shot on sight.
We are well armed, and can carry out our share of this offer.

COMMITTEE OF SAFETY.

"I guess that will do," said Tom. "There isn't any poetry in it, but I
reckon they'll understand it. Now, Jud, what do you say to taking it
out and leaving it on Mountain's door?"

"All right," I answered; "I'll do it."

"Probably Jim had better go along with you," said Carr. "I don't think
any of them are there, but you can take my field-glass and have a look
at the place when you get out to Johnson's."

We all went to dinner, and by the time Jim and I were ready to start
the sky had clouded over and threatened snow. I said nothing, but
slipped back into the hotel and filled my pockets with bread and cold
meat. I thought it might come handy. It was so cold and the snow was
so deep that we had decided to go on foot instead of horseback, but we
found it slow work getting along. Where the crust held us we made good
time, but most of the way we had to flounder along through soft
drifts.

At Johnson's we took a long look at Mountain's with the glass, but
could see no signs of life. It began to snow soon after leaving here,
and several times we lost sight of the place we were trying to reach,
but we kept on and got there at last. The snow was coming down
faster, and it seemed as if it were already growing dark.

"It isn't going to be very safe trying to find our way back to-night,"
said Jim. "Let's see what the prospect for staying here is."

We pushed open the door. It was a board shanty with only one room, and
that half full of snow. But there was a sheet-iron hay stove in one
end and a stack of hay outside. I told Jim of the food which I had
brought.

"Then we'll stay right here," he said. "It's ten to one that we miss
the town if we try to go back to-night. Our tracks are filled in
before this."

We set to work with an old shovel and a piece of board and cleaned out
the snow, and then we built a fire in the stove. We soon had the room
fairly comfortable. The stove took twisted hay so fast that the work
did more to keep us warm than the fire.

We divided the food for supper, leaving half of it for breakfast. It
made a pretty light meal, but we didn't complain. I wondered what we
should do if the storm kept up the next day, and I suppose Jim thought
of the same thing; but neither of us said anything about that. I sat
up the first half of the night and fed the fire,