Los Cerrillos rustler. (Cerrillos, N.M.) 188?-1891, 1890-09-05


sleigh Il was terrible.
lrode In advance. slde By side vim
Captain karaman. the commander Of the
Cos<ackA
We Numbered a. ; headlong speed
over the frozen ground. sue Of our
prey for. on the road before uS fast
freezing mp in the morning air. we're
the tracks Of hoofs and runners i'm.
printed in the slush. Az intervals
through the hill gaps We caught sight
Of the Nistula, q turbid. yellow mass.
sNirling past With It's burden Of floating
ice.
We must travel SIN faster. The
upper bridge Vas a heavier. more solid
structure. little likely 10 be carried OF
BY even such a food as this We must
oFertake them before they reach Il.
We drove the spurs into our panting
horses and the forest and barren hill
sides shot past Us in one flying piano.
rama as we gallopcd like the wind over
the frozen ground. rounding borsi after
bend only 10 see the same empty gilt.
tering stretch OF road fading in mock
cry into the frosty atmosphere.
Furlong after furlong. mile after
mile, and still they kept ahead with a
speed that seemed incredible.
"LookF' cried Captain Karaman,
under his frosted beard. "the tracks
are still soft We shall soon see them"
Struggling houses came In sight. and
the people ran to their doors in wonder
as we swept past like tho whirlwind-
karaman's. Cossacks Of the Volga. somber
and stern In their great black cloaks
and shakos' my dragons, a trife more
picturesques with their green uniforms
and waving plumes
We galloped through the little viii
lage of kapan-only five miles to the
bridge and, as we swept round the
brow OF a hill, In the distance we saw n
black speck on the frozen road.
Even as Karaman pointed il out Il
vanished over a bridge. We Numbered
on In hot pursuit losing sight OF IL
sometimes, but all the while gaining
steadily, until from a vague. dark OBJ
Ject 1t assumed shape and form, and we
could very plainly make out a sleigh
and two horses.
With fierce joy / saw II drawing
and closer. They we're flashing
the horses with furious desperation. but
the poor brutes were fast giving out.
Barely a quarter OF a mile lay bo.
tween us, and now the distance was
diminishing very rapidly. We were
going down a gentle slope, when sud
denly Captain Karaman exclaimed:
"The bridge! DO you sec the bridge?'
Crossing tho road far ahead o. US was
a cleaning bit of water, spanned by n
narrow wooden bridge. It was not the
Nistula, but a puny mountain stream
one of the tributaries OF the Vistula,
whose existence had forgotten.
1t was possible, ! thought, to overtake
he assassins before they could reach IL:
and even II we failed it mattered little,
Ior the Nistula was still a mile or more
away. We swept ovor the icy ground at
l dangerous speed, and / felt like
OF with triumph, for the
leigh was running slower and slower.
the capture of the men seemed GER
ain.
i called them to surrender, but they
made no reply. though they must have
cen how hopeless their situation was.
The bridge was now very close. and |
aw at u glance IL was giving way, for
he stream was high and swollen. and
cakes of ice were crashing against {
he wooden piles. !
Look out, they are going to fire. "
ries karaman, suddenly. And as he {
poke the smooth-faced man half rose in 4
Is seat and turning round pointed the {
directly at Us. ] heard the report \
felt the whiz of the bullet past my /
ar. Then came a puff Of white smoke |
a second shot; and with a cry OF d
ain the Cossack behind me sprang up 5
his saddle and rolled down on the
" road, while his riderless horse I
Jared with fright. (
''The scoundrels!" Kissed Karaman a
trough his teeth. "If we only dared a
oil them" d
But this was exactly what We dared 4
do. They must be taken alive at
i hazards. In the excitement | had b
all about the bridge, and clos Il
up we dashed on in rapid pursuit c.
The assassins had nearly reached the p
Ige OF the stream now. Tho bearded p
was plying the whip savagely, and u
S companion was standing, gun in
md holding his fire apparently until a
D should come a little nearer. b.
Faster and faster-and now the stream IN
before us, a raging, roaring torrent, II
by with a terrible velocity, and q
III the t%ugitives madly dashed their IN
led horses.
An instant mo- and the panic
'icken brutes dashed upon the sway
2, trembling structure; and then, with ~
crash and binding cloud OF VI
ray and snow, bridge, sleigh and all oi
imbled into the torrent, and with n 81
srflln affnrt ,sa ,kn,l-.I - st