Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-06-28

Wv tiANtsts VIZ wy INV WV titi
main hsaiy behind, ntal was cITuiin,
around Ia get AHEAD of tis. Then
thought how lucky il wu4 there
| were no curve To give thcn mn a,l
vantage.
When had first sighted then
they were making IL great many
cxtravagant uoti0ns; but now
they were ready for uction, and
could SEQ the foam on the dark
breasts of their ponies as they lean.
| ed well forward. But la proper.
tiOn as their steeds tired, our steed
gathered new energies, and the
two thousand feet that separated Us
! did not appear 10 lessen very rapid
ly. Whether they wanted 10 adorn
their belts with our scalps, or wan
ted to hold us for ransom, was
another question, for they had fired
but once. and doubtless, that as a
"long tom," fired on a ship, rttards,
in slight degree, its motions, so
their rifles, fred at us, would check
them. They did not fire, anyway,
but their reasons for not doing so
can only be guessed at.
So far as / could Judge, only one
of them was gaining ON us, and I
grasped the handle OF my revolver
as saw that he iCds lessening the
distance between US. He was COW
cred behind his horse, excepting
his right leg and foot, but did not
see fit to waste a shot yet; there
was no knowing what might hap
pen, / thought. Besides, my revol-
Yer would not carry accurately that
distance, and every ball might be
required.
1 ventured to look ahead mo-
ment, and saw that the smoke was
nearer, and that the outlines Of the.
engine and a few cars were distinct
against the blue sky beyond; and
then another thought flashed across
my mind. We were going down a
grade Of thirty-five feet !, to the
mile, hardly fall enough, I reasoned,
to move the stiff truck along over
the scaly surface OF the rails.
l could even see the change Of
grade. nearly u inile ahead, and l
hoped (and only y mind In danger
knows hOto to hope) that the sun
would beat down moro unmercitul.
ly and overcome those tough po-
nies.,
Twas helpless the truck was
running as f,sst IA the lsws of grav-
itatiOn and friction would let it,
and did not doubt but that the
Indians were urging their ponies to
the utmost. Any word or action Of
mine, however, would not increase
our speed, and as near as 1 could
judge, we were going ut the rate of
fifteen miles an hour.
This may seem eXtravagant, but
l think ii is not SO. am sure the
truck did its best. Perhaps the
Indians SAW that they were not
gaining much, for / heard another
bullet whiZ over our barricade, and
lowered my head. The
report WAS lost to my ears, full OF
the click .a-click-c click.
Then | determined to shoot. The
nearest pony WAS bu; little over a
thousand feet away, and the change
OF grade was not much more than
that ahead. l took a careful aim,
the sights SO they centcred
two feet above the pony'5 head, and
fired.
l heard them yell ut this aggress-
ion, but the bullet, instead of hitting
the forward pony, carried strong, /
think, over its head, and struck
one of the rear riders. One OF them
fell back, anyway. and | deliberate
ly cooked the revolver again. Il
This time | did not aim SO high.
! could feel my heart beating rapid
ly when 1 thought how much |
might depend Oh my accuracy. |
The ten-foOt grade was not faraway,
knew, and 1 fired. l heard
savage yell, but my shot did not |
lake effect except as IL reused their
anger, and / heard several bullets
.tug, sag. into the spruce ties.
The truck still kept up its speedl,
and a hasty look over my shoulder
II was lying Hat, behind the ties
me To judge how far away
rom safety we were. We had
severed about half The distance,
md / distinctly saw the end OF the
.hirty-fo0t grade. r.s.
The Indians evidently saw that
We were nearing the construction
rain, too, for they lashcd their po-
lies furiously.
| determined upon another shot.
Phe nearest Indian had gained a
title in the last few minutes.
aimed at the pony's fOretop aud
ired. That shot determined the
lay. ] saw the pony stumble a
CIV steps, and faliy throwing his
'ider over his head. The remain.
ng three, with a saVage yell, fired
! parting volley, and drew rein.
And just at that moment the truck
truck the ten-fOot grade. y5.
felt its pace slacken instantly,
)ut. luckily, the Indians did not
InOw- one grade from another, and
n a few minutes more they were
nile away, eonsoling their brother
Who would have to walk TO their
amp. tfEs'i-l aaf E-asH"f II
Seeing that was safe, took II
OOk at George. lie was not totally
but looked at me with |
IN expression of terror. 1t took
ne some time to assure him of his
afety, but / finally did, and we
oined the ack.layers with thank.
ul hearts, The engineer, when he
learL my ytory, uncoupled the en-
line from the train and gave chase;
he Indians were too wise, however,
o follow the track, and we saw
hem disappearing far to the south.