Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1892-06-24
HIS PRAYER ANSWERED.

Clang! clang! went the great bell,
startling the whole neighborhood and
bringing all the villagers and farmers
for miles around to the prison. A
convict had escaped and a reward was
offered for his capture-a reward
large enough to tempt most men.
And, besides this, the warm, good
supper always served on such occa-
siOns drew many who would soon tire
of the hunt. Many more came from
pure love of the chase. for a man
hunt is nearly if not quite as good as
a coon hunt, and the prize when
caught is larger.
Some brought rifles, Others dogs,
and still others clubs. Things looked
bad for the unfortunate prisoner, for
all the men seemed ~ferocious and
bloodthirsty excepting one, who re-
marked he didn't care a darn if the
poor galoot did get away: all he
wanted was the supper and to see the
start" and it was not much of a
sight as they all sailed forth headed
by the guards, after partaking lib
orally of some 'corn juice" provided
by the prison officials a long pro-
cession of women and children met
them at the ssstore," for most of the
men had brought their families to
the village for safety, and there was
much shouting and laughter as they
separated into squads. each detach-
ment going a different way. The
noise they made, together with the
baying Of hounds and the trial rifle
shots, was enough to have warned the
prisoner if he had been within a mile.
Gradually, however, the sounds died
away, darkness settled down, and the
place became perfectly quiet, except
in the houses where the visiting wO-
men were gathered. There the fun
was as loud and hearty as though the
absent men had taken their guns and
dogs to hunt rabbits instead of a hui
MA being.
Toward morning all the searching
parties returned, cold. wet, and.
weary, reporting that they had
secured the whole ncighborhood with
out finding any trace of the missing
man.
HE must hev' had help" said the
head guard, sor he could not have
got SO far away: for we've looked and
there amt a sign of him anywhere
round here"
"Did you go through the swamp
in Hines wood?" asked one of the
women.
'No. we didn't go through" was
the answer, ''but we took the dogs
all round the edge Of it and they
didn't scent nothing. Besides, a fell
low could't live there"
"No," they all agreed, she amt in
the swamp"
But in the swamp he was, cowing
down among the damp dead leaves,
covered with mud, icy cold, and
coughing terribly. All night he had
lain there, knowing it was the only
safe place for him, listening to the
moan of the wind and cracking Of
the boughs, and hearing a pursuer in
every sound. When the searching
party had come to the swamp he had
heard them, even recognized the
voices of several of the guards, and
nearly burst a blood-vessel in his eff
forts to prevent a tit of coughing.
He might have been warmly housed
instead of out in the drizzling rain,
satisfied instead of hungry, and on a
good bed instead of the wet ground.
But then this was his first night out
of . prison for over eighteen years.
Only the day before he had had no
Thought of trying to escape. He
knew, he had known ever since he
entered the prison, that il he ran
away and was caught, as he most
likely would be. he would have his
whole term to serve over again, with
out any allowance of time for good.
behavior, for such Is the law Of
Kansas.
But yesterday morning as he lay in
the cherries prison hospital, for he
was dying with consumption, the
song Of 3 bird outside the barred win.
dow startled him, and he began to
think. He had not done 90 for year,