The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1875-02-11
ats staufer's coffin. Dick is sgorng

Stuff calculated the desperate;
- as he made his bed, SO let him lay
buzzards are the sections for the likes o.
him."
The woman sort of groaned and then l |
heard Wolf go up and joggle the rain |
barrel at the corner of the cabin, and |
finally go away with the remark:
"He amt far Off he couldn't stick to |
that blind critter when he began ter |
hurry" |
What shall I do, what shall l dor" |
gasped the woman; they will be back in |
twenty minutes, for l believe that your
horse is in sight, not more than three |
quarters of mile of, and my husband
is liable to come at any moment"
But with him inside the house we
might
with himr she emphasized it in de-
sDairing tones" he's Bill VOLTS broth |
er."
Twas out of the coffin in trice then,
you may well believe.
at is death for you any way" she
moaned, for hear the rattle of Dicks
axles already"
"Stay, there's the rain barrel, said l, |
in desperation; they've tried that once
they may not again.
And before you would be able to speak
a sentence the water was dashed out of
the cask and stealing down into tie arid
soil, and was in the barrel, and the
woman dropping tub half filled with
water in at the top as cover.
She had barely time to enter the house,
the door OF which fortunately opened on
the side away from the moon, when a
rafting vehicle drew up at the door, and
| heard hoarse voice raving and swear
ing at the woman for something done OF
undone, and then from the bung- hole, the
plug having been dislodged in the upset
ting of the cask, saw the furious return
of the three Tenegades.
There was a good deal of loud talking
and explanations and oaths, and stirring
mp of the nectar, and rough remarks
about the coffin in the corner; but both
Dick and the womar seemed sore about
that matter, and the man peremptorily
refused TO join the hunt because of the
coffin
Well, you're going our way piece
said Wolf; +" likely enough you'll have the
fun of seeing us wing the turkey"
The conversation was distressingly
personal, made acutely SO by Dick ask
ing:
as there water enough out there, Jep,
to drink my horse"
an see" she returned, moving slowly
| over the door-sill, and then leaping to
the cask she lifted out the tub and
tipped my prison over a little SO that 1
could spring out. | was behind the cask
| ruped his beast up 10 tne tdU tU- uhlf1..;-
"Ill go with you as far as the forks"
he said, as two of them came out with
the coffin and slid it into the body of the
wagon They then stepped back, proba-
bly, TO call the others.
AT that moment wild and desperate
plan entered my brain, but feeling for
my knife / found that it was missing.
along with the belt to which it was at
| tached. In the sudden jostle which the
| falling steed had given me, the girdle
had been snapped and lost without my
knowledge. The horses of the three rem
| egades-my own, which had been re-
tanned by the hostler at the inn, among
them-were hitched on the farthest side
| OF the door where the moonlight, strik-
ing by the end of the cabin, rested fully
upon them. 1t was suicide to attempt
| seizing one of them; but as the woman
with some purpose in her mind sang out
to the men to come back and get the last
dipper full of liquor which she had
mixed l seized the only alternative. |
sprang lightly into the wagon, lifted the
coffin-lid, and again crawled into the
long, narrow prison.
There was no choice. The flood of
moonlight had swept so far toward nv
hiding place that only part of my body
was concealed by the barrel, and knew
| that discovery was inevitable, for the
mans horse stood in such position that
in order to recover the reins he must
have trodden upon me; and there was no
earthly thing as far as the eve could
reach over the plain, behind which
man could hide. All, but what if he
should readjust his freight? Can you
think how my heart pumped away at the
thought. You wonder what my plan
could be? L had none, other than the
hope of having only one man to deal
with, If he went on his way as he calCu-
lated. The three ruffians were mounted
and all were about to start, when the
woman ran out with some sort of a
blanket and muttered something about
covering the coffin. The man yelled out
to her to mind her own business and let
the thing alone.
She retreated with the cloth. but she
had accomplished her purpose. In its
folds she had concealed bowie knife;
under its cover she had raised the lid
and dropped the weapon inside, risking
giving me cut as it fell upon me; but
in the momentary noise and confusion |
had got the weapon in my hand, and
with its point raised the heavy lid of the
rough box the fraction of an inch SO that
breathing was easy if my position was
cramped.
The three horsemen spread out, re-
marking to each other: BEAT up the
game now speedily before, by any mira
Gle, he gets into the wooded belt by Bu-
ford's Springs"
They continued to halloo at each other
for some time, their liberal potations
surmounting their discretion.
"Dick," they called back as they were
driving off, "a cool twelve hundred
apiece; throw out your old shell and join
the hunt"
The driver mumbled something, but the
whisky had thiCkened his speech so that
it was unintelligible to me.
If he did attempt to move the coffin |
was lost.
They kept within hailing distance for
the length of some three or more miles,
Dick smashing the heavy wagon along
at stunning gait; and expected every
moment that my she'll would be jostled
out.
BY and by there was a shout off to the
right; tally no" as if the huntsmen
had sighted the quarry. Nothing but an
unwarrantable amount of liquor could
have influenced them to conduct them
selves as they did, for no sooner had they
called out from the right than Dick
came to a sudden halt, leaped from the
seat, and ran off toward those who were
hailooing
For one instant my heart stopped beat
ing at the thought of the hazard which |
was about to run. The next moment
sprang from the coffin TO the ground. A
few lightning-like strokes, ard had sew
cred the traces and the hold backs of the
harness.
The whole scene is wildly pictured in
my mind. The moon-lighted prairie, the
little ravine toward which the renegades
were dashing, the wagon standing in the
trall-then the rafting of the falling
thills reached the ears of the party and
With wild shout they turned toward
me. was on the horses back but bold
ly defined by the moonlight. There was
the sharp report of two rifles. l felt
sting in my foot, another in my shoulder,
but the horse was unframed and the race
for life began.
There was disheartening disadvan-
tage for me, for | had no saddle, but /
was riding for my life, and held my
steed between my knees and took the
broad trail with the fury of tornado.
but the issue would rest mostly with the