Part 40 (2/2)

Fro of the brush with interest

Here and there they saw the stockade take fire, and then saw a blaze on the stable within the fort yard

”The fire has reached inside!” groaned Joe ”The place is dooer!” cried Benson, and led the way across the plain, now lit up by the conflagration beyond He forced Potts with hi out, and Joe felt a bullet graze his hand

Then he saw Cass pitch forward on his face, and heard Potts give a yell of oner!” muttered Bernstein ”And the desperado is dead, too”

No more was said, for all felt they must run as never before, if they would save theully was reached, and they dropped to shelter But no more shots followed, and in a fewstockade

”Friends!” shouted Benson, to a guard ”Don't shoot! Come out here and put out the fire!”

”Is that you?” came from Captain Moore, in the semi-darkness ”Are Joe and Darry safe?”

”Yes,” came from the boys

There was no ti a bucket brigade, carrying water hich to put out the flaed a large part of the burning brush into the ditch

All this while souard, and occasionally a shot rang out, answered by another froreat distance

”They have surely withdrawn,” said the young captain ”Benson, the trick worked after all”

”That's right, captain But it won't work many hours, you can depend upon that”

”If it onlyI shall be satisfied,”

concluded Captain Moore

By the exertion of the soldiers the fire was kept fros but the stable, and of this structure only a corner of the roof suffered But the stockade was greatly daed, and by the time the last spark was out it was seen that it had sustained three openings each eight to twelve feet long

”We'll have to repair these,” said Captain Moore; and, tired though the workers were, he made them haul fresh timbers from the woodpile and also tear up part of the barn floor, that the stockade ht present a whole front to the eneitated the wohts Yet even noith the fire out and silence brooding everywhere, nobody thought of going to bed All felt that this was but the lull before the greater storht of everyone but Drossdell, who still reuardhouse, heavily chained, hands and feet Drossdell was deeply downcast, and with good reason

At last cans of dawn in the east, and then a few of the soldiers, who could stand the strain no longer, threw theard, sat around in little groups wondering as going to happen next To each was served extra-strong coffee and the best rations the fort afforded

”It cannot lastto cheer them up ”Relief must coht ht! What could such a nuainst the attack of two or three hundred desperadoes and Indians? The situation was certainly one to make the stoutest heart quail

”It was too bad you came out here on a vacation,” said the captain sadly, to his brother and his cousin ”Perhaps you'll never see hoain”

”Oh, Will, do you really think it's so bad?” came from Darry

”It is hard to tell what I think, Darry I knoe are in a ht box”

”Let us hope for the best,” said Joe ”Leeson ”