around the square--and orders
and cuss-words ringing out between the noise of shooting--and those
electric lights shining on them as they tossed and trampled, and
showing up masked faces here and there--and pounding hoofs, and hosses
scream--like humans with excitement--and spurts of flame squirted sudden
out of the ring of darkness round about the open place--and a bull-dog
shut up in a store somewheres howling himself hoarse--and white puffs of
powder smoke like ghosts that went a-drifting by the lights--it was all
unreal to me, as if I had a fever and was dreaming it. That square was
like a great big stage in front of me, and I laid in the darkness on my
lumber pile and watched things like a show--not much scared because it
WAS so derned unreal.

From way down along the railroad track they come a sort of blunted roar,
like blasting big stumps out--and then another and another. Purty soon,
down that way, a slim flame licked up the side of a big building there,
and crooked its tongue over the top. Then a second big building right
beside it ketched afire, and they both showed up in their own light, big
and angry and handsome, and the light showed up the men in front of 'em,
too--guarding 'em, I guess, fur fear the town would get its nerve and
make a fight to put 'em out. They begun to light the whole town up as
light as day, and paint a red patch onto the sky, that must of been
noticed fur miles around. It was a mighty purty sight to see 'em burn.
The smoke was rolling high, too, and the sparks flying and other things
in danger of ketching, and after while a lick of smoke come drifting up
my way. I smelt her. It was tobacco burning in them warehouses.

But that town had some fight in her, in spite of being took unexpected
that-a-way. It wasn't no coward town. The light from the burning
buildings made all the shadders around about seem all the darker. And
every once in a while, after the surprise of the first rush, they would
come thin little streaks of fire out of the darkness somewheres, and the
sound of shots. And then a gang of riders would gallop in that direction
shooting up all creation. But by the time the warehouses was all lit up
so that you could see they was no hope of putting them out the shooting
from the darkness had jest about stopped.

It looked like them big tobacco warehouses was the main object of the
raid. Fur when they was burning past all chancet of saving, with walls
and floors a-tumbling and cr