The Saga of Henry Plummer Book 1 by Sven Skaar (PH 3-1) (1959) (97 pages)

4 “Dobson fired into the thicket, clogest to him. Dobson aimed as Gea at tie IN0st NRely spor irony which to attack would be somewhere along fhe crooked Dry Creek stretch of the road. Based on this ‘deduction, he askéd the driver to spare the horses as much as possible until Dry. Creek was reached, so that they could run the stretch at a full gallop. Catches Movement ‘As the stage camethundering around the bend where Tom Bell and his boys were waiting for it, Dobson's gimlet’ eye caught a movement of the hidden horses in themanzanita thicket before he saw Bell and Gristy advance to the middle of the road. And, even before Bell shouted his command for the stage to halt, Dobson yelled to his driver: ie “Keep goin’ Jack! Lay on thie whip! Run 'em down!” “You bet, here we go!” Bell and Gristy were too busy scrambling away from the onrushing stage to use their guns and momentarily Dobson paid no} attention to, them. He was. al! ready swinging toward the manzanita, and as the first bandit burst from the thicket, Dobson fired a load of buckshot into the belly of the~horse. The animal screamed in pain, reared. and bucked: and flung its, rider headlong into -the brushi.’ Still screaming and kicking the. horse spread* confusion and fear into the ’ other: horses, sitio concerted attack. Horses Scattered Again and again and again, until it churned with unmanageable, half-mad horses. The ones to reach the road clamped the bits between their teeth and stamped: ed away, their riders hanging on to the saddles’ as best they could. But a number of them managed fo rein in and teturn Dobson’s shots; he could hear bullets slam into the coach, By then Bell -and Gristy had also calmed their horses enough fo use the Colts revolvers. Dobsou ducked behind the shelter of the coach-top, picked up his rifle and aimed af Gristy who was the well as the swaying stage would allow, and pressed. the trigger. He missed his man, but the bullet fore along the tender flank of the horse, stinging it into headlong flight. Only Tom Bell remained ‘in sight. He sat in his saddle, cursing and shouting for his gang to return, shooting wildly after the . disappearing stage. Dobson was returning the fire and he! laughed as he saw Bell involuntarily fling up his arms as if to protect his face from the bullets that sang past him. Cahnly Reloads . Again Dobson ducked to the shelter of the coach and began calmly to reload his guns; over) the din, he cried to his driver, “They might've had enough, Jack! But keep ‘er rollin’, ou ‘that whip flaggin’!” . “You alright, Dobson?” “Sound’s a gold slug, how about you?” Not a scratch. How about my passengers?” “Can't check till we reach Brown's Valley -just keep them thorses runnin!’ “Right.” “It’s the Tom Bell gang, Jack. I recognized his silly blond Vandyke when his mask slipped.” “Ought’a shave it off if he wants to go on stage robbin’.” “What?” “He should shave off the beard,” yelled the driver. “He better, or itll hang him sure’s hell.” ’ One Dead, Three Wounded It was not until the stage drove up to the safety of the Brown’s Valley stop that Dobson dared examine the inside of the coach. Three men were wounded; and Mrs. McCloud who had come on: board at Camptonville where she had visited relatives, was dead, a bullet through her head. She was the wife of Marysville’s), Negro barber, with whom she had been freed from Colonel English’s slave colony between Rough and Ready and Wood's Crossing on the South Yuba. : ay ar aa »

4 “Dobson fired into the thicket, clogest to him. Dobson aimed as Gea at tie IN0st NRely spor irony which to attack would be somewhere along fhe crooked Dry Creek stretch of the road. Based on this ‘deduction, he askéd the driver to spare the horses as much as possible until Dry. Creek was reached, so that they could run the stretch at a full gallop. Catches Movement ‘As the stage camethundering around the bend where Tom Bell and his boys were waiting for it, Dobson's gimlet’ eye caught a movement of the hidden horses in themanzanita thicket before he saw Bell and Gristy advance to the middle of the road. And, even before Bell shouted his command for the stage to halt, Dobson yelled to his driver: ie “Keep goin’ Jack! Lay on thie whip! Run 'em down!” “You bet, here we go!” Bell and Gristy were too busy scrambling away from the onrushing stage to use their guns and momentarily Dobson paid no} attention to, them. He was. al! ready swinging toward the manzanita, and as the first bandit burst from the thicket, Dobson fired a load of buckshot into the belly of the~horse. The animal screamed in pain, reared. and bucked: and flung its, rider headlong into -the brushi.’ Still screaming and kicking the. horse spread* confusion and fear into the ’ other: horses, sitio concerted attack. Horses Scattered Again and again and again, until it churned with unmanageable, half-mad horses. The ones to reach the road clamped the bits between their teeth and stamped: ed away, their riders hanging on to the saddles’ as best they could. But a number of them managed fo rein in and teturn Dobson’s shots; he could hear bullets slam into the coach, By then Bell -and Gristy had also calmed their horses enough fo use the Colts revolvers. Dobsou ducked behind the shelter of the coach-top, picked up his rifle and aimed af Gristy who was the well as the swaying stage would allow, and pressed. the trigger.

He missed his man, but the bullet fore along the tender flank of the horse, stinging it into headlong flight. Only Tom Bell remained ‘in sight. He sat in his saddle, cursing and shouting for his gang to return, shooting wildly after the . disappearing stage. Dobson was returning the fire and he! laughed as he saw Bell involuntarily fling up his arms as if to protect his face from the bullets that sang past him. Cahnly Reloads . Again Dobson ducked to the shelter of the coach and began calmly to reload his guns; over) the din, he cried to his driver, “They might've had enough, Jack! But keep ‘er rollin’, ou ‘that whip flaggin’!” . “You alright, Dobson?” “Sound’s a gold slug, how about you?” Not a scratch. How about my passengers?” “Can't check till we reach Brown's Valley -just keep them thorses runnin!’ “Right.” “It’s the Tom Bell gang, Jack. I recognized his silly blond Vandyke when his mask slipped.” “Ought’a shave it off if he wants to go on stage robbin’.” “What?” “He should shave off the beard,” yelled the driver. “He better, or itll hang him sure’s hell.” ’ One Dead, Three Wounded It was not until the stage drove up to the safety of the Brown’s Valley stop that Dobson dared examine the inside of the coach. Three men were wounded; and Mrs. McCloud who had come on: board at Camptonville where she had visited relatives, was dead, a bullet through her head. She was the wife of Marysville’s), Negro barber, with whom she had been freed from Colonel English’s slave colony between Rough and Ready and Wood's Crossing on the South Yuba. : ay ar aa »