Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-11-09

away goes the entire field sweeping In
pursuit. At frst al q one mad rush
until II Il certain that the rabbit Il .
veteran who understands well the maxim
that "a stern chase Is long chase" all
the world over.
Close behind the master Of the hounds,
all eyes hxed on that bounding tuft Of
gray and white o few score yards ahead,
bending over their horses necks and
keeping just enough pressure on the bit
Parke and Graham, two eight weights"
who have coursed many mile Of prairie.
just behind them, o little to their right,
rides Mrs. Belknap, her veil futtering
straight out behind, her glorious eyes
flashing, her dark skin flushed with tri-
umph and the exhilaration Of the dash
ing pace, her little hands wound about in
the reins she holds 90 firmly. Splendidly
she sits her feet racer, and Dana has to
urge and spur his clumsier troop horse
to keep in close attendance. These four
are well in advance of all the others.
Back Of them, gallantly urging on her
sturdy sorrel, comes Mrs. Sprague, with
Stryker riding warily alongside and
watching her ''going" before he will sat-
isfy himself that 1t is safe to trust her to
her own guiding. Level as the prairie
is here, he knows that q mile or so ahead
there are breaks leading down into
the valley Of one Of the innumerable
tributaries of the Washita. Then the
story may be different.
He looks up in surprise at the thunder
Of hoofs close alongside, and Mrs. Law
renee, with excitement in her eyes, over.
takes, then passes them on the way to
the front. ''Seer' he points to his part
.ner, "see that dark shadow across the
prairie out there. We cannot ride at this
pace when we pass that hollow; the
breaks set in still farther" He glances
over his shoulder and signals to the near
est officer TO follow Mrs. Lawrence and
look out for her, and the gallant does his
best, but all are at top speed; the colonel
and the heavy weights--infantry and
cavalry-are beginning to lose ground,
and still that gray puff ball" far to the
front seems inch by inch to be slipping
away from his pursuers. Will he keep
his determined course, up hill and down,
straight away to the east, or will he lose
heart, tack, veer, double and twist? II
he swerve he Is lost rabbit!
Far to the rear, yelping, painting, dis
tracted by this time, the terriers and
mongrels, the original leaders, have fall
en-. The field, too, is strung out nearly
mile deep at the end of the first six
minutes run, for some Of the laggards
have given up and are disposed to wait
for the coming of the buggies and buck
boards Here at the front all is tense
excitement. All eyes are on the rabbit,
for now or never will the crisis come.
The horses are breathing heavily, but
with no thought of slackening speed.
"Watch him now as he sights that
arroyo!" shouts Graham to Parke, for
far out to the right front ravine bursts
| off to the southeast, and one of its shal.
| low contributors stretches obliquely
across the rabbits frenzied vision.
"Veer that way; he'll take it surei"
shouts the huntsman; and, sure enough.
| no sooner does he reach it than the gray
| victim darts down the winding shelter.
as though hopeful that his sudden twist
would throw his pursuers off the sight,
scent the greyhound has none The
move is disastrous; "IIi:' shout the lead
!
| right front, and, obedient to signal the
! foremost hounds sweep in long curve
| into the coulee, striking it many a yard
farther down than where the harried
chase first dived into its treacherous
| shadows.
And now those hounds who were out
on the right flank are up in line with the
very leaders, and bounding along the
level at the side Of the ravine, yet keep
| ing wary eye upon the chase SO, too.
the horsemen. Making deep curve in
the ravine five hundred yards ahead and
confident that Bunny will blindly rush
along his winding track, they strike out
across the prairie, gaining twenty horse
lengths by the move, and now. with two
or three of the Oldest hounds, Parke.
Dana and Mrs. Belknap are darting on
abreast of the chase Keep out there
to the left, some of youl" shouts Dana.
Hell spring up the other side quick as
he sees u.s. Drive him back" And,
obedient to the signal of his waving
hand, two of the leading troopers breast
tine slopes to the east, calling half dozen
hounds with them. Darting around a
bend, Bunny's agonized eyes catch sight
of the hounds and horses on the right
bank, and like a flash he whirls, scamp
ers up the opposite slope, and shoots out
on the prairie again just in time to meet
the hounds and troopers who have an
ticipated the move.
Now he is wild and demoralized.
Once more he dives into the ravine and
sends the dust flying into the very faces
of his pursuers, for now the leading
hounds are SO close that the foremost
jaws are swapping the air at his every
bound. A quick turn to the right and
up the slope throws these leaders far
too far-beyond; they sweep around in
long curve; but, though he has thrown
them off, the hunted, senseless, helpless
wretch has forgotten the trailers in the
rear; they spring across the angle he has
made, and are close as the original pur-
suers, and much the fresher. Wildly.
madly now he twists and turns, first up
one bank, then the other. Far to the
rear the coming riders see the signs of
his breaking down, mark the scurrying
to and fro of horse and hound "Come
on" they shout. Hes gone now, and
we can be in at the death!" Mrs. Law
renee on one side of the ravine is as far
to the front as Mrs, Belknap on the
other. One of them must lose the brush;
he cannot die on both sides at once.
The dark beauty has had more than one
rasping disappointment in the last two
days; it would be intolerable now that,
after all, Mrs. Lawrence, and not she.
should prove the victor.
Bunny makes one frantic rush up the
slope to the right, and, with half dozen