lenty of whisky
somewhere. Let's go up and hang him till he tells us where it is."

"'"No, no, that won't do," said Mountain Tom. "You fellers are gettin'
so that you talk like babies. Shoot the rascal down. We've had trouble
enough with him. If we can't get the liquor here, there are plenty of
places where we can get it."

"'"That's the talk!" yelled the band. "Shoot him down! Tear him to
pieces!"

"'The man who was standin' at the head of the stairs heard all the
rascals had said, an', with a yell of delight, he raised his rifle an'
drew a bead on my mother. But the ole man was too quick for him. With
a bound like a painter, he sprang across the floor, an', grabbin' the
villain by the throat, lifted him from his feet, and throwed him down
into the cellar, an' in an instant shut the door, an' fastened it with
a heavy bar of wood. Then, takin' down his rifle, he said to us,
a'most in a whisper,

"'"Now run! run for your lives! We must cross the prairy an' get into
the woods afore the rascals cut their way out. Run! quick!"

"'My mother took my sisters by the hand an' led them out, an' me an'
my brother followed her. Father closed both the windows an' the door,
an' fastened them on the outside. All this while the robbers had been
yellin' an' swearin', an' cuttin' away at the cellar-door with their
tomahawks; an' we well knowed that they would soon be out an' arter
us. Our cabin stood in a large, natural prairy, an' we had to travel
full half a mile acrost the open ground afore we come to the woods. My
father followed close behind us, with his rifle, ready to shoot the
first one that come in sight, an' kept urgin' us to go faster. We
hadn't gone more'n half the distance acrost the prairy, when a loud
crash and yells of triumph told us, plain enough, that the villains
had worked their way out of the cellar. Then heavy blows sounded on
the window-shutter, which, strong as it was, we knowed could not long
hold out ag'in 'em. In a few minutes it was forced from its hinges,
an' Mountain Tom sprang out.

"'"Here they are, boys," he shouted. "Come on! We'll l'arn 'em not to
hide--"

"'The report of father's rifle cut short his words, an' Mountain Tom,
throwin' his hands high above his head, sank to the ground like a log.
By this time the rest of the band had come out, an the bullets rattled
around us like hailstones. My father and brother both fell-the latter
never to rise; but father, although he had received three bul