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t* *3. f*?i:4 JL%rJhMf* gfB| ^^^|ANCl] 1^^^TOlGOTBYC?XSu (Coaiiaualifrooi |Mt week) jj chapter xv. s r-. V-- High Explosives. The. idea was one- which ought to have suggested Itself .much nodner. The sfettC'Bupplj.pipe for driving the big c Jrlfugnls at the shaft mouth cauie through the wall over our heads, fend It was the sight of this pipe, steaming even on the outside of Its thick Intubating jacket of asbestos.qn-? d^r the wetting from the water Jet, that had set me thinking. A spanning twirl, of the engine throttle valve set our machinery' lu motion,; ayt| when 1 hud thrown 'the pump clutch,In,..we crouched again'in the least-wet corner to watch the index of the telhtalc steamgnugo connected Into tfftf^ supply pipe;- - , We knew' that the centrifugals were voracletfsisteum-eaters; we had prpved that when we were running them In the we^k^^ng test. 1 had a notion tliat maybei liullerton had flred only one of the, battery of three boilers to run his shower-bpth machine, nh'd the result spfeedlly confirmed this nsatnnptlou. In a fdw minutes the steam pressure had dropped to a point at Which It would n'o JOnger drive any of the pumps', efthertdurs or "the one outside, niuj^he wimlpfw.cataract stopped. "This win oe only a p\-eathlng space," I-' prophesied, getting up to squeeze soniev<>f"the superfluous water out of my .clothes, "Hubert op will do nno f\f IKIAmm . 41 ? Al- - -1' A ?..v niv iiiiiik*. ine me oilier iwo boilers, y^itorgi 1 this steam pipe of ours." "Reckon so?" said Daddy. "You'H^see In a minute or so." ? The attack- began even white, we were Rpenklng, snndry hnmmerjngs and twlstlngs that shook the pipe overhead proving that the besiegers were y going to stop, Jhp lenk iiy (hitting us off from the. hollers. "Tnke, your whirl -at the inventions, tills tiling Mwayr I urged. "When they get. t^^ypply pipe Cut out. we'll be In for another ducfflng?and one that we Cdfi*t Daddy liLs head and wringing the moisture?und mud?out. of his beard... "JeruBateuvto-gosh, Stannie, we e6t to take*a chancel" he muttered. "Any/* waya, Fd atyeut.. lief >116' Irs fx? drowned tPrdeatl}. We'll hn<e'tt?'mrtfts that blpplcsmlth'sl'iouoj)) And get it*out. o' the way,'sbmehoK VUmme a mfftch out o' that thi tflhrto' ybur'n?if. they ain't all sba1redltdia Jkf-H'hh^lUi'.sop." I found the matches. wbicV^uekHy',' were sflit him'ope. Before I .f#aty.?sa4iyed- wiiqt^Ve U'ayi' going ?o da he lind takeu pne of ^tlib' dynamite clrtrhlpesL out of its bucket hiding plactfam^wcs.spllttlng the .fuse with his poekenftilflb. "Open th^? th^re door Into the shop," He tuiiauiuiidctr, uiiij Wiicu I Clii.yCvJ mechanically, out went Oie bqpjb,' (i/.sing and sputtering, to-luftd in n heap of scrtfp iron piled on the farther Aid?" of the Jitone^bullt forge. The sight of, it smaklng and spitting spgrke In thi*heap ..of scrap haJ|^)>ypaoMECfI ine.'I. guess, for I'ktood gaping at it, with 1 the door held onen. until Do/ldv iiiram jerked me awa;;. ^3 nutted the doer nud yelled to me to Help him bar It. We had barely time to ggt tke door clofted and fastened with the heavy wooden bar and- to throw ourselves \ flat on the floor behind the hoisting machinery before the crash Came. As I have previously said,Mtiie blacksmith shop wfls a rather flimsy, stied-llke 1 affair, roofed wlt|? '^drnig^ted iroq, and It seemed to us as ifbkofcen timbers and pieces of sheet nletalwere raining down for a full minute after the blast went?off. . .. , l*he shook to. everything In-the vicinity was, of <4>urse, tremendousarid, the stout old rfhfcft-housc Itself, rocked and swayed llkofa tree In a hurrlcurie. But the walls* still ^Atpod Intact/and wlieh we got upr and peeped through a hole which a piece - of the fl.Vtog scrap had torn In the door, we. could see what we had j done. It was a-plenty. The blacksmith she At lyijJ-dl^ap-. peured, leaving t^otiiing nut a' scattering of wreckage. 'Theflieavy aretfli had been thrown - from Its iJlock'.anfl^.the forge looked as If a giant had kipked , . It. Out hy the tytiler-slied u rack of ' cordwood had befit toppled over and under It a man w|ts struggling to free himself. When hd saw. the Imprisoned , enemy that inlld-nytnnete<t; spft-iipoken old soldier tlmt P was shut' up with would have o(teneA the door and shot tho struggler If I hadti<j-stypped hint. J nis mowing up or tfle bWop nettled the shower-bath business, tor us. definitely. With the lirtpedltnduf* out. lot the way we had n clear view on this third side; could Vomniand the row of miners' cabins, ng^feH^i^tfife''1f>oWera In their open shed. When I got through persuading Dn?hly Hiram that we couldm't afford to murder the -wounded, the fellow who had been wrestling with the woodpile had made hie exit and there was nobody In sight. ghortly afterward a bullet, fired from somewhere in the forest background wbfcnged upon our roof, and there were several to follow; hut aside from punching a' few more holes v m the iron-they did no harm. I * '"Looks Ittce the 'Hercules' Is the one I tiring they're most sheered of," said Daddy, wltb his queer little stuttering chuckle. "jVow maybe they'll leave us have time 4e get ourselves dried eut mite." Totting up the reeulta of the showerbath we'd had, a bread famine pyom* l?%d to ho tho Vorst <*t tfiem. The few ^ rwrf nr ; ... - V ;..f '\*' ,V. - , .; - . * *<* > :UYNDE5^^^' S~?CRI BNER,S"r5oNS^a^ i ^ ' ?*?;/%?. hurt, of course: and tlio muddled baconcould be "Maslted with *viitejY drawn, from the flooded'-slmft lint Hu> in.;..-. In Iti oack was merely, n blob*/, unste and was beyond .rede?Hpti?n ..and the comment tlie snm<j. :|Jn vlesy-of tlie results I ^yondorejtl If ifuUerton' hadn't shrewdly-calculated upon wishIns our cbiiun;ssary out of existence, when he planned his overgrown lawnsprlnkjer. Rut maybe that was flying hlni credit for more Ingenuity than, he really Imd. ??>r- ? Tlirobgh what, remained of.'he afternoon the rifle firing continued, coming soinetlm's from one angle fi,nd sometimes from another, but always.'can-' nlly fiom n.safo distance ah<rhl\Vt?a under cover of the surrounding forest. Daddy |ulrttm,; grimly-, optimistic; . ex>, fractcd'n swallow er so of ?nc(*uro?e m'ent out of" the persistent pot-slioot'"K , "Dunno as you've ever noticed It, Stnnnle, but. If you'll, pnly let n ling alone long enough he'lf shove himself i .under ^lie bob-wire fence far enough* j to get cnught," he said. "ChnrUjy 'Roller! on, now; he's fiTuih* "forgot-Aimt*< 'Tropin's less ''n five tnlles. away-and > that Round * Carries mighty long distances In' these mountnlhs in clear weather." , t . "What dlffereivcfe does that nigkQ?' I asked. ., ^ : "It may make ,a heap o' difference.. Looks to . me like somebody-^ RUd/iy Fuller.,'r Jtm Hagg^rty, file seotidh' boss, *1: some of 'em' down yonder-'d. begin a-wonderln', after a spell," what { In tnrnntion all tills here' btasttn' anil | rllle.-poppln' up on old -Clnmibar-ls a ! ? p'lntln* at and come and see." "Do you think the racket will carry that far?" . r . ' "It sure will. One night ajfpre 'Tro pla'had gone as dead as sjie; is now. a ; bunch o' cowpunch's got into "ah' Arfcy- ! ' meat at Rlue-nose Rill's jilace and we j heard the ornckln' and poppln* up ! here Jennie and me?like it.was #?st over yonder In Greaser gulch." "Well?" said'I, "If ybur neplfeav oT*. any of the others hear It, what*theaJfV1 As I asked t>lie. question one- of -the. I lmr.nltJ'i<l hint.- t- ?*. " - ? ...........v.. oiiuiii niit iiuuuKn uuf f nie [ of the building, struck the.Iron frame of the hoist, lln^tej)f<J,, Itself and dropped'ihtotl)^ ?^1^nian's igp. I'fclfr Ing .?p, t)ip .liot* hjt. of iyijrf "to^dufinie' 1 It from, hand Jo' hapfl ?e .Yfc'nt"'dn much' as if'packing un buOe'ts'tb^f Vefd^flrteJj " at htm had been' hts dnfly r^fiVntlon'. 1 "Curiosity killed the* Vat, '-$Strfuine/ son^ Vou let some ohe* o"'* thb folks /lown yohd^r In 'Tropla aay, 'Py gol-r- ' j.I winder whit all that sliootlq'p, f<&?,' and * thift ndxt thing you know, soniebofly'll^be nioggln' up here to find out. ' Along aboyt dp.sk. aorpe member of the besieging party tried'to make g recbhhui&muce, I happened tbUekeopIng tl\e lookout oh" ^he .chbfte rsld& of- our fortress and saw a utair-dodgiiig among the pines back or the house. .Win-n i Reported to Daddy he look a snap shot at the place ,1 pointed out to him ipid (here was ? wild yell and a stic in the 'young pines as though a hog were galloping through them. . "Just .to let * *enr-khow that we're still alive and Iflekin',*' said the old man, with another ofhis quavery | chuckles. "I reckon' .maybe .that's j what they Was alniln' to-find out," .I'osslbly It was. At oil events, the.! rifle fire stopped with the coiniug of i darkness, and as we faced our secohd' j night of defense we hud plenty of time to sit around and think and speculate I "upon- what* the outcome was going to Ive. Tnklng It all fn all, it wna tlie fantastic humor of the thing that lilt me ' hardest. Six short weeks enrller people at home had beea- culling me nil. the hard names tliut fall .tot .the lot of the-Idle ne'er-do-well; a y.oung chap" with enough Inheritance money to*?eep lilm In ties and shoes* and shirts find to buy gas for his car?though" thai lust asked for u good bit on the rising j cost of gusollhe?and* not enough to i make life, or anything connected therewith, very, much worth while. ^Iso these same people were saying ?behind my back, pf course, but there were always pltfntj^of them to repeat the saying to niy' fage?that I was good stock gone to seed, would never '(iniount to n hill of beans In anything that asked for initiative or resourcefulness, or primitive rough stuff of any sort ; thut I was dne to go on dolling myself up and playing skittles to the end of the chapter?which would probnlhy stage 11 self *4 n an asylum for the. | feeble-minded. Also, again, at that ' sihih1 time, flhloli wan six Weeks?or j six .thousand yeursr'-ngo, I wan' encaged t<> IilMtltl with mighty little -v'lrihuepect -ofifc a wt I ag-,.11? r r. be sttte, 1 hut with no thoUghtN>iT* in i fr rg nny ' .body j^so. . , t tjw ** i * -"Ami novnr~.^ .^1 Igj/Klr'il' nround nt the ahndowy walls of the grim ofH Oln*' nebar shaft-house, looming darkly nnd I still dripping, tick, tack, from their j ' enrly-afternoon mud bath; fejt my sog. | gy clothes; stared across at Daddy, I Hiram sitting backed ;ftp .against the | hoist with Ids legs Jiidkkrflfed nnd his < hands looked over Ids ktvees; It wns a grotesque pipe dream; there wns no other rniie for It. 1 hrolce out in a I In ugh that wan a bellow., "SpJlt It up. Stannic," urged the old i tnnn dryly. "1 allow yoO alp't goln* | to be close-fisted enough to keep a good j joke alt to yourself In no such a hoedown as this." I Til try," I said, and did It the bert I knew how, giving him some Idea of the life I had lived and Its earth-1 wide, abyetnal difference from the es> | pertence o* the, peat six weeks. -m B| i. 1 4 '?;V??; I* , ^ * 7?* I Stared Acros* at'Daddy Hiram. eat in* wltli ti flal foTk V nil right, Stnnnlt, hut they don't make the man iVr Ihe woman ; there's got to be some-' thin' inside; somethin' a heap bigger than niiyio' them things." . . "Qulje sp/'^aclpvltled.. . .Another silence .an^i nt.,flie..,<yhl ol It jhe old* plirtbsopher again.: s. "Ybu be?tf* sore tibqut iny .Jkanio, sinc^* yesterday '. . .. She's Jjcen ehtln' your grun-paw's'hreud. like" me, and you .thought, .ami I thought;' that she might at tleast. 've waited a little spell awu-e^ sjhe run oft with Charley liullerton.' Mnyjie we've been jumpin' lit things' tfto WmUien, Stannie. 'What made her1 tfife' 'way' up'yhnder -to Greaser skill)' to catch^thnt trait)? , Am} how coute..t:?ljiii,rley l}uU?rtrm to'1 iharr'y'her. oye day t\nd he pp here ^ wit lights uuh61i d* gpnuicn by dajhyak the h?j?" mornln'?" * ' ' "Has Jvnmile.lYiendsiji Angels with Wh'oin she could be "staying?*} VasKcd. ""Xot/n single soul. . He'd n.-had to ' leave her.at the Chink's hotel; and ' that jnip'f no place for a woman, juarrted..h" t'ortiujyuse." -' . "Hut supposing they didn't go to Angels?". . ' VThere ain't no other place they ! "could go and Jet li^n ^ .JijicKwPSt y?U might say, iif'thrf'biune "day." , "tiny It all; fintlfly," I prompted. , .'Vl'here ain't'- much to say. Stnnnje, . hoy, ,'ceptiu' what I Vrfid afore, that ' mayho we'd- been ^jwhipifi' at -thing's -sort o* blind-like. Johnnie's got a heap o' sense?if 1 tfo say It as shouldn't? ami the whole gee-Vipittln' thing, as we theeii putliji* it up. ain't no more iilce her than printer's .Uke dog days.". . jn^'iWur >^th*5iAiject Into* it cornel' \vp were both speechless for .a llt'tlcHnie and l.ilvju^lt wiphaliuost with a sense of relieX. that we. sprang alert Wllen-(lie dlt!' till llOl-tn -r - n ? I""* 'I"/0".* | at our foot, jiuftpcd'iip'nnd ran to liold nils nose at the. .th*ssbokh of tip;- door ' opening upon .tlm tjunip heud. ; ??... ' *?? , >'?. ; . |i.? ' CHAPTER XV'I >*" . ' *. (* ? 1 " . ' ' Burnt-Matcher. * ~ Following the dog. to the'dn&r,t we' could neither *see>Vnttr-lfpur"anything* going on ouKsjd<>, though Barney's Knittings under ure door.i and Ids low growl warned uff ,'y pit something was afoot, either on. tli^ dump head or in .the, partly wreeUedeahin beyond. , While we were KtiJl peeping and peeping, each at Ids augordiple- and each ready take anioflfltand s^ot at anything that seemed suspicious, the siletice of the mountain night was rippetj and torn h.v the most hhlebus clamor digaglnahle, arising, apparently, hi the capin or perhaps froiy the gloving of , treps Just hehind It. The racjcT-t w^s deafening; comparable tb notlnhg that ;Td pver heard; a inagidtied orchestra-, tion, so In speak, of the paiidetuhniiiin made by u eiowd of country hoys (Serenading a newly -.iiuwrifcij pair with tin pans and such-like* iiolpe-jnaking .Implements. " ' v. ' * "What 111 the name n' IfioKaiii* tered Daddy lllrnun- > "Reckon them.. gosh-dutmned plriiteerH 've goue.plurii'' loony?" t;, / ' ' "Walt," I qwnjlf1y& apd<I. hacf*tif': shout to moke myself (heard. ,*'Th?nrflt.i be more to l'o'jow. This lsf oplyfthV \ curtnln-rnlser." . . ?*?'?'* But my guess appeared, tq' be no . good. For quite some UtW .time we crout'l^pd, .gun's at the rtuulv,- prepared to repel, the nssiiuK' tvhloh wejfiaturally supposed \\Couhf he *ftiu<tip " under cover"of the '(tiaftractlng, r^clKt/ IHit There whatio n^sjmJ^tl^pgl*{h^jueqninglvss -^tnirmr .k^pt^p^vjthapt, abate-, j ineut. * ? , * * ' . y ,,J, # m j, i By the time we wete ^beginning to grow a.trillc hardened to It the1?lumor ' stopped as abruptly J un<db had fioglm and the *1leiua; Jfcliiclj p*p<jeee#e?l} \\n?s ' even more deafeq^ig^tl^jji tliO'/ncrlsd 1 had hqen, AVhllfltf l^uc^cd l coUfd see . dim figures fterfliifg flqvfh rtve road h that "led to tfVL Daddy say: -i'NOw.MfiWln the naiqe l o' .Tehohictililif?" *t >? ** *-':V' r - , w, *1 If<e Wart turned nwny ?r#m WIsMiedp-,, hole .mid I-eoulft. tatticirllifrS^oe, | (lint lie was rtrty>lj>ic his eyes. 'flieti'l-* realized, thal unpti. my, .also, fa* sudden- * l)!liyU?'|s JTh^^P I tj>o lntyrbn\ of ; thf* shaft hottse had heyyjne^fij^ hh thV) inwiWo? of h.pocket. Tly? rtfTjeot wii's do StupofyWi^ tjunt It joojc, hQfJl ufr Ub rf miigw?? thv' W, to. yndermiiyl j, that sotoifc/cfcanjco ?#ni Aft vmacrmible "findtH$d yiiJuT Iji, us or In our Hurton^|M0K?>.ItfyrlUM jthe noisy Interlude'.! . . . * "(Jrenrt * JehtVl!*- 'exqfblmCd' il.it' old mant-iljougV'Jto, wah within arin'fi-'reach I oAi^til^urfke him out only aa a rtlm sh^doW??<lrent Jehu ! I?I b'lleve I'm rfirtu' hllh^ .Stapnle! I?I cnnt ^ ?ee notfriln. s'-tiiH I" / "I >011^ worry." I hastened to say; "I'm Jn the wpirie l>o4t. We're been looking too Jonjt' and steadily through those ahger-hofca. It'lJ pass In a tnlnnte." ' . But It didn't pais and presently the voice of my old side partner came again out of the darkness. "I"rapa It's cloudln' up some," he suggested In a half-whisper. "1 can't see no atart through theju wlndowj." ' 5 At >thlf I looked Reward the window openings, but the Interior bl#chn?s#- * q - T| / 1 1 ^ i\. C&h\.glanye * ?? enough. The trouble, whoever It might he. was with us nifd I not\wi>v! the. .sl^v.; The stars were I ' sKlnliig n* hi igidly .as over. >11 "Don't move. Daddy." I can'ioned; ?t|d theh* pooped uiy way alOhg' the wall ami climbed to the top of our earth-sack breastwork at a point wtilch I guessed t<S under the nearest of the two windows. ' .', *> When I drew myself up jtpd t'ledio thrust ^ a... hand -through the opening 'thV " irt^rfterfous darkness was explained. "The window embrasures were stopped up. both of'theui, on the..outside by something that 1'eH like - a heavy canvas curtain, though how the curtain was held In place I:could not determine. But It was firmly braced In some way. ,Wi.th air the purchase 1 could ge(?\yhlch wasn't much?1 couldn't dislodge .It or, push It aside. flaking my* way .hack to the door I'tOTd Daddy what I had found. "llnh!" he said; "that old tarpaulin . that was out yoiider In the ore shed. How d'ye reckon they got it there, Stitnnte?" .' ? "it'o i ? - ? -,>.ui.ucu vii it umeworK or some kind, nnd they did It while we were rubbering and .trying.to:4ind out \vb at n 11 111 a t nol se- was about.". , We w'ere nqt* kept ^ery long In doubt asftb what "the next enemy tnove was to be. With the cessation of the tout torn Clatter the collie had grown curiously res.tless. ,We couldn't see him, but we could hear him, runnlijg from-, pbst tor-pin t?t, Knlfhng at the cracks! and occasionally giving a whining growl. rtVtfently. fle began to cough f and sneeze; then he enure racing back j to us, -flatteqln^. himself to hold his.;nbse'to the crack under-;tlie'door and-^ taking long breaths as If he were hulf t stifled. I stooped to pat him and lm- j mediately Iniaglned I was smelling " burning sulphur matches. -,,"Ctet down here, Daddy, and smell this dog 1" 1 whispered. "Is - It old- ' fasillonvd mntqhes, or what?" . One sniff was.all that the old man peede.d.-?'i-" 's\ . ,."Gosd#to-gee-whlz??brimstone 1" he choked; . "them devils are smokln' us out'! That's why they stopped up tltein window holes; so we couldn't get any!air!" p ,v .There appeared to he'little enough time for nny defensive move.' The asphyxiating .gjrs was (bi'ning stronger, every moment,'and-any search^ foj-Its source seemed utterly hopeless. Yet we went at It, coughing and 'choking, prid. stumbling* over, everything In the! darknesk/hs'h matter of course.*- 1 Aft/T"all It"was Barhe$ wlib (I-honor ... him with the human pronoun because :h& certnitHy ideser'ved It) It was liar-j nef who .showed us the devil's dbor.wny. The, red glow was now sendingJ etiough light through cracks and crevices nnd the bullet rlpplngs overhead i to make our Iniier darkness a degree or so less thiih Sty^tfl/in. .Missing the . dog ^ for n* moment'at our common \ breathing hole, we satv* hiin clrcllilg'fc'' particular spot in.the lloor nnd snnrt-H" Ing at It as If It were something alive.! AJj-Uint- vjchoth remembered that tthe shaftlyxtise. floor .was.raided a foot of so from the rocky ledge on the;, down-mountain^ side'- nnd that the space underneath was partly open. Daddy pointed to the' circling dog. * "Barney's got It!" 'he * panted. "They've run their chimney up'und^r the floor 1" Then: ; " Where In* S"am HLH did you leave that ax?" ^ The she was neur.'nt hand' and I ran 1 for It. Holding my breath I began to chop'mndly at the floor plnnking. By .1 this time the afr was so bad that It 1 - ' 1 ' VH* v.- ? f j ? if.pad^ T^>,bk.HUr^(i# Instantly. v* thai we've gof *UrJJ?e,.jpu^cd~"'even at- ; the'. A-rjen.se n hew wmftlinhse_ .ftiif'fi^Altlng no\v machinery. rti'dncert fiis infn'ij, when.!- , 'he kiy>w4M4t;il fu? <?ouhl starve us out In * lV,f *, r ytl *.l;?!e^',li?|ifkln' *itpont Hint, right. ' wonder liuu> till the wind?sonietMli' jyfe d<>n7t AUQW - tjdn?."' ' tii.,v"Sh ia&frp. Jnat for the sa!;o of .ttrffiiindjrif,* thf.t ?o.ur' firnl fjue^ was right: Hiiaf-hV dfd tuk? , Jeanie t? * a*' init<r*fcfMe to Ineatliy. it, and after -a Jet* Ijlo'vVs I l|)i(l fo yf6[?'tlui ax aud? . ruirfu tIi?nl*K'iifKi*ife: tHVp'. i>ndfly look # ^K,it?urt sjifticlrfriK 'nj? the ax as 1 it it i ix/i t down and hacking away us long as lie cotlhl hold his hrcutli. When he was forced to make ? hull for the life-saving hole in the door, 1 ran in ligain; thus got a couple <>T tlie floor plunks loose uinl piled them out. : In the space beneath the opencrackoi) floor we found liullerton's ohlnuicV end ; an old discarded boiler fine, It seemed to he, leading up from 'the beiieh below. From unearthibg tiie .deadly thing to muzzling It irflh one' of our wet hlunk?*s was the breathless work of only a minute or two; ahd with the gas-main thus shut off, tho air in the sliaftliouse aoon became Ijcarnble again, tho hole we had chopped through the floor serving M a ventilator thropgh whlch^JfcT cool, crisp night gtr cam$ jjsaltfbg in a re '* v .*? ,k - ' : ' a* ?;?. < = open ho that the breeze might blow through and air the place out a hit. Closing and barfing the doors after the sulphur stench had been reduced to a mere match-box odor, we established our night-watch, Daddy Hi rain taking the first "trick under a -solemn promise to call me at the end of n couple of hours. This time he behaved better, rousing nie a little before midnight.' He reported everything quiet, and'pointed to the sleeping dog as evidence that there were no Intruders within smelling distance. "Been that-away ever since you turned in," he said, meaning, as 1 took It, that the dog had been resting easy. 'iYou can just keep an eye on Barney. If anything goes to stirrin', he'll know It afore you will." Nothing did stir; and after Daddy had gone to wrap himself In his damp blankets, I had my work cut out for me keeping awake; in fact, 1 shouldn't want to swear Unit 1 who fnii?. during all of the one hundred and twenty minutes that my sentry-go lasted. No matter about that. Bullerton didn't spring any more surprises on us during my watch; and when I turned the fortress over' to Daddy at two o'clock I. was able to pass the "all quiet" report bnck to him and go .to the .blankets with an easy conscience. I had Just dropped asleep, as It scenie'd to'iue?though In reality 1 had slept like a log for more Jhan two hoyrs?-when Daddy Hiram came to shake me awake. "Somethln' dqttiY\ he announced quietly, and when I sat up I saw that the collie was moving uneasily from one doyr .to the othw. stopping now and tlteii to stand motVnless with his ears cocked and itis head on one side: "Barney hears something," I ventured ; and a moment Inter Daddy broke in: "Huh! it's plain enough for my old ears, now; It's a wagon cotton' ncross the bench." Now the presence of a wagon on our bench at this early hour In the morning might' mean either one of two diametrically opposite things: Our deliverance; or the upcoming of reinforcements for the millers. We were not left loug In dmiht. Shortly after tlio rack-rack of the wagon wheels ?VtPP?d \ve heard footsteps, and the hair stiffened on Barney's hack. Next we heard Bullerton's voice, just* outside and apparently under our window openings. '^Broughton!" the voice called; "can you- hear me?" "So well that you'd better keep out of range!" I snapped back. "All right?listen. You've got to got but, Rrougliton?that's flat. I haven't wanted *to go to extremes. For perfectly vflivious and common pi nee reasons I don't want tn have to kill you to get rid of you. But we are not going, to gentle you any more. You've already hurt four ?>f my men. and two of tip' four are orinnlod. Tin* n.w* tlinejfrej hit j on, it'll bo for a finish." "1^8,1 said T. "Von brought the ne\\*ehi)> up in a wagon, didn't you?" He ignored -this. could starve you out if wo phose to take the time. 'I know pretty well what you've got to eat?or rather wjiat-you haven't got. It's your privlIege; to take your life in your own hands, ilronghton; that's up to you. Hut how about the old man?" "The old man's a-plenty good and ahle to speak for hlsself!" yapped Daddy.1 "You* do your durndest, Chnrh'y Iiullerton !" "AW fight, once more. You'll hear frnni'?us directly, now; and as I said befora, we've quit gentling you. That's my l^t word." : For,# time after tills the silence, and the darkness, since It was the hour befdre.,dawn, were thick enough to be cut vv'tti an ax. Dut the dc? t?t,3 more restless than ever, and we knew that ..something we could neither see northern- must be going.' on. After a ivhlle I* asked the question that had been worrying me ever since I had fiea'rd tjie wagon wheels. ' "What did .they bring up In that tvagbA'. ,Daddy?n Gnfling?" "Tlii. Iiord only knows, Sta,nnle?and riJ AXi,u! i?ll It * pr.ii i irii, wan me old prospector's reply, tliade with no touch of Irreverj.ace; and the words twerQ scarcely out if . his ' mouth before a thunderbolt Jtruck the shahbouse. I ' , CHAPTER XVII. 1 "t% . Tit for Tat !'That Jjord "thunderbolt" Is hardly t'Agul-e t>f speech. The thing that hit is coufdn't be compared to anything flllrier "tjian thpuder and lightning. l'l?Cro tvhfc n flash, a rending, ripping ( ar.ns 1f the solid earth were splltinjj in (wo,and [he alr,was tilled with SOUR STOMACH INDIGESTION Dl-.t. n Ai *? f * i ucuivi u uiaca-uiuugni nigQJj Recommended by a Tenneisee -:?. * f Grocer (or Troubles Re* suiting from Torpid ' layer. East Nashville, Tenn.? The efflo iency of Thedford's Black-Draught, the genuine, - herb, liver medicine, Is vouched for by Mr. W. N. Parsons, a grocer of this city. "It Is without doubt tho best llvor medicine, and 1 don't bellevo I could get along without it I take it for sour stomach, headache, bad liver, Indigestion, and all other troubles that are the result ol a torpid llvar. *1 have known and used It for years, ahd can and do highly recommend It to every one. I won't go to b$d with out it in the house. It win do all It claims to do. I can't say enough foi ItMany other men and women throughout the country hare found BlackDraught Just as Mr parsons describe* ?valuable In regulating the liver to Its normal functions, and In cleansln? the bowels of Impurities. Thedford's Blank-Draught liver m*U sine is the original and only genoln* I ^ dying fragments and splinters. Air, I say, but the acrid, choking gas which filled the shafthouse could scarcely be called air. ^'Dynamite?that's what they fetched In that wagon !" gurgled the old man at my side, and I could have shouted for Joy nt (be mere sound of his voice, since It was an assurance that he hadn't been killed outright. "It's only a question of a little time, now, Paddy," I prophesied. "What you said yesterday?that Ilullerton would try to get possession without destroying the property?no longer* holds good. He has evidently decided Angels three days ago and that they were married there. Yon know- your daughter, Daddy, and I know her, a little. Nobody hut an idiot would suppose that she'd live with Ilullerton as his wife for a single minute If he makes himself your murderer." "It sure does look tliat-awny to a man up a tree," admitted the stout old fighter. "I'm hanging on to the llttln hope IIUo - .1 -- - a <iux 10 n root, untidy," I confessed. "If I can only keep on believing Unit they're not married, I can put tip a better .fight, or be snuffed out?If 1 haw to be?with a good few less heart-burnings." But at this the old man, who, no longer ago than the yesterday, had seemed to lean definitely toward the no-marriage hypothesis, snddenly changed front. "Don't yon go fco-hnnkln' on anything like that, Stannie, son," he said in a tone of deep discouragement. "Charley Bullerton's a liar, from the place where they make ilars for a livin', and 'taln't goin' to be no trick a-tnH for him to make Jennie, and a lot o' other folks, b'lleve that we blowed otfrselves up wltli our own dynamite. No, sir; don't you go to "hankin' on tlint." "Tlien you do believe that Jennie went with Bullerton?" "Looks like there ain't nothing else left to believe," he asserted dolefully. "I.nok at It for yourself, son: she's been gone three whole days. If she hadn't gone with him?and the good Lord only knows whore else she could have gone?don't you reckon she'd 've It. en hack here long afore this? No, ?tnnnie; we been lettln' the 'wish It was' run away with the 'had to be.' I reckon we Just got to grit our teeth, son. and tough It out the best we can." During tills waiting Interval, which seemed like hours and was probably only a few minutes, we were momentarily expecting another crash. It did not come; but in due course of time we heard a stir outside nud then voices, and one of the voices, which was not Builerton's said; "I'll bet that ca'tridge smoked 'em out good an' plenty, cap'n. Glmiue th' ax, Tom, till we bu'st open the door an* have a (Continued on last page) EGGS?Golden laced Wyandottes, White Wyandottes $1.50 per sotting of 15 eggs, f ltp J. H. Rjvers, Chesterfield 4 COUNTY TA: State Ordinary County Roads Bridges > Total Cheraw Marburg Orange llill Bats Branch Pee Dee Stafford Bethel Center Point Chesterfield jrurKer Pine Grove . . Ruby hiloh Snow Hill StalTord Vaughan Wamble Hill Black Creek Center Center Grove Cross Roads ML. Croghan Ruby Wexford Winzo Zion , BulValo Dudley , Five Forks . . Mangum Pagcland Plains Zion Angelus Center Grove , Clurks ' ' Jefferson Macedonia Plains ... v Bay Springs ureen llill . Lcland Middcndorf ' Me Bee Providence \. Sandy Bun Union * Hay Sprinjpr--.' i BearJSf?ek ... i Bethcsda Juniper 1 Middendorf 1 Patrick .. ( Pats Branch Branch' ' Shiloh i Stafford i White Oak Cat Pond ......}. I Juniper <a Ousley * * " . flS? *' i * ^ L?inton ': ^ - m gas ' jjtffa Its Own PlftttiS v Mr. Brown was until recently a deacon in the Methodist church In hit town. But. recently lie not only withdrew from his houtfred position, but ceased to be as regular an attoudaat at church as formerly. The .minister, who mine to call at the Brown home, demanded the reason for this failure. "My rheumatism Is much worse than it has been for years," Mr. Brown be- ^ gun, "and I cannot walk so far." "Tut, tut I" laughed the minister, **I believe It is a lack of religion." "Sir," Mr. Brown drew himself up ttrnily, "my religion is in my heart-*not iu my legs."?Indianapolis Newt. Silence Is Golden. .. _ ? Harper's Weekly tells a story of two soldiers who ban been waiting fer.-'V'V weeks for a letter from home. Finally ? one of them received a letter with-the r, home-town, post mark on It, but when he oneiietl It ?it? ?-?v|? *? . **!' c nap I1VUIII1| IJ1side l?ui a piece of paper blank on both sides. . His buddy laughed. "You havent got anything on me," he said. "That's no letter." Sure it is, said the one who was holding the silent missive. "It's a letter from my wife. We're not speaking to each other." L. H. TROTTI, i Dental Surgeon .1 Chesterfield, S. C. Office on second floor in Ross J. ARTHUR KNIGHT Attorney-et-Law Office in CourthooM Chesterfield, S. C. R. L. McMANUS Dentist Cheraw, S. C. . At Chcstcreld, Monday A Pageland, Tucday. At Mt, Croghan, Wednesday morning Ituby, Wednesday afternoon Society Hill, Thursday Cheraw, Friday and Saturday THE UNIVERSAL CAR CARS, TRUCKS, TRACTORS SERVICE PART? LUCAS AU10 CO. i discharge notice t. . .., . On 15th March, lt>22, at 11 o'clock A. M? I will apply to the Probate Court for a discharge as Administrator of the estate of E. C. Adams, deceased. J. F. Campbell, Administrator, X LEVY 1921 j 12 mill* 6 mills > 6 mills j * 1 .28 mills ~j s | ! I ? ' g l.s ~ ? .1 ? ? >l I g f | fi, ? & I I p j I ? I 1 28 12 4 1% 46% 1 28 8| . 1% 37% 28 5 1% 34 % 28 8 1% 37% 28 3 4 1% 36% 28 8 2 1% 39% ....28 8 5 41 28 j 8 8C . ... 28 j 16 4% 48% 28 I 8 3 89 ?,??!.? ze AOj 6 4* 53 * .... 28 8( 2 S8 28 8j 6 82 .... 28 8| ! 2 88 .... 28 8 ? 88 28 8 RB .... 28 10 6 48 .... 28 10 6 48 .... 28 8 6- 6 47 .... 28 8 6 5 46 28 16 6 4 6 68 1 28 16 5 4* 5 58 28 8 & 6 46 .... 28 8 8 5 41) 28 8I 7V4 5 48* 28 8 4 46 .....28 8 ofl M 8 88 28 8 86 28 16 7* 61* 28 8 8 44 .... 28 8 7* 4314 28 8 7 6 41 . . . . . 2K S ? - -1 -- "| ? o my ? ;l 8i 6 ? <? 23 ?| e 5 58 I,23 ?l S '6 44 '/g8 I g8l M I *? 28 8| cj 6 48 28 8j 10 6 52 28 8| 10 6 62 ..... 28 8| 5 0 47 I 28 |18^| | 4%J ?7 , 8 2 6 80 ..... 28 8 6 42 I 28 8 6 0 48 I 28 8 6 42 28 8 80 28 11 ...... |28 3 81 28 8 6 41 28 15 4 47 28 8 8< 28 8 2 a? .....28 8 2 88 28 8 0 4I I 2b 8 0 5 28 8 M 28 12 5 4| ..... 28 18 41 49 28 I . A . 4I .A ^