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Show RICH:\ HD II VHDTS. mining and equalizing the several <listances-tl1e necessity of proceeding slowly and heedfully, in order to avoid giving ularrn -and other considerations nud t1i£licultics of like nature and equal moment-rendered our advance tedious and lHotracted; anll, though we had· not more than two miles to cover after sc1J· arating at tho "Dlind," yet the gray streaks of the early dawn were beginning to vein the hazy summits in the cast before we reached the point of entrance wl1ich luld been nssigned us. 'l'he morning was cold and cloudy, and through the misty air sounds were borne rapidly and far. YV c were forced to continue our caution as we proceed eel. 'Vhen we reachml the valley, the porch, as it were, to the home among the hills where the robLers had found their refuge, we came to a dead halt. 'J1here were slight noises from within tho enclosure which annoyed us, and we pausml to listen. 'l'hcy were only momentary, however, and wc rode slowly forward, until tl1e grcat6r number of our little party were fairly between the two l1ills. In my anxiety, I had advanced a horse's length beyond Colonel Grafton, by whose side I had before ridden. We were just about to emerge from the l)assage into tl1e area, wl1en the indistinct figure of a man started up, as it were, from beneath the very hoofs of my horse. I had nearly ridden O\·er him, for the day was yet too imperfect to enable us to distinguish between objects not in motion. llc had been asleep, and was, most probably, a sentinel. As l1c ran, he screamed nt the loudest pitch of his voice; the probability is, that in his surprise he l1ad left his weapon where ho had lain, and had no other means of alarminC"I" his comrades, ancl saving them from the conscqnences of his n:glectful watch. In the midst of l1is clamors, I silenccll him. I shot him througl1 the back as he ran, not five steps in front of my horse, seeking to asceud the hill to the rigl1t of us. lie tumbled fonvanl, and lny writhing before Olll' path, bnt without n. word or mann. At tltis momCllt, the tl1ougl1t possessed me, that it was John llurdis whom I haU sl1ot. I sl1iverccl involuntarily with the conviction, anU in 111y milli.1 I felt a busy voice of reproacl1, that reminded me of our }lOOt' mother. I strove to sustain myself, by referring to l1is baseness, and to l1is deserts, yet I felt sick at heart the wl1ile. I had the stl·angcst curiosity to look into tloe face of the victim, but for worltls CONCLUSJON. 395 I wou~d not then have done so. It was proposed tl1at we should exam me th? bally by one of the mrn hel1ind me. It was a voice of ~~~perntlon witl~ wl~ich I slwutccl in reply:- " T~l-:;;/,\,0 :~~~mm~tton! W, o have no time for that!" . : . "u Gr,tfton, takmg up the words. "'V e must :hmk ~f hvmg, not deatl enemies. 'l'his shot will put the gang m mo:•on.. , .y c must rusll on them at once, if we hope to do anythmg, <1nd the sooner we go forward tllc better." . lie gave the ;vonl nt this moment, which I seconded with a 1Jcrcc shout, wlnch was lu1lf-intcmlcd to overcome and scare away my own obtrusive fancies. "Better," I snid to myself-" better that I should believe John llun.1is to be already slain, than that I should tl1ink the duty yet to be done. He must pcl'ish, anU I feel that it will be an easier deed to slay him while he is unknown, regarding him merely as one of the common enemy." 'l'hcso sclf-communings-indeed, the whole events wl1ich had occasioned them-wrre all the work of a moment. I had fi red the pistol under the impulse which seemed to follow the movement of the victim, as closely as if it lu\d been a. certain consequence of it. In another i11stant we rushed headlong int.o the valley, just as sounds of fright and confusion rcachcll us from one of the opposite entrances, which hacl bl!en assigned the other parties. There was now no time for unnccessury reflections the moment for thought ancl l10sitation had gone by, and the blood was boiling and bounding in my veins, with ~11 the ar~ dor and enthusiasm of boyhoocl. 'Viltl cries of apprehension aml encouragement reached us from various quarters, and we could sec sudtlen forms rushing out of the bushes, anll from between the hollows where they had slept; and with the sight of them, our men dashed off in various directions, and divide(l in pursuit. Colonel Grafton and myself advanced in like manner, toward a group consisting of three persons, who sccmc{l disposcU to seck, rather than Hy, from us. A few bounds brought us ncar enough to discover in one of these, the 1)erson of Matthew Webber. '£he twc deadly enemies were now within a few steps of each other; amt, resolving to spare Colonel Grafton the encounter with a man who had professed such bitter mt~lice toward l1im, |
