1
.Jf'
T
The boys ore coming back,
The boys who fought bo well!
They have given up hardtack .
or a spell-
Coming home with arms In slings,
And with splints upon their legs,
And they are going to have things
In kegs
Or barrels, If they want them, you betl
They are going to get
The best we've got. '
ThafB what!
Anything they see
From a railroad to a pound of tea,
Is theirs if they want it and
The fat of the land
Is going to be laid beside their cots
What's
The matter with giving them the earth,
hey?
They've earned it, anywayl
Hooray
For the boys who are coming back,
The boys who fought so well
Who are giving up hardtack
For a spell!
Cleveland Leader.
A GRIM WAGER.
I.
"Speshul! spes-shul! Orrible murder
In the Dalton road!" And then again
another voice, pitched In a higher key,
took up the cry on the farther side of
the street "Speshul! Speshul!" and
the rest was lost In Incoherency as the
sound of the voices, mingled and in
tertwined, gradually faded away In the
distance.
"What a loathsome noise that is!"
Bald Peel, with a shudder. "There Is
something positively ghoulish about it."
"It always gives me the creeps, es
pecially at night. It suggests all sortB
or horrible, morbid Ideas," Joined In Le
lange, who was perched on the model
throne, smoking Innumerable clgnr
ettes. Kovno, the owner of the studio, said
nothing, but smiled in a rather su
perior way. He was a person of some
what unusual taste his pictures be
trayed him in that.
We were rather a cosmopolitan crowd
gathered tn the big studio that night.
Lelange was a merry, light-hearted lit
tle Frenchman, clever to the tips of
his restless fingers, but quite Incapa
ble of serious work. Peel and myself
were English painstaking, not wholly
unsuccessful, but without half Le
lange's versatility. Ferguson was
Scotch serious and argumentative, and
Kovno the owner of the studio was a
Pole by birth, though much of his life
had been lived In Paris and London.
He was two or three years older than
the rest of us. As far as his art was
concerned he was brilliant, orlglnnl and
startllngly unpleasant the head of a
dreamer. Usually a reticent man, he
would at rare intervals flash out into
a fiery, animated flood of talk, accom
panied by wild gesticulation.
Only one other person was in the
studio Dora Smith, our model a pret
ty, nervous little person, at present
moment toasting her toes at big stove
and enjoying a cigarette during her
well earned rest.
"Well, there's only one good thing
about a murder," said Ferguson "It
will out! And that, as a rule, ends in
hanging."
"Nonsense, my dear chap!" said Kov
no. "It's only the clumsy idiots who
are found out. Any one who isn't a
fool could kill as many people as he
pleased and never be even suspected
if you grant him an average amount of
luck."
Ferguson shook his head doubtfully.
"It takes more than brains to make
a successful murderer," Bald he. "It
would require an absolute lack of
nerves or Imagination, call It what you
please. Ugh;" he went on with a
shudder "if ever 1 got led Into any
thing of the sort I should never know
another peaceful moment as long as
I lived."
Lelange had been drumming a sort of
"danse Macabre" on the model throne
with his heels, and struck a tragic at
titude which made Dora laugh.
"I wish you wouldn't all be so hor
ribly gloomy," she said. "I believe this
great big barn of a studio is haunted.
Do, for goodness' sake, talk about
something ctwerful!"
"It's not gloomy at all; It's most
cheerful," persisted Kovno. "I don't
mind 'owning that the possibilities of
undiscovered crime have a great fas
cination for me."
"The possibilities of an undiscovered
shilling in my trousers would be more
attractive to me personally," said Peel,
ruefully, surveying his worldly pos-
sesslons. "Archie" turning to me "we
shall have to pod the hoof tonight
Can't afford an omnibus."
Frank Peel and I, It would be well
to explain, share a large attic, which
we dignify by the name of studio, In
the region of Wandsworth.
"I am willing to bet," Kovno con
tinued, without noticing the Interrup
tion, "I am willing to bet that I could
commit a murder without a possibility
of detection." He was getting Into one
of his excitable moods and gesticulat
ing freely.
"Rubbish," said I, laughing. "Anyone
can talk like that. But in the first place
it's absurd; and In the second, I don't
suppose for a minute that you'd be such
an abject fool as to try."
Kovno laughed at that, for by na
ture he was one of the mildest creatures
imaginable.
"No, no. I don't mean to say that I
want to harm any one In particular
for the mere satisfaction of proving to
a parcel of lunatics that I am talking
common sense; but still I maintain I
could do so."
"Well, you prove It to me, and I'll
take your bet," said I, Jeering.
"Will you?" he asked.
"Of course I will," I replied: "Frank
we'll have a dinner on the strength of
thlB."
"Done with you, then," said Kovno
"I'll bet you five pounds to a shilling.
I sold a couple of sketches today."
"That's nil very well," put In Fer
guson slowly, "but short of actually
murdering the man, and then confess
ing to us in which case we should In
evitably trot you off to the nearest po
lice station how are you going to give
us proof of your ability.
Kovno thought for a moment.
"Look here," he said, speaking quick
ly, "supposing I manage to spirit n
man away and cause him to vanish for
a week ten days, if you like without
any Inquiries' that may be made en
abling any one to connect me with the
matter; and supposing that I obtain a
written confession from that man, ac
knowledging that It was In my power
to kill him, If It so pleased me, will
that satisfy you?"
"It's hardly a fair test," grumbled
Ferguson. "Still, I suppose you can't
manage better short- of actually com
mitting a crime."
"You'll have the deuce to pay when
you let him go, suggested Lelange.
"I shall make his release conditional
on no further steps being tnken," nn
swered Kovno. "Come, are you satis
fled?" After a little more discussion the
terms were agreed to, and Ferguson
was appointed to hold the stakts. The
meeting broke up and Peel and I stnrt
ed out on our weary way to Wands
worth.
II.
For the next three days we saw
nothing of Kovno or the others, as we
were both hard at work at the art
school. On Saturduy, however, my
weekly allowance having arrived, 1
made up my mind to go down to the
country for a few days and make some
studies. Peel couldn't come, as Dora
was sitting to him on Monday. So,
while he started off to the art school
as usual in the morning, I sauntered
out to Invest in a sketchbook. On my
way back I met Kovno. I had clean
forgotten all about the wager, and,
having an hour or so to spare, I walked
back with him to his studio. He was
In a conversational mood, and kept
chattering on about 'some wonderful
masterpiece he was starting on.
When we got to the studio a great
big barrack of a place, which had once
been used by a sculptor, and stood In
a little Isolated plot of ground back
from the road he produced some whis
ky and glasses, bade me help myself,
rolled a cigarette, and started to work.
It was a very hot day, and I had been
working late at black and white work
the night before. I leaned back drows
ily In a rickety old chair, and watched
him rapidly sketching In his picture on
a large canvas. I lit my pipe, and
took n long pull at my whisky and
water. After that I suppose I went to
sleep (I found out aftervard that the
whisky had been doctored). Anyhow,
the next thing I remember Is waking
up with a horrible shooting pain run
ning through ail my limbs. It was
pitch dark. I tried to move and stretch
myself. I couldn't budge an inch in
any direction. I waB securely bound
hand and foot. In an instant the truth
flashed upon me. Kovno had heard of
my Intended Jaunt to the country, had
lured me to the studio. What he had
doen then beyond drugging me, or
where I was, I had not the faintest
Idea. I was at the same time im
mensely relieved to remember that It
was only a Joke, annoyed to think of
the simple way in which I had been
taken In.
Hours passed, and the pain of ropes
cutting Into me was Intolerable. I be
gan to get angry Kovno was car
rying the thing too far. I shouted and
yelled till I was hoarse, and stamped
my bound feet against the wall, to
which I had rolled In my struggles.
The air was close and stifling, and there
was a foetid, earthy smell about It. 1
began to lose my nerve. I tried to
count, to reckon the time anything to
distract my attention; but to no pur
pose. At last, utterly worn out and
exhausted, I lost consciousness again.
The next thing I remembered was
a faint glimmer of light and Kovno
bending over me. He wbb laughing
silently, and his eyes glittered weirdly
In the uncertain light. I cursed him
furiously in no measured terms, but as
he only continued to chuckU to him
self In thnt hateful, silent manner, I
got more and more alarmed. I Im
plored him to undo the ropes, I prom
ised to sign any paper he liked, and
to confess that he had won his bet,
but not a word would he answer. He
merely bent down, and holding the light
nearer to me, gloated over my helpless
condition.
III.
His fnce was nil distorted by the
dancing shadows, and his eyes gleamed
In a perfectly detestable manner. Sud
denly the nwful, horrible truth dawned
upon me. He had gone mad! His mind,
always of a morbid turn, had been un
able to withstand the fascinations of
putting his theories Into practice. The
lust of secret crime had gotten hold
of him, and the man was to all Intents
and purposes a raving lunatic.
As soon as I recognized this my last
vestige of self-control left me. I bab
bled at him Incoherently, I begged. I
prayed, I flattered his cunnlg, I cursed
him, I laughed at him, all In vain. After
standing looking nt me In silence for
a short time, and evincing a keen de
light In my mental agony, he turned
and left me without a word. Hunger
and thirst soon added to my tortures.
Then the earthy smell of the place
and the absolute blackness and sllenct
must have made me delirious. I re
member nothing more distinctly save
one thing, too horrible almost to men
tlon. In one of my more lucid Inter
vals 'I became aware of Kovno sitting
at a little sketching easel, a light be
lde him, calmly and rapidly making
sketches of my distorted features, mut
tering and laughing to himself the
while.
It was only nftcr weekR of delirium
that I enme to myself, nnd found Dora
sitting beside me In my own attic In
Wnndsworth, nnd It was from her that
I learned the manner" of my escape. My
absence, It appears, was not noticed
for the first three dnys, and I was
supposed to be In the country.
Then Peel got alarmed, and he and
the others held a consultation. Two
more days passed, and nt last Dora's
suspicions were aroused by a strange
ness In Kovno's manner something
furtive, but at the some time triumph
nnt. A chance oversetting of a port
folio confirmed their suspicions, as
among the sketches were those of me
as I lay bound In the dnrkness.
A search wns Instituted and at last
I was found behind a whole pile of
lumber and studio refuse In nn old
cellar under the building In which the
sculptor, the orlglnnl tenant, used to
keep his modeling clay.
Poor Kovno became dangerously vio
lent on his return, for he hnd been ab
sent when the search was made. He
was taken to nn Inllrmnry, nnd thence
to nn asylum. The doctors say that
It Is only temporary Insanity; but then
they have never seen his eyes gleam
ing through the darkness ns I saw them
In that loathsome hole, and ns I some
times fnncy 1 see them still. Cecil
Hnyter In Answers.
Forty Die For Cuba Liberty.
Notwithstanding nil that has been
written on the subject, we still have
no adequate conception of the horrors
of the war Spain has waged on the isl
and of Cubn. It Is a story of slaugh
ter conducted on a gigantic scale. Ma
lignant and monstrous, the facts dis
grace the century.
In the bloody struggle whole fami
lies have been literally wiped out of
existence. Spnln has aimed not alone
at subjugation, but nt extermination
ns well. The story of Senora de La
trove MnclaB, a member of one of the
most distinguished families on the Isl.
nnd, shows the bitter extremes to
which the war of extermination has
been carried. Over forty of her rel
atives have yielded up their lives for
"Cuba Libre."
This covers those who died In the
last Insurrection as well as In the pres
ent revolt.
Senora Maclna' father, General Joso
de Lntrove, his brother. Valerlo, his
uncles, the most celebrated of whom
were Felix and Joaquin de Latrove, his
cousins, the husbands of his sisters
and his nephews, all these and many
more have been killed, death having
been meted out to them In the myriad
forms that only Spanish cruelty and
Spanish cunning could suggest.
Senora Macias was educated at the
convent of the Sacred Heart, Manhat
tanvllle, N. Y., and speaks of herself
as an American, as do most Cubans
who have resided for any great length
of time In the United States.
She Is a charming, matronly-looking
woman, once a noted beauty in a
country famous for the charm and
beauty of Its women. As a child of 13
she witnessed the commencement of the
last war, and as a child she saw her
father and brother the latter but lit
tle older than herself hunted like wild
beasts, and on two occasions her glib
tongue and quick wit saved them from
capture and certain death at the hands
of the Spaniards. That was to come
later.
One of her cousins, Carlos de La
trove, a mere boy, who had Just begun
his studies in the Havana medical col
lege, was shot as "an example," be
cause of some trivial breach of the
peace of which the students had been
guilty. With his school fellows he was
lined up and as the Spanish officer
counted them off each fifth boy stepped
from his place In the white-faced and
breathless file, to be led away to his
death. Carlos was one of those on
whom the fatal number fell.
Two of her uncles on her mother's
side, Juan and Francisco Modrigal,
were confined In one of the Cuban pris
ons reserved for political offenders un
til their sufferings drove them mad,
when they were liberated to die, for
they were harmless and would never
plot again.
It Is not to be wondered at that Se
nora Macias' dark eyes blaze when she
speaks of the Spaniards and of the
wrongs of her countrymen and kin
dred. As she tells it her story becomes
wonderfully vivid and real, illustrated
as it Is by gesture and the constant
play of expression.
"I do not know who of my family
have been killed since I left Cuba, for
of course It Is Impossible for me to hear
direct from the Island. Hut there can
not be many more to die. When I
came to the United States those of my
relatives who survived were in the hills
with General Gomez, or scattered
among the different Insurgent bunds.
Fortunately, I with my four daughters
and my mother were able to quit the
Itland soon after the war began." In
response to the question if the reports
of Spanish outrages have been exag
gerated in any particular, she said:
"I do not think exaggeration would
be possible. They do things that blis
ter the tongue to even tell of, and it
Is the Spanish ofllcer, the gentleman,
who Is responsible for these outrages.
The common soldiers nre poor peasant
boys, who know nothing of Cuba or
the Cubans. They are told that we
are wild beasts, and that we must be
treated as wild beasts, so they kill and
murder and do even worse, encouraged
by their officers."
BOY THAT WENT WITH TEDDY
Only boy we ever hnd,
Him thnt went with Teddy.
Tough nn husky sort o' lad,
Rough an' always ready, .
Somewhat wlldlsh In his way, v.
Ruthcr swear, I guess, than pray,
Rut as honest as the day,
Always true an' steady. . ""
Didn't like to see him go, v
Mo an his ol' mother,
Bpth our hearts a packln' woe, -'
Wo could scurccly smother. '-
Loved our boy almighty dear,
And' It knocked us out o' gear
When ho went nn' left us hero
'Lone with ono another.
Used to set here every night,
Me an' my ol' woman, ,
Tnlkln' 'bout the wny he'd fight '
When he met the foeman. -
Knowed he'd never flinch n bit,
Knowed he wnsn't built to quit, ,
Knowed, fur sure, he'd never git
Rack a Inch fur no man.
Ofn 'fore we'd go to bed 5" " .
I could sec her kneelln',
An' 1 knowed It wns fur Ned "
That she was nppenlln'. .
Ab fur me, I never lenrned
How to prny, nn' In me burned
Kind of nn onensy, durncd
Guilty sort o' feelln'.
When the Denver paper cum
To the ranch a tellln'
'Rout the fight, I made things hum
Dnncln an' a yellln'l
Whooped fur Teddy nn' the rest
With the wildest sort o' zest,
While the heart within my breast
Was with pride a swellln.
Keep a readln' on nn' on ,-
Whooped till mother hinted -
Thnt I acted like I'd gone
Actunlly demented!
Then a cloud came o'er my skies,
An' 1 groaned In pained surprise
As I gazed with frozen eyes
On some names they'd printed.
Nothln' thnt the neighbors said
Could our sorrows lighten,
Every time they'd mention Ned,
Seemed the cinch 'd tighten!
Only gleam o' sun thnt shot
Through our souls with mls'ry fraught
Was the one consolln' thought
That he died a flghtln'.
Denver Post.
OVER THE OLD TRAIL.
(Ry E. E. Rowles.)
"I took a ride In one of them pnlnce
cars while I waB gone,'.' said "Hank"
as he took a scat on a box In the shade
of the big mesqulte tree In front of
the cook house where the boys of the
day shift generally congregate after
supper to smoke and talk over the In
cidents of the dny.
Sixty-six years ago his parents back
In the states had christened him An
gusAngus Rrown; sixteen years after
he disappeared and came to the surface
down In New Orleans; disappeared
again, and the next heard of him he
was with Scott down In the City of
Mexico. From there he went to Cen
tral America some cay on a filibuster
ing expedition; Hank won't talk about
It himself then through the West In
dies and back home. But the "West
ern" reserve was too far east to please
Hank, and he headed toward California.
In those days everything west of the
Mississippi was vague and indefinite,
and beyond the Missouri was almost an
unknown land; now we class It here as
"back east" or "back on earth." Brown
wanted adventure, and he found It
where a man's best claim on life or
his reasons for living were steady
nerves, quick sight and hair triggers.
In a short time he was driving stage
out of the Black Hills through the
Arapahoe and Cheyenne country, and
later on through Montana, Idaho,
Washington, Oregon, Utah, Nevada,
California, and the southern route
through Arizona and the Apache coun
try; in fact, it seems to have been
Brown's luck to be driving stage thro'
the very worst "Injun country." He
was personally known to all the old
time army officers in the west, and
those yet living will recall "Hank
Brown" of Ben Halllday's line, or as
shotgun messenger on Well-Fargo ex
press. Often he left his line to follow
gold excitements, and has made and
lost several fortunes. Back in the 50s
he owned and operated a livery stable
in Salt Lake City and his experience
with Mormons In general and Danltes
In particular would make an Interest
ing book. Now he Is a mine owner out
here in the desert of the Colorado, and
bids fair to amass another fortune.
"The first morning we was cllppln'
along through a country that I knowed
ever foot of; used to drive a stage over
It for Uncle Ben Halllday a matter of
forty years ago. I knowed every val
ley, crick, foothill and mountain butte;
I knowed we was comln' to the head
of Devil's Gulch, where Jump-Up John
ny used to live before the 'Rapahoes
got him, and I begin to wonder If they
would go down the trail at the gait we
was knockln' off then. 1 sort of grab
bed the seat and held on, but sir, they
dropped over the hill so easy that if
I'd a shet my eyes I would not have
knowed It." He "grabbed the seat." and
yet, day after day. down that same
gulch, on a worse "trail" he had sent
six thoroughbreds on a dead run, drag,
glng after them a swaying stage coach,
where the fall of a horse or the slip of
a wheel would have hurled all to de
struction. '
"The last time I pulled Uncle Ben
Halllday over that trail we was Jumped
by 'Rapahoes. We didn't hnppen to
have any outbound passengers that
mornln', only me and Uncle Ren nnd
his nigger, and the express and mall;
we was a-sallln' along when I noticed
some pony tracks on the trail, and says
to Uncle Ren, 'get the gun ready, for
we nre apt to be Jumped by Injuns.
Just then we topped a little rise, nnd
there was n bnnd of 'Rapahoes about
400 yarsd away. 'Tnke a shot at 'em,'
I says; I hnd a good Henry rifle, nnd
Undo Ren blazed nway, but for some
reason missed, nnd they come for us.
Undo Ren got sorter white about the
mouth, but settled down In the sent,
nnd says, quiet like:
" 'I gucsB we'd better move along,
Hank.'
" 'All right,' I says, 'hold tight. There
wan nothln' but thoroughbreds on Uncle
Hen's lines through the Injun countries;
he wouldn't hnvc a boss thnt couldn't
do his mllo In less than two minutes on
them runs, nnd I'll bet ho thanked his
God for It thnt day. Maybe we didn't
go; you bet I kept my foot off the
brake, nnd made that 20-foot lash whis
tle and snap over them thoroughbreds'
backs. This, with the Injuns yellln'
and shootln' behind, sent us Into the
Willows nhend of time. I begun to
blow my horn long before we got to
the stntlon, nnd the stock tenders nnd
guards knowed there wns something
wrong, nnd come out to meet us; when
the Injuns saw them they went tho
other wny.
"Well, sir, tho 'Rapahoes used to run
mc Into the stations time nnd ngaln;
I've had the conch riddled with bullets
nnd nrrows, nnd once I went Into a
station with an nrrow In the flank of
the nigh wheeler. One time, I remem
ber, I had nn army colonel nnd his wife
and their servants, nil bound for Fort
Laramie. Wc was Jumped by Indians
nnd piled the mall and cushions nbout
the women and children In the bottom
of the singe, nnd stnrted In to make a
a runnln' fight. Them officers wns dead
game, you bet, and for miles and miles
we put up the prettiest runnln' fight
that a mnn would want to see. It was
touch and go through lots of times,
but ns we got close to a stntlon they
henrd us n-shootln' nnd come out. At
first the Injuns thought they would
come come on, but the stock tenders
hnd long rnnge rifles, ond them InJunB
wns soon a huntln' for n thick hill a
long ways off. I've forgot them officers'
names, but I bet If they're a llvln'
they remember me nnd that day's ride
nn the Luramle trnll. An army officer's
life was no picnic them dnys.
"I used to throw off the brake, put
the bud to the six-horse team, tie the
lines to a sent brace, take my Henry
nnd drop on my knees in the front boot
nnd Bhoot over the sent; mnny nnd
many's the single-handed runnln' fight
I've put up thnt way. SomctlmeB I'd
be Jumped by InJIns two or three times
In one day's drive of seventy-five mlleB;
It wns about nil the excitement there
wns In them dnys that n feller could
really enjoy. We'd drive over our di
vision of seventy-five miles In one dny
and back the next; generally there was
four or five stations with changes of
horses on the run.
"But as we whooped It nlong In that
palace car 1 reckon it come to me more
than ever that times Is changln' and
thnt I am gcttln' old, but I pinched
myself to see If I was awake. Over on
that hill Is where Ewe-necked Smith
and his gang of bullwhackcrs was cor
ralled by Cheyennes and lost all their
stock and over two-thirds of the men
before one of the boyB got back from
Fort Laramie with the soldiers. I see
there's a school house on the hill now.
Up that little gulch runnln' off up the
valley yonder was where the vigilantes
rounded up Wart-nosed Johnson and
his crowd and lynched the whole gang.
There's a farm house now at the
mouth of the gulch and a big crop of
corn In the valley below. At a town
where we stoped for noon I drove up to
once alone to find the only house then
In the town, a stage station, burned
down, the station keeper and his stock
tenders killed, half roasted and chopped
up and the stock drove off. I had to
drive to the next station without chang
ing hosseB. Now It's a big town with
trolley cars and such and there I was
kltln' along at forty mile an hour I
reckon, smokln' a two-bit cigar, and all
I had to do was to press a little button
and a nigger In uniform would fetch me
liquor. Change? Humph!
"It was the same everywhere; up on
the Walla Walla division the country
Is all settled up and chnnged, but you
couldn't fool old Hank on the rivers
and mountains, I drove once alone
from Walla Walla to The Dalles, 240
miles, In about eighteen hours; then
river Injuns In that counrty was bad,
too; cowardly cusses, sneakln', crawl
In', shootln' from bushes; won't give
you anything like as fair a fight as
the Injuns east of the Rockies. The way
of that drive was this; I had Just got
It off my seventy-five mile run, washed
up, had my supper, dressed and was
startln' for a dance down In 'The Bot
toms' when I met the Wells-Fargo
office agent comln' a rushin' up the
street.
" 'Hank,' he says, 'I was huntln' you,
we're In the edvll of a fix. We've got
nearly J 10, 000 In gold bullion that due
In The Dalles by tomorrow night, nt
the close of business hours, or one of
our best shippers stands to lose a lot of
monye nlready paid on a mine. It
ought to have been down yesterday, but
our down stage throned a wheel and
missed the regular connection for the
Dalles. I've been to the stage office,
but Haworth says for me to see you.
What can you do?'
" 'Get the bullion to The Dalles by
noon tomorrow.
" 'But Its 240 mile.
"Nobody knows that better than I
do, Mr. Price, but you get your bullion
ready and in half an hour send it
down to the stage stables In a wagon,'
nnd I went on down the street. The
superltnrndent was still at the stables.
" 'Did you see Price, Hank?'
" 'Yes, sir, says L
" 'Can you make It?'
" 'Sure thing,' 1 says.
" 'All right, pick your teams.'
"1 had the stocktendcrn hook up six
(losses that I picked out, then went to
the boardln' house, changed my clothes
nnd went back to the stables with two
two-gallon demijohns of whisky. Prlco
wns there with the bullion. It weighed
Just 404 pounds, I hnd 'cm put It In
tho bottom of the Btnge and throw a
lot of sacked feed In on top of It, nnd
then I climbed up to the seat. Thrco
or four ehotgun messengers started to
follcr mc nnd I snld, 'Hold up, gen
tlemen; one man's enough on this trip.
The only trouble thnt I'm likely to run
Into thnt I can't handle myself Is nt
Willow Springs, where there's always
n crowd of rustlers. One mnn may get
through nil right, but If they're lookln'
for trouble or suspicion you fcllcra
you'd only bo nn ndvcrtlsement for
trouble.' I had my wny, nnd drove oft
with the bullion, feed and four gallona
of whisky, nnd knowed thnt If I pnsscd
Willow Springs nil right I'd make It.
The Springs waB the toughest placo on
the road, nnd whenever thcro wnn n
hold up wc could bank on It being by
some of that Willow Springs gang,
made up as It waB of cattle rustlers,
Iiobb thtcves, rond agents nnd nil 'round
bnd men. Hnworth had given me a
pointer thnt he thought the gang wan a
lookln' for the bullion, nnd tho last
thing he snld wns, 'Now, Hank, look
out for your tenm and yourself; let tho
express go If It comes to a show
down.' "I got to the Springs 'long In tho
night, towards mornln', I wnn hlttln'
the trnll mighty fast, I tell you. I
knowed they'd be n gang there, for at
the Inst stntlon I pnssed they told mo
that the regulnr hnd been held up tho
mornln' before, so long before I got to
the stntlon I commenced whoopln' and
yellln' nnd slngln' ns loud as I coi'j
and sure enough when I rolled up thcrci
wns nbout twenty of the toughest Took-
In' fellers you ever snw, nil heeled nnd"
didn't look like they, ha'd been to bed.
Lord wnsn't 1 drunk! Whoeel Most of
'cm knowed me nnd the antics I cut
made 'cm laugh. I was too drunk to
pny nny ntlcnflon to the slnflon keppa-
0 rthe stocktender8, but I grabbed onej'
of the demijohns nnd yellln' for tho
boys to come on I staggered Into tho
house. I poured about half a pint of
good, strong whisky Into each one of,
them fellers, nnd In my drunken way
mnnnged to tell 'cm that I wns takln'
the coach down to replace hn old ono
on tho south end, and had a load of
feed for the way stations. I told tho
stntlon-kceper that five of the sacks of
grain on top wns for him, and for him.
to have It taken out; then I sang an-'
other drunken song nnd staggered out
to the coach for the other demijohn.'
1 reeled up to the coach where tho
station keeper was takln out the grain,!
nnd spoke quick and low: 'I'm running
extry to The Dnlles with bullion; havo
the tenders chnnge my team for fresh
est and best you've got, quick, man
Oh, I'm n Jolly stage driver
Stay with It, boys, here B'morc,' nnd
I staggered back with the other demi
john. Well, sir, In fifteen minutes I
had that gang fixed plenty. What
wnsn't on the floor or the ground out-j
side was a tryln' to fight over the bal-,
once of the whisky. I saw my team
was hitched up and made a running
Jump for the front boot, grabbed the
lines, and how I did cut loose from,
there whoop! Well, I eat my dinner)
In The Dalles and got mighty well paid!
for that trip. The Willow Springs gang)
hel dup the regular that follered mo)
the next day; they was dead on that'
the bullion wns due all right.
"Comln' bnck I struck a wagon train
of fifteen families, and they was In
trouble. The cussed InJunB had made
a rush and stampeded some of thelri
hosses. You could see the Injuns, five
or six of 'em, a-drlvln' the hosses across
the valley two or three mllea away.
The women and children In the train
wns cryln' and yellln', purty nigh scart
to death. The men was scared too, and
didn't know how they was goln' to pull
out. I wasn't on schedule time, bo I
took out a leader, tied the others up,
grabbed my Henry off the seat and yell
ed for five men to come on. The Injuns
was headln' for a mountain, but I
knowed the country too well to believe
they was goln' there, so rode to head
em off below. My thoroughbred was
too fast for the others, and I was soon
In range. I cut loose and unloaded two
ponies, and the other Injuns cut for
shelter and left the hosses. I headed
the train hosses back and met the other
fellers comln' up. I reckon my bouI'bi
all right If them women's blessln's Is,
any good. I told 'em to hook up and.
pull right out of there, and I didn't
have to tell 'em twice."
In the English official regulations for
1898 it Is stated that the mean ex
treme range of the Lee-Mctford bullet
may be taken as about 3,500 yards, al.,
though, with a strong wind, 3,760 yards'
have been observed. The bullets find,
their way through Joints of walls, un
less the walls are made very fine and
set In cement. About 160 rounds, con-,
centratcd on nearly the same spot at;
200 yards, will break a nine-Inch brick,
wall. Rammed earth gives less pro
tection than loose. When fired into
sand the bullet Is found to be alwaysi
turned aside after It has entered a
little way. The following thicknesses
of material (In Inches) are usually nec
essary to stop the regulation .303-Inch
bullet: Shingle between boards, 1; hard
ened steel plate, U; good brick work.
9; sack of coal, 12; hard dry mud wall.
14; peat earth, 60; compressed cotton,
bales, 22; oak, 27; elm, 33; teak, 36; fir,
48; clay, 48. Washington Star.
"It Is possible to produce beautiful ef
fects In wood."
"Yes; Bome of the , loveliest women
you see are blockhead?."