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CHAPTER IX. (Continued.)
Half an hour's riding again brought
them up to the Indians, who had stopped
within a mile of their former halting
place.
"The moon will be up by 1 o'clock,
boys, and they mean to remain where
they are till then. Do you see that hol
low thnt runs just this side of where
they are? No doubt there is a small
stream there."
This time the Indians made no move
to retreat further. They knew now that
their assailants were only three in num
ber. They were armed, indeed, with
weapons which in their terrible rapidity
of fire were altogether beyond anything
they had hitherto seen; but in the dark
ness these would be of no avail against
a sudden rush.
But if the Indians did not run away,
neither did they, as before, attack their
assailants. Their horses had been plac
ed in the middle of the cattle, with a few
Indians standing by them to keep them
quiet. The rest of the Indians were not
to be seen, but Mr. Hardy guessed that
they were lying down in the long grass,
or were concealed among the animals.
"Tho rnxcnls have cot a clever thief,
among them, boys. Except those half
dozen heads we see over the horses' backs
there is nothing to see of them. They
know that if wo go close they can pick
us off with their guns and bows and ar
rows, without giving us a single fair shot
at them. Don't go any nearer, boys; no
doubt there are many of their best shots
hidden in the grass."
"We could scatter the cattle with a
rocket, papa."
"Yes, wo could, Hubert, but we should
gain nothing by it; they have got men by
their horses, and would soon get tho herd
together ng;iin. No; we will ke"p that for
the night. Halloo! to the right, boys, for
your lives."
Not a moment too soon did Mr. Hardy
perceive the danger. The chief of the In
dians, expecting another attack, had or
dered twenty of his best mounted men to
separate themselves from the main body,
and to hide themselves in a dip of the
ground near the place where the first at
tack had taken place. They were to al
low the whites to pass, and were then to
follow quietly upon them.
Complete success had attended the ma
neuver, and it was fortunate that the
party had no firearms, these having been
distributed among the main body with
the cattle, for they were within forty
yards of Mr. Hardy before they were
seen. It was, in fact, a repetition of the
maneuver which had proved so successful
in their attack upon the cattle.
They were not immediately in the rear
of Mr. Hardy, but rather to tho left. As
Mr. Hardy and his sons turned to fly, a
number of Imlinus sprang upon their feet
from among tho grass and discharged a
volley of guns and arrows at them. For
tunately the distance was considerable.
One of their arrows, however, struck Mr.
Hardy's horse in the shoulder, while an
other stuck In the rider's arm. Another
went through the calf of Hubert's leg
and stuck in the Hap of tho saddle.
There was no time for word or com
pluint. They buried their spurs in their
liorses' sides, and the gallant animals,
feeling that the occasion was urgent,
scenic:! almost to II. v. In a mile they
were able to break into n stendy gallop.
Mr. Hardy had already pulled the arrow
from his arm, and Hubert now extracted
bis. As he stooped to do so his father,
who had not noticed that ho was wound
ed, saw what he was doing.
"Hurt much, old man?"
"Not much," Hubert said; but it did
hurt a good deal, nevertheless.
It was perfectly dark before they reach
ed their halting place. The saddles were
again loosened, a little Indian corn, moist
ened with water, given to the horses, and
another slight meal taken by themselves.
The bojs, by Mr. Hardy's orders, though
surely against their own wishes, then lay
down to get a couple of hours' sleep;
while Mr. Hardy went back about a hun
dred yards along the trail that they had
made on coming, and then turned aside
and sat down at a ('istance of a few
yards to watch, in ease any Indians
tdiould have followed up their trail.
Here he sat for over two hours, and
then returned to the boys. Charley ho
found fast asleep. The pain of HuWrt's
wound had kept him awake. Mr. Har
dy poured some water over the bandage,
end then, waking Charley, gave them hi
nt ructions as to tho part they were to
lla.v.
ltoth of them felt rather uncomfortable
when they heard that they were to be
oparated from their father. They raised
no objections, however, and promised to
oliey his Instructions to the letter. They
then mounted their horses and began to
retrace their steps, keeping a hund;vd
yards or so to the west of the track by
which they had come.
They rode In single file, and they had
taken the precaution of fastening a piece
of tape round their horses' nostrils and
mouth to prevent their snorting should
they approach any of their own species.
The night was dark, but the stars shone
out clear and bright. At starting Mr.
Hardy had opened his watch, and had
felt by the hands that it was ten o'clock.
After some time he felt again. It was
just an hour rrom the time of their
starting.
"Now, boys, we are somewhere close
to the place of your fight."
In another minute the boys lost sight
of their father and turned their horses.
iroceeded In the direction he had ordered.
Mr. Hardy hud ridden on for two miles,
no that lie was now to the southwest of
the enemy; then, turning west, ,1m kept
Pampas
along for another mile, when he judged
that he was a mile In their direct rear.
He advanced with the greatest caution,
every faculty absorbed in the sense of
listening. He was soon rewarded by
the sound of the baaing of the sheep, and
dismountin and leading his horse, he
gradually approached the spot. At last,
on ascending a slight rise ho fancied
that he could make out a black mass at
a distance of a quarter of a mile.
He now left his horse, taking the pre
caution of tying all four legs. He next
set to work to cut some turf, with which
he formed a narrow sloping bank,- with
a hollow for the rocket to rest in calcu
lated the exact distance and the angle
Tequired. All being prepared Mr. Hardy
took the signal rocket, and placing it at
a much higher angle than that- inteuded
for the others, struck a match and ap
plied it to the touch paper. In a moment
afterward there was a loud roar, and the
rocket soared up, with its train of bril
liant sparks behind it, and burst almost
over the Indian camp. Five or six balls
of an intense white light broke from it,
and gradually fell toward the ground,
lighting up the whole surrnund'ns plain.
A yell of astonishment and fear broke
from the Indians, and in a moment an
other rocket rushed out.
Mr. Hardy watched its fiery way with
anxiety, and saw with delight that its di
rection was true. Describing a slight
curve, it rushed full at the black mass,
struck something, turned abruptly, and
then exploded with a loud report, follow
ed instantly by a cracking noise, like a
straggling fusillade of musketry. It had
scarcely ceased before the third followed
It, greeted, like its predecessors, with a
yell from the Indians. Its success was
equal to that of its predecessors and Mr.
Hardy was delikhted by the sound of a
dull, heavy noise, like distant thunder,
and knew that the success was complete,
and that he had stampeded tho cattle.
He now ran to his horse, which was
trembling in every limb and struggling
wildly to escape, soothed It by patting it,
loosed its bonds, sprang into the saddle,
and went off at full gallop in the direc
tion by which he had come. He had not
ridden very far before he heard in the
still night air, the repeated sound of fire
arms, and knew that the boys .were upon
the trail of the cattle. Mr. Hardy had
little faar of the Indians pursuingvthem;
he felt sure that tho slaughter of the
day by the new and mysterious firearms,
together with the effect of the rockets,
would have too much terrified and cowed
them for them to think of anything but
flight.
"Hurrah! papa," the boys said as he
rode up to them. "They have gone by at
a tremendous rush sheep and cattle and
all. Wo started the moment we sa
your first rocket, and got up just as they
rushed past, and we joined in behind and
fired, and yelled till we were hoarse.
I don't think they will stop again to
night." "Did you see or hear anything of the
Iudians, boys?"
'"Nothiug, pnpa. When the first rocket
burst we saw several dark figures leap
up from the grass where they had been,
no doubt, scouting and run toward the
camp; but that was all. What are wc
to do now?"
"Hide on straight for home. We need
not trouble about the animals; they won't
stop till they are back. We must go
easily, for our horses have done a very
long day's work already. They have been
between fifty and sixty miles. I think
thnt we had better ride on for another
hour, lly that time the moon will be up,
and we shall be able to see for miles
across the plain. Then we will halt till
daybreak it will only be three hours
ami tho liorses will be able to carry us
lu nt a cauter afterward."
And so it was done. In on hour tho
moon was fairly tip, and, choosing n rise
whence a clear view could he obtained,
the horses were allowed to feed, and
Mr. Hardy and Hubert lay down to sleep,
Charley taking the post of sentry with
orders to wake the others at daybreak.
The day was just dawning when he
aroused them. "Wake up, papa. There
are some figures coming over the plain."
Mr. Hardy and Hubert were on their
feet in an Instant. "Where, Charley?"
"From the north papa. They must
have passed us in their pursuit of the
cattle, ami are now returning empty
handed, anyhow; for there are only sev
en or eight of them, and they are driving
nothing before them."
Hy this time all three were in the sad
dle again.
"Shall we attack them, papa?"
"No, hoys; we have given them quite a
severe lesson enough. At the same time,
we will move a little across, so that we
can get a good sight of them as they pass,
and make sure that they have got nothing
with them."
"I don't think they arc Indians at all,"
Hubert said, as the figures rapidly ap
proached. "Halloo!"
"Halloo! hurrah!" came bnck to them;
and id another five minutes they were
shaking hands heartily with their three
friends from Canterbury, the Jamlesons,
and two or three other neighboring set
tlers. They told them that Farquhnr, as soon
as I,opei brought news of the attack,
had. sent mounted men off to all the oth
er settlements, begging them to meet
that night at Mount Pleasant. l?y nine
o'clock they had assembled, and, after
consultation, had agreed that the Indians
would be satisfied with their present
booty, and that therefore no guard would
be necessary at their own estaiicins. A
good feed and four hours' rest hid been
given to their horses snd when tho moo
rose they had started. Two hours after
leaving they had seen a dark mass ap
proaching and had prepared for an en
counter; but it had turned out to be the
animals, who were going toward home
at a steady pace. There seemed, they
said, to be a good muny horses among
them, and when an Inspection was made
of returned animals it was found that
nearly all of the Indians' horses had been
carried along by the cattle and sheep in
the stampede.
A council was held, and it was agreed
that there was no chance whatever of the
Indians returning to renew the contest,
as they would be helpless on foot; but
that if by a spy they found out that
their horses were there, they might en
deavor to recover them. It was there
fore agreed that they should be driven
over at once to Mr. Percy's, there to re
main until a purchaser was obtained for
them. In the afternoon the party dis
persed, with many thanks from the Har
dys for their prompt assistance.
CHAPTEK X.
"After a storm comes a calm," a saying
true in the case of the Ilardys, as in that
of most others. The settlers were now,
therefore, able to give their whole atten
tion to the farm. The first operation
was the sheep-shearing. It was an amus
ing sight to see 300 or 400 sheep driven
into an inciosure, and then dragged out
by the shearers. Men were paid accord
ing to the number shorn, and were very
expert, a good hand getting through 100
a day. They were rather rough, though,
in their work, snd the giria soon went
away from the shearing place with a feel
ing of pity and disgust, for the shearers
often cut the sheep badly. Each man
hud a pot of tar by his side, with which
he smeared over any wound. A certain
sura was stopped from their pay for each
sheep upon which they made a cut of
over a certain length; but although this
made them careful to a certain extent,
they still wounded a great many of the
poor creatures.
A much more exciting amusement was
seeing the branding of tho cattle, which
took place after the shearing was over.
The animals were let out one by one
from their inciosure, and, as they passed
along a sort of lane formed of hurdles,
they were lassoed and thrown on to the
ground. The hot branding iron was then
clapped against their shoulder, and was
received by a roar of rage and pain. The
lasso was then loosened, and the animal
went off at a gallop to join his compan
ions on the plain. Some caution was re
quired in this process, for sometimes the
animals, upon being released, would
charge their tormentors who then had
to make a hasty leap over the hurdles;
Terence, who stood behind them, being in
readiness to thrust a goad against the
animals' rear, and this always had the
effect of turning them. For a few days
after this the cattle were rather wild,
but they soon forgot their fright and pain,
and returned to their usual ways.
Mr. Hardy had by this time been long
enough in the country to feel sure of his
position. He therefore determined to em
bark the rest of his capital in agricul
tural operations. He engaged ten na
tive peons, and set to to extend the land
under tillage. The water courses from
the dam were deepened and lengthened,
and side channels cut, so that the work
of Irrigation could be effectually carried
on over the whole of the low-lying land,
the water being sufficient for the purpose
for nearly ten months in the year. Four
plows were kept steadily at work and
the ground was sown with alfalfa or lu
cern as fast as it was got into condi
tion. Patches of Indian corn, pumpkins
and other vegetables were also planted.
Mr. Hardy resolved that until the country
beyond him became so settled that there
could be little danger from Indian in
cursions, he would not increase his stock
of sheep and cattle, but would each year
sell off the increase.
He also decided upon entering exten
sively upon dairy operations. He had al
ready ascertained that a ready sale could
be obtained, among the European resi
dents of Uosarlo and Buenos Ayres, of
any amount of butter and fresh cheese
that he could produce, and that Euro
pean prices would be readily given for
them.
Their household had received an In
crease. A young Englishman named Fitz
gerald, the son of some very old friend
of the Hardys, had written expressing a
very strong desire to come out, and osk
ing their advice in the matter. Several
letters hod been exchanged, and at
length, at Mr. Fitzgerald's earnest re
quest, Mr. -Hardy agreed to receive his
son for a year to learn the business of a
pampas fanner, before he embarked up
on his own account. A small room wis
accordingly cleared out for him, and Mr.
Hardy never had any reason to regret
having received him. He was a pleas
ant, light hearted young fellow of about
20 years of nge.
Terence and Sarah had two days' holi
day, ond went down to Buenos Ayres.
where there was an English church, and
came back again man and wife. After
that each went bnck to work as usual,
and the only change was that Terence
now took his meals and lived in the
house instead of down In the men's huts.
(To be continued.)
He Hud r,
Snnppey So you're thinking ot going
lu for politics?
Suppoy Ynns, but the thing that wor
ries tue Is that I'll have to mingle with
such common people. It's pretty hard
for one to know Just how to twvat his
Inferiors.
Snapper Oh, but you won't meet
ninny of them. Philadelphia Press.
"I he rick Mini."
"There'll bo the dmico to pay!" snld
the grand vizier, ns he looked over the
latest batch of ultimatums.
"And that Is not the worst of It,"
groaned the sultan, "there will bo a few
kings and queens to pay."
FAMOUS LARGE FAMILY.
Berlin Mother of 45 Has Twenty-elstbt
Children.
There are more things In heaven and
earth than are dreamt of In our every-
dav philosophy, and one of the most
curious among them is the mysterious
way In which the birth rate of a coun
try goes up and down in accordance
with political or even social require
ments. This strange phenomenon
greatly exercised the ingenuity of Ro
man statisticians recently when his
holiness the Pope, desiring to commem
orate the celebration of his Jubilee,
gave orders that every child born in
the Eternal City on that memorable day
or night should receive a gift of
baby linen and a small sum of money.
The head of the Papal treasury duly
made his preparations accordingly and
based his calculations of the cost on
the averages as recokned by the sta
tistical tables. According to these doc
uments, the average number of chil
dren who come Into the world daily In
the Italian capital Is thirty-five, and
for so many Innocents did the treasury
of the Vatican make provision. But
the Roman mothers, having heard of
the windfall In store for their darlings,
upset these prosaic calculations by giv
ing birth to exactly ninety-three olive
branches, the number of the Pope's
years In this vale of tears. "Worldly
wisdom Is justified of her children,"
murmurod cue pulled Pupal official.
"Fools and children cannot lie," re
plied one of the happy parents, and
as the certificates were all In order,
the Pope's officials thought that they
had better believe than Insist upon
further proof, although some of the
new-born babes looked like "children
of a larger growth." Among them were
triplets, consisting of two boys and one
girl. To the former were given the
names or Romulus and Remus, while
their unconscious sister was honored
by the application Roma. The baptism
took place in the Church of St. Pe
ter's. It would be dangerous to try In Ber
lin benevolent experiments like that of
the sovereign pontiff of Rome. For In
the Germnn capital a record has been
established In every detail. Thus one
healthy, active hnuafrau has been fill
ing her quiver so rapidly that, although
still but 45 years old, she has already
twenty-eight olive branches round her
table. Another, who Is four years her
junior, ushered twenty-three Into the
world, while three other women, be
tween the ages of 40 and 43, present
their husbands with twenty-one de
scendants each. Two hundred and
forty Berlin women are the mothers of
from thirteen to twenty children
apiece. London Telegraph.
PNEUMETIC LIFE PRESERVER.
The steamship companies which did
not provide life preservers In number
equaling or exceeding Its passenger
carrying capacity would be summarily
dealt with by the government, and yet
every one knows that when the time
arrives for their use the passengers
and crew may be too much excited to
profit by the provision thus made for
their safety. The passenger crossing
the ocean would rrtnii i
i j ...... j lvc, u
small degee of added security were he
provided with the apparatus shown in
the Illustration. No one would think
of wearing one of the bulky life pre
servers usually provided on shipboard
nil the time, but here Is nn apparatus
which will answer the same purpose,
and yet without discomfort when con
stautly worn. The spiral form which
the tube Is given enable the wearer to
suspend It around his body by menns
of the supporting Jacket, beneath the
outer clothing, and it takes but a short
time to Inflate the reservoir through
the mouthpiece, which Is provided with
a valve to check the outward flow of
the air. The spiral colls lie flat when
deflated, and are scarcely perceptible
to the wearer, who, even if the device
rendered him slightly uncomfortable
would hnve the feeling 0f safety to
counterbalance the annoyance
Wiley P. Tlbbets, of Toledo, Ohio, Is
the Inventor. '
If most of us could have the gold
That Morgan's got we'd veil
And kick because we could 'not hold
His stocks and bonds ns well
-Philadelphia Press.
The average man is never pntlo,,t
except when he Is biding his time to
get even. lu
CONSTANT WEAR OCCASIONS NO DISCOMFORT.
An Jdeal Woman's Keifta,
So says Mrs. Josie Irwin, ol
325 So. College St., Nashville,
Tenn. of Lydia E. Pinkham'i
Vegetable Compound.
Never in the history of medicine has
the demand for one particular remedy
for female diseases equalled that at
tained by Lydia E. PlnVfcw.
Vegetable Compound, and nerer
during the lifetime of this wonderful
medicine has the demand for It been
so great as it is to-day.
From the Atlantic to the Pacific,
and throughout the length and breadth
of this great continent come the glad
tidings of woman's sufferings relieved
by it, and thousands upon thousands
of letters are pouring in from grateful
women saying that it will and posi
tively does cure the worst forms ot
female complaints. ,
Mrs. Pink ham invites all wo
men who are puzzled about
their health to write her at Lynn,
Mass., for advice. Such corr
spoudence is seen by women onlt,
and no charge is made.
Civic Pride.
"I don't know what we're goin'todo
about them two leadin' citizens," raid
Broncho Bob. 'They're lookin' lor
one another with six shooters from
mornin' till night." "Has an insult
passed?" "No, it wasn't an insult,
but some doubt ariz as to which wai
the oldest inhabitant, an' they're both
determined to settle the question fur
good an' all.
A Hard Life.
Boyle The Korners live very frugal,
ly indeed. They have cast iron tules
for the spending of their money.
Hoyle That is what I should cal.
rigid economy. Kansas City Journsll
Continuous Performance.
"Kisses and drinks are alike in one
way," remarked the breakfast cynic.
"When a younst man says MuBtone
more,' he generally takes a dozen."
Preparations.
"Is you got a razor you could ten
me to shave meree'f?" asked Mr. Eras
tus Pinkley. "I'ze gwine to de pahty
tonight."
"What's de matter wif yoh own
razor?"
"Well, you see, I jes got it stropped
up fine this aftuhnoon, an' I hates to
dull de edge."
-I-
Trains at Drowsyvllle.
"We used to miss that accommoaV
tion train every morning."
"What do you do now that they
have taken it off?"
"Why, we miss it more than ever."
Chicago News.
deneva.
Only 32 per cent of the inhabiUnts
of Geneva are natives of the city; 21
pre cent are fiom other Swiss places,
and 47 per cent are foreigners.
Hair Falls
" I tried Ayer's Hair Vigor to
ttop my hair from falling. One
half a bottle cured me."
J. C. Baxter, Braldwood, IU.
Ayer's Hair Vigor is
certainly the most eco
nomical preparation of its
Kind on the market. A
little of it goes a long way.
It doesn't take much of
it to stop falling of the
hair, make the hair grow,
and restore color to gray
hair. II.Makottl. All draulstt.
It your drapglst cannot supply yt
send os one dollar snd we will expreM
you a bottle. Me sure and give the nam
ot your nearest expreM office. Adilrwn,
J. C. AVER CO., Lowell, UaM.
Bstt Cough bjrrup. Tut.. Good. CM
ii num. nnin 07 nmpiri.T.-
ft
. UJ
4