Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1889-11-07
CHAPTER XVII.

Have you got himp" l shouted, spring.
ing to the window as soon as ! could re-
cover from my surprise, and, of course
FULLY expecting to see the rascal struggling
with the two men that / had taken the pre-
caution to post just outside the windows.
No, they had not got him.
Lannigan had been knocked completely
OFT his pins by the suddenness and mo-
mentum of De Marchmont's flying form,
and was now bewilderedly picking himself
up, while Hank was already on the wing in
the wake of the fugitive, who had bounded
over the front fence and taken to the broad
road leading westward.
Shouting to Doc to follow / lost no time
in leaping out of the broken window and
joining Lannigan in the chase at the II heels.
The road was straight and little cb-
structed, and. the moon having risen clear
and full with the coming on of dusk, every
thing was pretty distinctly visible for a
considerable distance ahead.
happen to be a fine runner. In mo-
ment had passed Lannigan like a shot,
and, little later, was abreast with Hank
the fugitive being not more than hundred
yards ahead, but running like deer
There were neither trees nor bulldogs
enough on either side of the road to prove
available for his shelter in swerve to right
or left. knew that his darling object was
to attain the Westchester shore-with which
he was probably familiar enough TO soon
battle us when once among its wooded
heights and something told me that he
would try to reach it by High Bridge, mas
much as he would guess that the authori-
ties at the intermediate bridge at Macomb's
Dam had already been advised against just
such an attempt as he was making
therefore forged slowly past Hank, who
was also good runner. and kept doggedly
in the fugitive's wake, gaining on him inch
by inch in the moonlight, felt assured,
though he was using and economizing his
tine running powers with splendid judg-
ment.
What race it was! Bright moonlight,
an open road, fully two miles from The
Aspens to the southern towers of the
|. aqueduct bridge. the entire stretch lonely
and deserted except by those in the race.
hunted and hunters equally determined.
aud piercing cold! 1t was such one as is
sometimes read about but seldom actually
Witnessed, as was the case in this instance.
Once the hunted man threw his head
around and looked back over his shoulder,
like scared wolf, and, notwithstand ding the
distance between us, / saw the expression
OF his face. 1t was certainly the most des-
perate and ferocious had ever seen in the
human countenance, though ghastly white
in the moonlight
The distance was SO brief, and our rates.
OF running 50 even, that he evidently dared
not halt even long enough to hazard shot
at me. On we sped, fairly burning up the
ground as the French say. As we crossed
the road leading down to McComb's Dam, /
saw him cast longing glance down toward
the bridge, but he only darted across, and
kept on up the long steep hill leading to
the aqueduct without break.
/ had time to yell back to Hank, who
was now fully fifty yards behind, @Give up
the chase and look for boat to head him
off on the further side!" forgetting in my
excitement that the ice in the river was
probably too thick for the use of oars to
advantage.
The fugitive must have heard the shouted
order, for he at once put on squirt" by
great effort, and it was evident that his sole
remaining hope was to effect q crossing by
the aqueduct bridge.
He did not know the extra precautions
we had taken to put Maxton and his men
on the lookout on the further side and
that. boat or no boat he was sure to be
nabbed in the end. 1t was, therefore, Just
now my chief anxiety to insure that he did
get on that very bridge.
But the road was now becoming more
thickly bordered by trees at every stride,
and also suddenly put on q squirt. my
chief dread being that he would quit tho
road
But he did not. He kept straight on.
and there was not more than fifty Yards
distance separating us as he suddenly
sweryed to the right and darted under the
east archway Of the bridge
was after him like shot, and the next
instant we were scudding along, with the
great water mains twice as high as our
heads, on our left, and the stone parapet.
not quite SO high, on our right. the moon
still lighting the way. and the solid masonry
under foot sending forth upon the frosty
air sharp, ringing echo to our speeding
feet.
But, if he had been able to almost hold
his own with me on the comparatively
broken ground of the highway, his pace
was literally nowhere compared to mine
upon that smooth, hard solid stretch that
lay before us.
] had diminished the interval more than