conducted. They were followed at a distance by
Lafonte's half-drunken champions, who were by no means placated, owing
to the fact that the Blue House was in a neighborhood friendly to the
Government. Harkins and Merrill soon dodged to one side in the forest,
until the rioters had passed them, and then proceeded leisurely in the
rear. On their way to the Blue House they cut up four stills,
destroyed a furnace, and made several arrests.

[Illustration: A Mountain Home]

The next day three United States commissioners opened court in the old
schoolhouse. The room was crowded by curious spectators. The trial had
not proceeded beyond preliminaries when shots and shouts from the
pursuing mob were heard in the distance. Immediately the room was
emptied of both crowd and commissioners, who fled in all directions,
leaving Harkins and Merrill to fight their battle alone.

There were thirteen men in the moonshiners' mob. They surrounded the
house, and immediately began shooting in through the windows. The
officers returned the fire, but a hard-pine ceiling in the room caused
the bullets of the attacking party to ricochet in all directions and
made the place untenable. Harkins and his comrade sprang out through the
windows, but from opposite sides of the house. Merrill ran, but Harkins
grappled with the men nearest to him, and in a moment the whole force of
desperadoes was upon him like a swarm of bees. Unfortunately, the brave
fellow had left his carbine at the house where he had spent the night.
His only weapon was a revolver that had only three cartridges in the
cylinder. Each of these shots dropped a man; but there were ten men
left. Nothing but Harkins's gigantic strength saved him, that day, from
immediate death. His long arms tackled three or four men at once, and
all went down in a bunch. Others fell on top, as in a college cane-rush.
There had been swift shooting, hitherto, but now it was mostly knife and
pistol-butt. It is almost incredible, but it is true, that this
extraordinary battle waged for three-quarters of an hour. At its end
only one man faced the now thoroughly exhausted and badly wounded, but
indomitable officer. At this fellow, Harkins hurled his pistol; it
struck him in the forehead, and the battle was won.

A thick overcoat that Mr. Harkins wore was pierced by twenty-one
bullets, seven of which penetrated his body. He received, besides, three
or four bad knife-wounds in his back, and he was literally