
hungry quartz lead and in <*
sessmeut work on nearby elnf?^St[^
Shortz took the horses and dflM
his employer's questions cua^ESV
lug a curious look a'o r Ml
other coidltions the
been delighted tvith t
was the quaintest sp' P-case
in the north couutr;
held bar and gold ???? ?
and a huge irou " ~
walls and ceiling
white cloth so cu ?
lowed from cbaj^'fl I W W
trophies of the ^ ? I
Animals, skins an
depended in ear
harness, snnCT-shn^
of clothing. A doq77
the bunk room, I and Sere
been wont to sleep 1.. / the fami
To tbe rear was a kitehtu.
to the right a compartmei10^ t
Struve called the art gallery ad(
free reign had i>een allowed th
nal owuer's artistic fancies, rfat
had covered the place with pic*
clipped from gazettes of qlies''
repute till It was a bewil?*
rangement of Djnlj. l44k*1tT i
gillsts in scanty trunks, priz. ,s |
and other less moral eha ratten.- ihe |
sporting world.
"This is probably the worst compa- |
ny you were ever in," Struve observed ;
to Helen, with a forced attempt at t
lightness.
"Are there no guests here?" she ask- '
ed him, her anxiety very near the surface.
"Travel Is light at this time of the
year. They'll come in later perhaps."
A fire was burniug in this pink room ,
where the landlord had begun spread- i
Ing the table for two, and its warmth
was grateful to the girl. Her companion,
thoroughly at his ease, stretched
himself on a fur covered couch and
smoked.
"Let me see the papers now, Mr.
Struve," she began, but lie put her off. j
"No, not now. Business must wait
on our dinner. Don't spoil our little
party, for there's time enough and to ;
spare."
She arose and went to the window,
unable to sit still. Looking down the
narrow gulch, she saw that the meun- j
tains beyond were indistinct, for it
was growing dark rapidly. Dense
clouds had rolled up from the east
A raindrop struck the glass l>efore her
eyes, then another and another, and
the hills grew misty behind the coming
shower. A traveler with a pack
on his back hurried around the corner
of the building and past her to the |
door. At his knock Struve. who had
been watching Helen through half shut
eyes, arose and went into the other \
room.
"Thank heaven, some one has come;"
she thought. The voices were deadened
to a hum by the sod walls till !
that of the stranger raised itself in
such indiguant protest that she distinguished
his words.
"Oh. I've got money ro pay my way:
I'm no deadhead."
Shortz mumbled something back.
"I don't care If you are closed. I'm
ttoed, and there's a storm coming."
This time she heard the landlord's
refusal and the miner's angry profanity.
A moment later she saw the traveler
plodding up the traM toward town.
"What does that mean?" she Inquired
as the lawyer re-entered.
"Oh. that fellow Is a tough, and j
Shortz wouldn't let him In. He's care-;
ful whom he entertains, there are so 1
many bad men roaming the hills."
The German came in shortly to light'
the lamp, and, although she asked no j
further questions. Helen's uneasiness j
Increased. She half listened to the stories
with which Struve tried to entertain
her and ate little of the excellent;
meal that was shortly served to them.
8truve meanwhile ate and drank al- {
* an? n tha chadoirr clnlc. I
IHOSl g imj 11 , UUU IUC
ter evening crept along. A strange
cowardice had suddenly overtaken the
girl, and If at this late hour she could
have withdrawn she would have done
60 gladly and gone forth to meet the
violence of the tempest. But she had
gone too far for retreat, and. realizing
that for the present apparent compliance
was her wisest resource, she sat
quiet, answering the man with cool
words while his eyes grew brighter,
his skin more Hushed, his speech more
rapid. lie talked Incessantly and with
feverish gayety. smoking numberless
cigarettes and apparently unconscious
of the flight of time. At lasj. be broke
[Continued on pa^e 3.]
V.
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A
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V *V
,, ^ S0N'
- *sgzmemgmBP to
-MANUFACTUH :RS OFfash,
Doors, . Blinds
Moulding and Building Material,
Sash Weights and Cords
CHARLESTON, S. C.
PMfiail ?s
R. E. & E. N. B EATY
ENGINEERS AND CONTRACT >RS
Georgetown, - - - 5. C.
Civil Engineering
Land Surveying
Railroad Surveys
and Construction
Prompt aention o out of Town Work.
3-10-tf
W. L. Bass A. C. Hind.
BASS & HINDS,
Attorneys-at-law
KNGSTREE, S. C.
9-20-tf.
iTnTui? HPQUiTU Dentist.
ITI. unnu IVLUfTIItil,
Lake City, S. C.
Crown and Bridge Work a Specialty.
ALL WORK
Guaranteed as Represented.
W. L. baseT
Attorney at Law
LAKE CITY, S. C.
Dr BJ McCabe
Dentist.
KINSSTaEE, - s. c.
J. D. MOUZON'S
BARBER SHOP
?in the?
Van Kenren Hotel
is equipped with up-to-date appolite
Sprvipf?. < omDetent
imoiJv\ oi * v*i vw . - r .
Workmen.
o?8-08.
W. P, TENNENT
A R C H I T E C T
General Contractor and Builder
Solicits vour business. Estimates
cheerfully furnished on all
: : kinds of work. : :
126 Evans 'Phone 1962
FLORENCE, S. C.
Supervisor of construction New School
Building and Superintendent of workon
U. S. Post Office and of John McSween
Co, stores Timmonsville and
Beulah and residence at National
Cemetery. : : : : :
^r.""5,r'~r ."-'w -ji*-.
x. Where
? V' r Hair?
18* I ? Why so? Is
At f \h better place
Uf i what is left
v Ayer'sHair
V V? /ed formula,
??_ _ u ?: ?
\j I
railing nan.
articleofdoubt
.. w e speak very posi./
about this, for we know.
Does not change the color of the hair.
I I _ Formal* with n? * 1 <tyj
S /1 } HhoVl'
1/1 yers -?
deed, the one great Ieadinf
.,ur new Hair Vigor may we!"
-*his ? it stops falling h? /
%ne step further?it:
ng the hair and sea! r?
.ion. Ask for "the j
.il_ide by too J. C. Iyer Co.. ^
~~^TT0N J
S ?AND THE PRI1VC
TOBii
I There will be a number of sut
Fall and we are ready to serve
splendid crop prospect we are ref
enlarge our floor space, and rathe
Queen Stoves and Ranges from wi
price
2? IFer
We have just received a carlo
fered at a low price. Remember 1
min Moore & Co's Paint. Also, \
Cutlery and Razors. The Robeso
preciate our friends' patronage ar
tmued confidence,
L,sike City H
LAKE CI1
MM??1
"A dollar
is a dolh
There is no better way 1
dealing with
J. L. Stuckey, the oI<
man.
I have a splendid lineo
koh Willi
that in view of the hard times
above cost.
A nice bunch of HORSES
at prices to suit.
J. L StiK
| BANK OF K
Kingstree. Sou
CAPITAL, 8 30.000
===== DIRECT
\
Jas F Cooper
D C Scott
Collections made promptly.
LOANS, large or small, men
MOWI
n. i
HIM
RAK
filVF. US
ORDER F
McC O R
HOWER AN
Do not wait uutil your oats
A CAR I
of flcCormick flowers and
Yours for t
THE WILLIAMSBURG
Hi ngstree & Creelyville,
- ' (
S0KB'
IN CAMP OR FIELD ? AT
MOUNTAIN OR 8HORE
Tl?ra Is always achate*
to enjoy some shooting
TO SHOOT WELL YOU MUST BE EQUIPPEO WITH
A RELIABLE FIREARM: the only kind we have
been making for upwards of fifty years.
Our Line: RIFLES, PISTOLS, SHOTGUNS,
RIFLE TELESCOPES, ETC.
Ask year Dealer, and Insist on *V* I
STEVENS. Where not sold I
tailers, we ship direct, i-ti>- 'ice- sJ
1 paid, upon receipt ol Catirnte?j| JH
f**~ . ebooh or B
Mead for 140 * >- * and bov B|
[catuloic A a I ad * * derate in
lre:i<ly reffcrer''i. i* "caatifal
{ hooters. forwerded for H
15?r~*
IXdTxJNs ARMS ? TOOL CO. W
V P.O. Box 4007 __ H
Chlcopee Falls, 2|
KPN I
E REGENT IS?
LCCO. I
)jects of both in Lake City this^B
them. In anticipation of the^fl
)airing our warehouse so as to^H
r than remove the stock of O.K.^H
irehouse we have reduced the^Bj
Cent. H
A s-\ ( W iLVn S+Ck rr Vl i/"?Vl ic
au Ul TV lie iguLt| 1HIUIV.U 10
we are headquarters for BenjaHH
ve offer exceptional values
n Razor can't be beat. We apWfl
id will try to merit their con-^B
ardware Co.,
3TY. S. C
saved
ir made"
:o save your dollars than by
d reliable live-stock
\
i ml Oiks, |
am offering at 10 per cent
and MULES always on hand 1
:key,
Lake City, S. C.
INGSTREE
ith Carolina.
SURPLUS, $ 7,800 ORS
=====
K n neiianan a
JAKelley |
ie on approved security. I ERS
ID
E s J
YOUR
-OR A
n i c k
D RAKE
and hay begin to waste.
LOAD V
Rakes now in transit.
>usiness,
LIVESTOCK CO.,
South Carolina.
J