Page:The Overland Monthly, Jan-June 1894.djvu/277



1894.]

An Encounter with Chinese Smugglers.

213

their rifles, the bullets striking the log, roots, limb, and dirt, all around me. I escaped any serious injury, but several splinters from the wood about me struck me, and hurt me rather badly.

A short silence followed the shooting ; the men listened for the result of their firing. Everything was silent. The men grew restless. " Boys, if thet blamed sneak wus in thet 'r hole at all, I '11 bet we plugged him ! " said one.

" Who '11 go in and drag out the bleed- ing carcass ? " queried another.

None of them volunteered. A few more shots were fired. Then my doughty opponent, who appeared to be the head of the gang, offered to settle the matter by going into the hole himself, and im- mediately proceeded to put his threat into execution. I could hear him ap- proach rather cautiously. When he was within a few feet of me, and groping around on the ground for my dead body, I prepared for action. He could see nothing in the dark hole ; I had the ad- vantage of him in this respect, his body being dimly outlined against the sky. When he got close enough I heard him fumbling in his pocket for a match. Silently raising my revolver over his head, I put all the strength of my body into my blow, and dashed the butt of the weapon into his face. Again he fell senseless.

" Hello, Bill ! what 's up ? " cried his companions, as they heard the thudding sound.

Silence was no longer of service to me ; the stunned man would soon recov- er, and all would be lost. In addition I could see the flicker of a lantern ap- proaching ; some of the men had gone back to the camp after it. The gang only waited for the lantern to close in on me. If they did not kill me, they would at least hold me till their smug- gling was completed, possibly taking me afterward to some Justice of the Peace, or otherwise to some mock court, and trumping up some charge or other

against me, possibly for shooting the doe contrary to law, and assault and battery ; possibly robbery. I would be fined, detained, and very likely thrown into jail. In the meantime, some other fellow would walk off with the glory of their arrest, and capture of the Chinese. I would have my adventures and dan- gers for my payment. I also knew that " Bill " would never let up till he got his revenge.

Bill moved slightly ; jumping quickly out of the hole, I dashed again into the brush. The men hesitated to shoot, not knowing whether I was Bill or me. The lantern soon reached them, they rushed to the hole, and discovered that the bird had flown, and that Bill had been done for again.

Expecting a score of bullets to come whistling around my ears, I passed around a tree trunk, and looked back ; still they did not shoot. 1 could not un- derstand it at all. Rushing to another tree, I ran behind its sheltering trunk a short distance, feeling that my chances of escaping were getting better. Sud- denly a black form loomed up in front of me, something hard and heavy swooped down upon my head ; I knew nothing of what occurred afterward.

Stiff, sore, my head throbbing and aching, .my temples feeling as if a ton weight was crushing them, I came to my senses. A bandage was over my eyes, my legs and arms tied tightly with ropes, which cut into the flesh. I was a prisoner. I could hear voices around me, and a little distant from the others I heard thoseof a number of Chinamen. I was in the smugglers' camp. A foot kicked me rudely ; it was Bill, and he wanted to kill me, but the rest of the gang objected. He kicked me again, and I heard a slight struggle. They were evidently pulling him away. A man said to him rather roughly :

" Bill, you let that fellow alone ! he 's punished enough ; you sha'n't kill him ! there 's no need for it ! We will leave