Part 8 (2/2)
”Hyuh 'em plain 'nuff, but they don't show a light yet. Reckon they don't mean tuh.”
”We'll give them the fill of our magazines if they don't halt at the word. Wait till I let drive, then let them have it!”
And so, crouching low, straightforward along the slope he sped, till, perhaps twenty yards out, the black bulk of the mountain-side loomed between him and the westward heaven, while against the stars of the northern horizon he could dimly determine, heaving steadily toward him, not fifty paces away, some huge, murmuring, moving ma.s.s. And then there rang out on the silence of the night, clear, stern, and commanding, a voice the like of which their ears had never heard, in words that even they could not fail to comprehend:
”Halt where you are--or we fire!”
There was an instant of recoil and confusion and fear. Then furious tones from far back in the throng and guttural shoutings that seemed urging them on, for, presently, on they came, but in the silence and dread of death.
Back went the lever of Graham's Winchester; slap went the bolt to its seat, with the s.h.i.+ning cartridge ahead of it; up came the b.u.t.t to the shoulder; and then, once more, that deep, virile voice rang along the heights and went echoing away across the gorge. Back at the mine Nolan's heart leaped at the sound of it. Away down in the village they heard it and shrank, for the next instant set them all shrieking; for the lightning flashed and the rifles barked loud and swift, and strong men howled and turned and fled, anywhere out of the way, and some fell headlong, screaming and cursing, in the rush and panic that spread from one stern and sudden word--the soldier command: ”Fire!”
CHAPTER XII
THE MAN OF THE SIEGE
Down in the valley that night there was commotion and uproar for hours, but there was quiet at Silver s.h.i.+eld. One after another furious speeches were made in foreign tongues, speeches in which the murderous occupants of the mine buildings were doomed to an eternity of torment, and the would-be murderous element among the miners was lauded to the skies and urged to further effort.
But the astonis.h.i.+ng repulse, the fact that they had been met in the open as well as in the dark, and that a swift and sudden fire had been poured into their very midst, had shattered the nerve of men already shaken, although it later turned out that only three of their number had really been shot (two of them in the back), and that twoscore had been trampled and torn by their own people, while some thirty or more were missing, ”left dead on the hill,” said their fellows, in the mad rush for safety that followed the first flash. That sharp, stern order and the instant response had started the rumor that soldiers, regulars, had come up from the fort. It was pointed out that while the Transcontinental was blocked down the Run, no one had thought to cripple the Narrow Gauge over in the valley beyond. The road was open to Miners' Joy, the road by which young Breifogle had made his escape, and by this roundabout route had succor reached the besieged garrison.
All that liquor and eloquence could do was tried on the raging townsmen that night, but not until broad daylight could they be induced to make another trial, and by that time few were able to keep their feet on the level.
Less than half a dozen shots from each of five Winchesters had been enough, combined with darkness, to utterly rout the ma.s.s of rioters.
Mindful of the lesson well learned at the Point--to instantly follow a staggering blow--Graham had sprung from his cover, called to his fellows to ”come on,” and so, shouting and shooting at the very heels of the panic, had not only chased them in headlong flight, but, returning, had picked up half a dozen terrified prisoners and herded them back to Nolan for such rea.s.surance and comfort as that grim old trooper saw fit to administer. When morning broke the depths of the valley were still shrouded in mist and gloom. Up on the heights the brilliant hues of the dawn shone far and wide on rocky peak and pinnacle and, above the wooden tower of the office building, on the fluttering folds of an American flag.
That was a grewsome day on Lance Creek. Four of the mines, temporarily bereft of hands, had fired up and gone to work with such force as they had, and declined to take back the men who had quit. The managers, superintendents, bosses, and owners held council together and started out with what they termed a relief expedition to rescue the garrison of Silver s.h.i.+eld. They were seen as they came solemnly marching uphill, waving a white flag by way of a.s.surance, and were met on the roadway by Nolan and Geordie. c.a.w.ker was taking a much-needed nap.
”Are you all safe?” was the eager question from below.
”Safe from what?” asked Nolan, from above.
”Why, the mob, the rioters. Didn't they try to clean you out last night?”
”Did they?” asked Nolan turning to his silent young friend the fireman.
”Was that what those fellows were thinking of that you chased off the hill? Why, maybe it was! But here, what we came down to find out was about s.h.i.+ner's boy. How's he?”
Then the rescuers looked at one another in some bewilderment. The leaders were friends of c.a.w.ker. They hardly knew Nolan. They did not know his companion the fireman.
”D'you mean to tell us you've had no trouble up there?” was the eager demand.
”Why, lots of it, four days ago--'t least _I_ had,” answered Nolan, grimly, ”but nothin' worth mention last night.”
”Why, man,” cried the manager of the White Eagle, ”there were a thousand riotous Bohemians and Dagoes, and Lord knows what all, went up there last night to burn those buildings over your heads and you with 'em.”
”Why, cert'nly,” said Nolan, with preternatural gravity and a wink at his comrade, who was doing his utmost to keep a straight face. ”It must have been some of those fellows _you_ blew in about ten o'clock. But say,” he broke off, as though this matter bored him, ”what we want to know is about s.h.i.+ner's boy. They didn't seem to have time to talk.”
By which time it dawned upon the officials present that Nolan was having fun with them, and though the spokesmen were nettled, many others, with genuine American sense of humor, felt that he couldn't be blamed.
<script>