Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1877-02-22

There ensueda good deal of loud talking.
explanations, and oaths. A forum of hot
nectar was prepared, and they all went in
to partake of it. Dick refused to join in
the hunt after me, on account of having
to take the coffin to its destination.
ANY way, We are bound on the same
track" cried Wolf, $50 you may have
the pleasure of seeing us wing the tur-
key. Five or six thousand dollars. It's
prize we don't get chance of every
day"
Wont old Southland swear when he
finds the money don't reach him, and he
doesn't know why :"
A shouting laugh. Dicks voice was
heard as it died away
I" Is there water enough out there,
Jenny, to drink my horse.
"I'll see" she returned, moving slowly
over the sill. And then, leaping to the
cask, she lifted out the tub and tipped
my barrel over little so that | could
spring out.
I" Hide where best you can, y she whis-
pered.
The best place, the only place seemed
to be the dark corner between the cabin
wall and the barrel. Dick came out, and
led his horse up to the tub to drink.
Then, turning the wagon endways, he
went indoors, brought out the coffin with
the help of one of the others, and slid it
into the vehicle. Bill Wolf came out
next.
I've made another jug of nectar"
called out the woman. And at the tempt
ing words they all went back to the
cabin. / believe the woman did it to
give me time.
At that moment wild and desperate
plan entered my brain; but, feeling for
my knife, found that it was missing
along with the oelt to which it was at
tached. In the sudden jostle which the
steed had given me, the girdle had been
snapped and lost without my knowledge.
The horses of the three renegades-my
own, which had been retained by the
hostler at the inn, among them-were
hitched ON the farther side of the door,
where the moonlight, striking by the end
of the cabin, rested fully upon them. 1t
was suicide to attempt seizing one of
them-my own, as had hoped so do
and riding off; so / embraced the only
alternative. Creeping into the wagon,
lifted the cofiin-lid, and again lay down
in the long, narrow prison.
There was no choice. The food of
moonlight had swept SO far toward my
hiding place that only part of my body
was concealed 10y 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 WIS no
earthly thing, as far as the eye could
reach over the plain, behind which man
could hide. All, but what if he should
re-adiust his freight? Can you think
how my heart beat away at the thought?
You wonder what my plan could be? /
had none; other than the hope of having
only one man to deal with, if Dick parted
with the rest and went alone. He had
said he would go with them as far as the
' Forks; after which, as 1 compre-
hended, his way would lie one road and
theirs another. o..
The three Others mounted, and all were
about 20 stsrt, when ti1f Woman ran out
with some sort of blanket, and muttered
something about covering the coffin.
Dick yelled ont to her to mind her own
business and let the thing alone.
But she succeeded in accomplishing
her purpose. Disposing the blan-
ket across the coffin, as he was
beginning to drive away, she con-
trived to lift its lid and drop inside
bowiSknife. You may be sure seized !
it heartily, and gave her blessing, too,
poor thing; and the first Use / made of |
it was to lodge the lid up just fraction.
So that my breathing was easy, though |
my position was cramped.
"Well beat up the game speedily 1
now, said the horsemen one to another. |
the quantity of whisky they had imbibed,
in the shape of nectar" somewhat i'm
peding their utterance He can't by /
any miracle have got yet INTO the wooded |
belt by Burford Springs"
Horse couldn't take him there"
Dick, they called back, as they were |
riding ON, "a cool twelve hundred apiee ! /
Throw ont your old shell and join the
hunt"
The driver mumbled some foreign an
understanding, and whipped his horse |
If he did attempt to move the coffin, i
was lost
They kept within hailing distance for |
the length of three or more miles, Dick |
smashing the heavy wagon along mt |
steaming pace; and expected that the
coffin would be jostled out.
By-and-by, there was sudden shout
loud tally-ho," as if the huntsman
had sighted his quarry. 1t came from
the right. Nothing but an unwarrant- |
able amount of liquor could have inhu- |
enced them to conduct themselves as they /
did and to make this noise. The proba- |
bility was that not a soul (save the one |
they fancied they were pursuing) was
within miles and miles, but men bound
on these raids are cautious. No sooner
was the noise heard than my driver came
to halt. Listening for moment, he |
threw the reins across the horse. leaped |
down, and started off towards his friends. |
Perhaps the temptation of the money
THAT they might then be dividing) was
too much for him.
For one instant my heart stopped beat
ing at thought of the hazard which was
about To run. The next moment sprang
from the coffin to the ground. A few
Ightning-lke strokes, and had severed
the traces and the rude bands of the
harness.
The whole scene is wildly pictured in
lily HOW. lHt
the sloping ravine towards which the
renegades had been dashing, and the
wagon standing in the trail j mounted
one Of the horses and urged him onward
All might have been well, had not the
quick ears of the men caught the echo of
his footsteps. Looking round, they saw
me making off-and / think must have
known me, for / was lighted up by the
bright moonlight. With wild shout,
they came ON in pursuit. There was the
sharp report of two rifles. felt sting
in my foot. another in my shoulder; but
the horse was unharmed, and the race for
life began.
There was one disheartening disad-
vantage for me had no saddle l,it /
was riding for my life, and 1 held my
steed between my knees, and took the
broad trail with the fury of tornado.
The issue would rest chiefly with the
horses. 1 knew nothing of the one which
rode /; knew nothing of those that
were pursuing me, excepting my own
vhite-facpd horse He colIld rim like an