Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-11-21
A RUN FOR LIFE.
BY NEWTON H. WINS.

full, free stride as if he had some inn
portant business and felt like attending |
to it. A heavy growth of pine timber
lined the road on both sides. 1t was at |
. period of time when Michigan could
boast of but few towns or villages, and
these lay widely apart, separated by
dense forests, with here and there
smooth place where the trees had been
cut down and formed q clearing. From
one Of these villages to the next q SER
woods. These roads did very we'll
when the traveller bestrode sure-footed !!
horse, but try the experiment of journey
ing over them in carriage. One mo-
ment slipping to the right as the wheels
on that side roll into deep gutter; now
thrown maliciously to the left by the
righting of the vehicle; again quick
succession of bumps, making one feel
rs if struck by lightning in every nerve
Under such circumstances travellers
often chose to go afoot over these rough
roads.
It was near the middle of the day
when the man in the gray overcoat
passed through small village, tarrying
on the out skirts to get q bit of lunch.
After hastily eating portion of this he
deposited the remainder in his pocket
and continued on his way. When about
half mile out of town ne discovered
bill posted up on the fence; he had no.
dced similar bills in two or three
places, and now for the first time thought
of reading it. He read:
BURGLARY. WITH ATTEMPT AT MURDER!
Two DAYS since l,a Hyil1auo
OF Waverly the one he had just passed
through and put up at the johnson House.
he was very quiet. and kept his room all
s s'a ss S ans LETT sSs store
of Blake. Ross u Co.. robbing the safe of
considerable amount of money. and
knocking down and severely injuring
Mr.. Ross, who sleeps in the store, and
who, on hearing Il noise. came out of his
room to ascertain the cause. The authori-
ties arc prosecuting inquiries; and, in the
meantime, any Information leading to the
detection or arrest of the robber will be
gratefully received and literally rewarded.
The stranger Of the inn and the burglar are
doubtless the same man. He is nearly six
feet in height, is heavily built, and wears u
gray overcoat and black felt hat"
The man, with startled loof, read
the bill over again. M
by the Elernal!" he exclaimed, ener-
getically, this looks bad. Nearly six
feet. heavily built, gray coat and black
felt hat! l swear, I'D answer that de-
scription to an inch. What would I do
If they should get on my track? 1
have "a large sum of money in my
jacket. II I keep the road
no knowing when I shall be
pounced upon by sheriff, and should
go through the woods I might lose
my way, and time is most precious. L
am stranger in these parts. and no one
would believe in my innocence, no mat
ter how stoutly 1 might proclaim it.
Well, there's many time in life when
man might as well be guilty as inno-
cent, as fsr as appearances go; both are
liable, sometimes, to be condemned by
some circumstantial evidence. Gray
coat and felt hat! What the devil am I
to do, anyhow"
He travelled forward, not knowing
what else to do, but keeping sharp
lookout both before and behind him.
He could not possibly hope to reach
his destination before the next night,
and in the meantime who knew what
might happen? The thought gave him
uneasiness. He hurried forward. II
he but had good horse he would have
asked no odds. But this was out of the
question under the circumstances.
He still continued to glance uneasily
behind him, while an anxious ex.
preston kept fitting across his face.
The short day drew near its close
The man was flushed and weary. Sud.
denly he paused and Aced around. The
wind was stirring, but there was such 9
heavy signing OF the trees around hin
that it drowned out all other noises. A
damrness gathered on his forehead
On, again, with auickened step. Ter
minutes elapsed, when he again faced
around.
An indescribable echo died away il
the distant woods. Forward again
The sweat now rolled out in big drop.
upon his forehead. Once more thai
bcding, faint, nearing echo.
"Merciful God I will be caught al
last!" was the mans Mortified exclama
stion, hurrying on at a half run
Thoughts of his wife-the faithful
.sharer of his every toil-rose painfully
before him. His children, too. Hi.
step now changed into arun.
At regular intervals that mournfu
CRY went ccnolnS through tile forest.
They had got on Lis track ut Waverly
1t was as plain as day., He also knew
that in newly-settled regions justice
was not MISREPRESENTATION follows closely
upon outrage.
The boding cry came regularly
nearer. Every muscle was strained tt
the flight; but what could he do? His
pursuers doubtless numbered hal.
dozen OF mere.
The instinct Of flight alone remaindt