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HAMLIN IS: COPYRIGHT. 1903. Bl :." ; { CHAPTER XIV. ll T 2:30, prompt as a groom, Ray ZJk mond brought the horses round f \ to the door. Midwinter though ^ ^ it was, the sun was clear and "warm, and as they went winding dowa the trail to the southwest Ann exclaim? ed over the exquisite quality of the air, the crystalline clarity of the dis? tant peaks and the cloudless serenity of the sky. After a short and steep descent they came out into a wagon road and were able to ride side by side. "You must be prepared for very poor goods and very small stores," said Rob. "Bozie is by no means to be compared even with Valley Springs. Everything js temporary. No one reall: intends to Ure there; they are all just staying, and I fear the millinery is not of the latest fashion." TVhat a power lies in the idea of goldi See the people who have come from all over the world! Don tells me mat every European language is spo? ken here. Did I "see Perry, the Mex? ican boy, at your cabin this morning?" "Yes, Perry Is here, and so ls Baker. You nave cause to remember Baker." When tbjty entered the town Ann said: "Please take me to a shop where I can get some chairs and a small table. I am going to present Mrs. Kelly with ah easy chair." "Very well," said he. "I know the vesey place, but please do not go about ! the streets alone. Of course you are j perfectly safe, but you are a stranger . and might wander into the wrong j doors. Wait till I tie the horses and j do one or two errands, then T will join ! you, and we can go where you please." j "Very well," she replied, with a feel- j lng of pleasure in his care of her. **I j will want to visit several shops." When Raymond returned for Ann, I whom he had left at a furniture shop, I he was filled with anxiety. The street ! was full of men drawn together by a report that the sheriff had stolen a J march on Skytown and was already on j his way to intimidate Bozle and de- j maud those for whom his warrants j called. Horsemen were galloping up j the hill to warn the miners, and the \ chief of police and mayor were min- j gling with the growing throng, pleading \ for peace. The whole camp resembled I a nest of ants into which an ox had j planted a hoof. Ann observed Raymond's abstraction and restlessness and asked, "Are you m haste to\return?" He answered quite calmly: "Yes, we ought to start back as soon as we can. I am going after the horses. Please re? main here until x get back." When Raymond returned the second time he was breathing rapidly. "Some one has borrowed our horses," he ex? plained quietly, "and J must ask you to wait; a little longer while I secure another for you." '.Will they not return them ?" "I am afraid not They have prob? ably gone up the hill to join Munro's men, and they will be returnee at the stable. If you are not afraid" "Oh, no: I am not afraid!" He looked at her in admiration. "I don't believe you are scared. Well, now, stay here till I can see what I can do about a horse." Again Ann stood alone in the door? way, watching a group of men crouch? ing on the flat roof of a two story building opposite. Two of them had ri?es in their hands, and some man was shouting from the walk, "Keep j them guns out o' sight!" The girl began to tingle with a fore- J knowledge of violence. As she listened a wild cry went up from the roof tops, I "Here they come!" The throng below uttered answering 1 shouts. Men began to run to and fro j aimlessly, filling the street facing to j the south. In the hands of hotheads ? guns began to glitter. Their action was | unreal, spectacular; but their voices I shook her, benumbed her. Raymond came hurrying back, his . lips set and resolute, his brow frown? ing with anxiety. "I cannot find a horse that you can ride. I have ordered a team. We w:ll have to go the back way to reach it." A wilder yell arose. The leaders be- : gan to run down the street which led to the south. Ann took hold of Ray? mond's arm with nervous clutch. "What are they going to do?" "It's" hard to tell. I wish we were safely out of this." "Can't we run?" "Run! Dear girl, yon couldn't walk four blocks ir. this altitude, ii you will come with me we will cross to the barn and get our carriage there." Unconsciously clinging to his arm. Ann weir; down the back street as in a dream. They were already too late. The cross street was packed with men, and, looking down the hill, they saw the j sheriff and his posse coming six abreast like a squad of cavalry, riding slowly up between the walls of stern and silent citizens of the great camp. Each , deputy carried a ri?e across the pom? mel of his saddle, and at their head, preceding even the sheriff, rode Mat? thew Kelly. His head was bare, and in his hand a long revolver gleamed. There was something in his face, in the j lift of his head, that awed men. As he came he called out, not loudly, but every word could be heard: "Aisy now, boys! Respect the law. 1 Aisy, I say! This is no fight of yours. GARLAND r HAMLIN GARLAND "Down "with your grins. There are ^wo? men and children to think of. Kape the peace." Raymond looked at Ann with eyes whose light amazed her. "By the Lord, I wish I were by his side!" He spoke through his set teeth. "Go!" she said. "Do not mind me. Go help him." Her voice recalled him. "No. my place is here," and his look meant more than any word he had ever dared to speak to her. In the square Kelly halted, and the sheriff, throwing np his hand, com? manded silence. He was visibly trem? bling, but he blustered to his purpose. "Where is your mayor and your chief of police?" The chief stepped forth. "Here I am ! What do you want of me?" "I want you to deliver to me the men who assaulted Mackay." The chief waved his hand toward the hills. "They are up there; go get them I" and a roar of derisive applause went up. Kelly raised his hand. "Boys, hear me! This is the sheriff, the properly constituted authority of this county. Be quiet, now, and listen to reason." The sheriff, gaining courage, took up the theme. "I have no war. with Bozle," he said. "I came to get the men who abused Mackay and who de? fied my authority." , "Well, go get them," repeated a man in the crowd. "What are you doing here? You came here to intimidate us, and you can't do it." The crowd, moved by some sinister impuise, closed round the sheriff and Kelly, cutting them off from the main body of deputies. This movement opened a way of escape, and, expect? ing each moment to hear the crackle of guns, Raymond hurried Ann across the street and into the musty waiting room of the livery barn. "Wherels'tbatTteam?" he shouted to a hostler who was looking oct of a | side door. "The boss took it" "Whose horse is this with the saddle ! on?" j The hostler looked down for a mo? ment- "Superintendent of Loadstone." ; "Maynard's?' . "Yep." "I thought so. Well, you tell him that Rob Raymond borrowed him for a lady." He turned to Ann. "Come; we must get out of this." She obeyed like a child, all her im? perious nature in subjection to his will. \ Lifting her to the saddle, he led the ! horse out the back way and through an I alley into the main street and so to the hills. As they reached a fairly level j spot in the trail he turned and looked j back over the roofs of the houses. "The sheriff is retreating-wherein j he shows good sense." He pointed above them, where on Pine mountain. Munro's vedettes stood waiting, back? ed by a thousand miners, jocular with battle hunger, shouting faint defiance. "I am sorry to be such a burden to you," said Ann. "I know you longed to be there with Matthew Kelly, and I have forced you to flight." "I will be honest. I had that im? pulse. You see, I've been so in the then he added, "And you are more to me than any other thing in the world." | She had no reply to this, no neat ' turn of phrase, no smile. She looked I away in silence, her breath a little troubled, her throat contracted. In fear of the effect of his words, i Raymond hastened to the impersonal. ' "If this trouble is turned aside it will be due to Matt" "Why should they obey him? Is he an officer?" "Not now, but he was the first mar- ' shal of the camp and afterward chief j of police. Everybody knows him, and his influence is as great as that of any j one mau. His presence here today un- j doubted ly prevented a desperate bat- ' tie." As they neared the Kelly cabin Ray? mond said: "I am deeply chagrined by this experience. I really thought we were going away from disorder." ''Please do not trouble your mind with it any more," she answered deci? sively. "It was an experience which will give nie something new to think about." Kelly did not return till late. At about 9 o'clock he knocked at Ray? mond's door. "Get your gun," he said quietly. "We're on guard tonight." And together they paced to and fro on the hillside, listening to the yells of drunken men up the street and to distant gunshots as the storm of battle swept away to the south of them. By midnight all was silent. The sheriff's forces were either reprised or cap? tured. CHAPTER XT. NOTWITHSTANDING the excite? ments of the day, or perhaps because of them, Ann slept soundly. She was awakened as before, by the sound of the little cof? fee mill, but she did not rise as prompt? ly as on the first morning and was still ?ozing~when Nora appeared with a piece of corn cake and a cup of coffee. "You feel tired this morning, I know. Well, now, take your breakfast in bed." Ann was conscious smitten. "No, no! You poor, dear thing! I am ashamed to have you waiting on me." "It's so little-a mere step or two." "Yes, but you have so many steps. After this I forbid you doing anything of this kind for me, and I've been thinking why can't we hire -a China? man to work for us? . Unless I can do something to relieve you I will not stay. You are tired. I wish you would ask Mr. Raymond to find us a helper today." "Hello, sis!" shouted Louis. "Aren't you up yet? You'll never make a min? er." Here he poked his head in at the door. "Jupiter, wasn't yesterday an exciting day? It makes me sick to think I didn't go down to Bozle with you. Rob has been telling me about Matt's shielding the sheriff. It must have been great. I was out on the hillside. We all thought the sheriff was coming up that way, but he didn't. He turned back and went into camp, and last night Jack went down and pitched into him, and they had a battle." "They did? Was any one killed?" "Ten." Nora gasped. "Merciful powers!" "So Perry says. Our side won." Ann frowned. "Our side! You are not taking sides with these lawless miners?" . Louis wished to sidetrack this dis? cussion. "Our things have come." "Have they? Very weil; I'll get up at once and unpack. I want you to help me a little here." "And I want you to help fix up our bungalow." "Agreed. Now ran away and find a hammer and some tacks." Together they worked to render her room a little less bleak, and together they crossed the path to Raymond's cabin, where they toiled m-arily. Ann was just leaving the bungalow to help Mrs. Kelly with the midday meal when Munro dashed up and flung himself from his horse. "Good morning, Lady Ann! How fares the day?" Something unduly presuming in his tone irritated ber, and she gave him a glance intended to check and humble him. "I am quite well, thank you." He was not of those whom disdain? ful eyes abase. He hugged himself and shivered comically. "Wow, but that was a cold breeze! Some one-must have left the bars down. You're not going to draw the line on'me. are you? What do you know against me?" "I know nothing against you or for you either*" she replied. Sbe was turning TO go when he stop? ped her. and his tone was hard and dry. "You were in Bozle yesterday with Raymond. Don't do that again. When you want an escort let me know. I'll send a man that knows enough not to take a lady into danger and who has 'savvy' enough to keep his horses for the return trip." "Thank you. You are very kind, but I'm not in need of additional protec? tion." Ann icily replied. "Goodby till tomorrow," he called after her in mockery, his voice as mu? sical as a bugle. Th*s interview, short as it was. left the girl with the feeling of having been grasped and shaken by a rude hand. And yet ber anger was not unmixed with admiration. His magnificent au? dacity and the grace and dash of bis advance interested hep. Raymond saw Munro riding away and wondered what his errand could have been, and when Louis told him that the gambler had stopped and de? tained Ann in the path his teeth set in anger. "The little hound!" he growled under his breath. "I'll put an end to that!" Immediately upon finishing his sup? per he went up the path to Hanley's to find "the lookout." Munro was in his plaee, sitting high above his faro lay? out clicking a couple of silver dollars together, talking with gleeful intensity to Denver Dan, who stood at his shoul? der broadly smiling. The saloon was packed with men. all in high spirits over the precipitate flightof the sheriff. 'Munro sighted him at last and called out: "Hello. liol)! How goes it?" Raj-mond did not reply till lie roached his side. "I want t<> talk with you, Jack." he said in a low voice. Munro studied him for a moment, then turned to Dan. "Take my place a minute." Dan complied, and Raymond led the way into the open air, and when they w<>r?? well out of the crowd he turned and said: "You intercepted Miss Rupert to? day ?" "I met her. yes. What about it?" "Just til is. You're not fit to shake +y>n, in--,,! Af n fi?-?-ont ffirl. much less a cultured, high "bred woman like Ann Rupert, and you know it!" Munro was staggered. "What busi? ness is it of yours?" he asked, with instant anger. Raymond's wrath was self contained. "Keep your temper. Jack. We've sum? mered and wintered together, and you can't make any mistakes about what I mean. I know the kind of women you live with and the kind of life you lead, and I tell you to keep away from the Kelly cabin." Munro did not snarl as Raymond ex? pected. His voice became softly in? sinuating as he said: "Suppose the lady invited me to call? Suppose she was interested in my conversation? The lady had a chance to go. The path was open, but she lingered, she smiled." "You're a liar!" Munro was now very confident "Am I? Ask the boy; he saw her talking with me. ? say the lady was gracious." The gambler took on the air of an in? jured comrade. "Now, see here, Rob; you're away out of limits. I acknowl? edge I've known a whole lot of cheap women, but that's all the more reason why I should be able to tell when I meet the real thing. Her name is as safe with me as with you. Probably she's tied up back in the states any? way, so that neither of us has any chance of interesting her. But it's an open course and no favors, and so long as she doesn't hand me out the 'icy mitt' I'm going to make the most of my chance, and from this moment"-he took off his hat-"I reform, I throw up my job at Hamey's, I cut off 'booze' and I shake 'Eau Claire.' " 1 Raymond was impressed by his ri? val's manner. "You can quit gam? bling, and.I hope you can leave liquor alone, but I see trouble when you shake Claire. But that doesn't matter. For the sake of old times I want to avoid a quarrel with you, Jack. But I ! warn you that if Miss Rupert finds j your presence disagreeable you go, and , you stay! As you say, she is probably j engaged to a better man than either of , us. But she is here because of the boy, j and I feel a certain responsibility for j them both, and the man who presumes ; on a chance acquaintance with her will ! answer to me." "All right. Leave it to her, Rob," j said Munro almost jocularly. "If she ! turns me down I'll pull out of my own accord, lightning sure. Good night !" Raymond walked away with a sense of failure. Munro had adroitly writhed out of his grasp and was probably ex? ulting at his own cleverness. He was troubled, too, by the confident tone ' which Munro had tak<en in saying, "The way was open; she lingered." Out of the tumult of his doubt he emerged with an accession of conti- j dence in himself. "If it comes to a I choice between us, my chances are as | good as Jack's. Her tolerance of him is due to ignorance of his real charac- j ter. Mrs. Kelly must tc^ her." He saw the light in Kelly's home, j and its allurement was stronger than ever before, but he resolutely held his I way to his own fireside, there to bit- : terly muse the entire evening over his ? poverty and the false position in which Munro had cleverly placed him. He repented of his resolute passing of her door when he heard next day j that a couple of the independent opera- j tors had spent the entire evening with ! Kelly and that one of them talked a j great deal to Ann. The sting of it lay : in the fact that Tracy was a fine young fellow, studious and capable. "You are j a fool," Raymond said to himself. "You threw away a chance to be happy, j Don't do it again." CHAPTER XVI. NOT a day passed that the cap? tain of the patrol did not ride down to the door of the Kelly cabin and leap from his saddle with some fanciful greeting, carefully and ornately uttered. So much he re? tained of his Kentucky breeding. "The sheriff's army grows apace, but does not march," he announced one morning. Ann could not understand this hu? morous defiance of law^thls colossal recklessness. "What will you do when it does march?" "Meet it and bu'st it" "Tell me, now," she said to him at another time, "what is your real mo? tive? Why should you be the cham? pion of the rights of labor?" He astonished her by giving back earnestness for earnestness. "I'll tell you, my lady. Labor has got to fight This union is the coming thing. The toilers have not only got to stand to? gether, but they've got to drill. I hap? pen to have a little military training, and I'm going to give western labor Its first lesson in the power of military or? ganization. "Rob and Kelly both stand for the thing that is going out They think any man has the same chance they have, but I tell you this union that they de? spise is the coming order." In truth, Kelly and Raymond were watching Munro's rise to power with growing uneasiness. He was now in j almost complete control of the camp, j and though he still deferred to the un- I ion and its committees, his reckless bravery, his prompt execution of or- ; ders and his knowledge of military j forms had made of him the chief ! source of commanu. the only adequate regulative force ou the peak. Those on i the outside did not hesitate to call him ' "the arch devil of the district." and the whole western world was filled with j his doings, his reckless speeches. His fame had fired the hearts of all j the dead shots and restless spirits of ! the west nnd from an irregular squad ! of twenty-five or thirty men his forces j liad risen to nearly 200 heavily armed j and hardy horsemen. Raymond, though keeping keen eyes j upon Munro, was unable to find cause : for war in any word or act of the gam- j Mer. nor could he fathom Ann's mind j either toward Munro or himself. She appeared to find Muuro diverting and j spoke of him only in that way. If she understood his "home life." it made no change in her altitude. It was incon- 1 ceiv?ble ?hat a refined girl should tol? erate a man who passed from one igno? rant and vicious woman to another, and yet Ann's greeting remained gra? cious, if not friendly. What it was when they were alone, he dared not think. As for Raymond himself, he contin? ued to punish himself by putting aside the many opportunities which came to plead his own suit, and took a morbid sort ot' pleasure in his renunciation. "There will be one man at least who will not persecute her," he said sav? agely and bent his best energies to th* work of developing his mine. One afternoon as Ann and Mrs. Kel? ly sat sewing and chatting together a woman suddenly appeared in the open door. She was large and high colored, her hat was awry, and there was a wild glare in her eyes and a look in her face that froze even Nora into si? lence. Both stared at their strange visitor in breathless apprehension till she pointed her unsteady finger at Ann and hoarsely cried out: "So you're the one that's cut me out?" The muscles of one cheek contorted and her eyelid drooped like that of a paralytic as she fixed a baleful look on the astonished girl. After a moment's pause she stepped uncertainly upon the threshold and leaned against the jamb. "Well, you'd better watch out. If you don't give him up, I'll kill you!" "She's crazy," whispered Nora, j The intruder fumbled in her absurd? ly flamboyant skirt and at last, drew out a pistol. "Now you better hop!" she said, with menacing calmness. Ann rose, white and calm. "Who are you? What do you want?" "Who am I? I'm Jack Munro's wife, that's who I am, and I want you to let him alone, that's what I want Ton can understand that, can't you?" Her big, flabby face again contorted hor? ribly. Nora found tongue. "You go away or I'll call Matt." "Call him. What do I care for him? I ain't afraid of no man livin'. No, sir; let him come. But I got no war with you; you're all right. But that thing there, with her fancy dresses ' I'll pink her with a bullet if she don't let my Jack alone." . If the drunken creature had swept a handful of mire into her face Ann could not have been more revolted, more degraded. Fixing a look of dis? dain on the woman', she said: "You are quite mistaken. Your Jack is less than nothing to me. I despise him and all he represents." The other wildly laughed. "Ah, yes, you can talk-you're smooth-but I know!" She began to bluster. "If yon hated him, why do you talk and laugh with him ? I saw you yesterday." She raised the pistol. "I tell you, I'll blow" you into kingdom come if you don't promise right now to give him up!" As she advanced the two little lads at play just outside appeared in the doorway, and the sight of them steeled the little mother's heart. "Go away, darlings," she called to Hiern. "Quick, run for d?.d!" The woman turned to see who was behind her, and the desperate Nora seized her by the wrist. "Give me the gun!" she called. "I won't! Le' go me!" shrieked the intruder, jerking hard in the effort to free her hand. Ann seized the other arm. "I prom? ise," she said quietly, fixing her eyes full upon those of the infuriated wo? man, who ceased to struggle. "Now go away." "You promise?" "I promise!" The woman again laughed harshly, drunkenly. "I don't trust you. TU kill you; then I know. Let go me!" she called. "Let go or I'll smash your face!" "Matt! (Oh, Matt!" called Nora as she clung desperately to that terrible wrist Help came from an unexpected quar? ter. Like a flash, Woo, the new Chinese "JDlop it!" he curtly comma7idcd. "l)lop yan!'' cook o?' the household, rushed into thc rooin anj hung himself on the mad wretch. His long fingers encircled her throat. "Dlop it!" he curtly command? ed. "Dlop gun!" For a few moments tlie woman struggled, then the re? volver fell to tlie floor, and Nora snatched it up. Woo turned the gasping, hiccoughing creature to the door and flung her out upon the ground. "You dlunk. Go homo. Stop home. Me sabbe you-you sabbe me," he said as he bent above her. Ann interposed. "Don't hurt her, Woo." [TO BE COXTDTUED.j PUNISHMENT FOR BROWNSVILLE President Issues Orders For Abundo nient of Fort Because Texas \You;<< Not Put Up With Negro Soldie; Fort Worth, Sept. 5.-Orders have been received at Brownsville from Washington for the immediate aban? donment of Fort Brown. Contracts for extending and improving the Fort, which were well under way, have beer annulled. There is a great indignation in Brownsville over the government's action. HOKE SMITH NOMINATED. Macon. Ga., Sept. 4.-The unani? mous nomination of Hoke Smith for Governor of Georgia and the endorse? ment cf Wm. # Jennings Bryan for I President in 1908, was the principal business ? transacted today by the pemocratic State Convention. The names of other candidates for G v ernor were not placed before the Con? vention. The platform adopted many radica! recommendations and substitutes the majority vote in primaries fer nom? inating conventions in Gubernatorial contests. The State railroad com j mission is severely criticised, while two-cent railroad fares, State rail I road control, lower freight rates, ne? gro disfranchisement and increase in the size of the State Senafe is deman? ded. . There is more Catarrh in this sec? tion of the country than all other diseases put together, and until the last few years was supposed to be in? curable. For a great many years, doc? tors pronounced it a local disease and prescribed local remedies, and by constantly failing to cure with local treatment prononuced it incurable. Science has proven catarrh to be a constitutional disease and therefore requires constitutional treatment.. Hall's Catarrh Cure, manufactured by F. J. Cheney & Co., Toledo, Ohio, is the only constitutional cure on the market. Ir. is taken internally in doses from 10 drops to a teaspoonful. It acts directly on the blood and mu? cous surfaces of the system. They offer one hundred dollars foA* any acse it rails to cure. Send for circulars and testimonials. y . Address, F. J. Cheney & Co, Toledo, Ohio. Sold by Druggists, 75c. Take Hali' Family Pills for con? stipation. *A bath cleanses the skin and rids the pores of refuse. A bath makes for better fellowship ano: citizenship. Not only should the outside of the body be cleansed, but occasional use of a laxative or cathartic opens the bowels and * clears the system of ef? fete matter. . Best for this are De Witt's Little Early Risers. Pleasant little pills that do not gripe or sicken. Sold by all druggists. Rev. J. Grant Walker, the well known Pittsburg reform minister, has accepted the caii to the Hough Ave? nue church, Cleveland, O., to begin his work there early in September H> is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College. Pain From a Burn Promptly Relieved by Chamberlain-s Pain Balm. .A little child of Mrs. Michael Strauss of Vernon, Conn, was recently in great pain from a burn on the hand and as cold applications only increas? ed the inflammation, Mr. Strauss came to Mr. James N. Nichols, a local merchant, for something to stop the pain. Mr. Nichols says: "I advised him to use Chamberlains Pain Balm, and the first application drew out the Inflammation and gave immediate re? lief. I have used this liniment myself and recommend it very often for cuts, burns, strains and lame back, and have never known it to disappoint." For sale by all druggists. Home Endorseme?t. Hundreds of Sumter CitizeDS Can Tell-You All About lt. Home endorsement, the public expression of Sumter people, should be evidence beyond dispute for every Sumter reader. Surely the experience of friends and neighbors, cheerfully given by them, will <-arry more weight than the utterances of stra* sers re? sidir;;-' i;i far-away places. Read the follow? ing: Geo. Ingram.farmer, well-known in Sum? ter, says: "I believe you have a most valua? tor medicine for backache, for I never had anything do me so much good as Doan's Kid? ney Pills which 1 procured at Dr. A. J. China's Dr;.- store. My back has caused me a lot of sur.1 . :i g: I did not know that it WHS my kid neys .u thought I had malaria ail through bones for they ached so. The aching ex? tended all up and down my hack clear into my shoulders and down my leers. J do not think 1 had a spot about me where the pain did not si pike and every once in a while I had a dull gnawing kind of a pain across the smail of my back and then again sharpshoot? ing pains all over. I used numerous rem? edies and make-shifts but found nothing to dome any good. The kidney secretions be? came dark and strone and looked like liver when left to stand and gel cold. They were too frequent in action and disturbed my resi nights. The first night after I used Doan's Kidney Pills I told my wife I felt bet? ter. I thoughi it might be imagination un? til after usine the pills a couple of days when 1 knew the i>:iin>. wen lessened and tile se . retiens from the kidneys soon ceased to an? noy me as they formerly did. I have not had a return of the aching and pain since I used Doan's Kidney Pd's." For sale by all dealers. Foster-Milburn Company. Buffalo. N. Y.. sole agents for thc United Si ates. Remember the name-Doan's-and take no otbei 43