The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1892-09-01

thought flashed through my brain that
well-nigh paralyzed me. About half a
mile south of the station the trail
crossed a ravine'one hundred and thirty
feet Sin depth There had formerly
been a rude bridge there, but the &C.
ton of the elements had long since de-
mo!ished this structure. and I recol-
lected that, upon my last journey over
the trail l had been obliged to cross
this gnlley upon a narrow plank It
least twenty feet in length. If coult'
! reach this place before the. Triggers
and crossing. draw the plank after me,
| would be safe-but supposing the
''ringers'' reach there first; and worst
of all, what if the plank be gone entire
ly! The thought-svas sickening! ~
my attention At; this point. was at
tractcd to my pursuers. One of the
| num- Ser had Been pre- iipSitatgd from" his
| saddle. Thisseyent caused the whole
party tosdraws rein for al instant, but
they were shortly to hoof gain with
renewed strength. could distinguish
their angry voices as they came on. /
looked ahead and estimated the DIS f;s
tame. 1t was good two miles at
least to the ravine, for l had covered
scarcely FIVE miles of the plateau. The
RINGERS" had gained upon me, so that
I would have. only about sixty rods
lead at the angle. It was at least a
quarter of a mile from there to the
sravine. Could, Il make z2it?. Indeed it
became question, too, OF whether my
strength would last! Strong and Wig
orousras Twas, had beens IN bjected to
Condition that wou1t@s tend to annihilate
the most Herc1lean s>anatemy. MY
breath came in gasps, and my arms
we're bloated and numb, but set my
I teeth firmly together and rushed on
did not have Is great lead at the
ssarS;le0 as Ihad4 anticipetsd,e.and as my
pursuers came into the trail behind me
could hear the quick; heavy sbreath-
ling of their mustangs, and the riders
urging them on. The RINGERS were
certainly thoroughly cnraged.
Inch by inch they gained as we
rneared, the ravine. What, if the plank
were not, there! Ny blood turned cold
at the thought :, i strained my eyes to
discover it. Yes, thank Heaven! there
was narrow span across the dark
crevasse.a j But could i dismount and
cross be fore the Ringers" overlook
me? On; on, i went. The infinitesi-
NAL part of a second seemed an age! 1
fancied felt the hot breath of the
mustangs 1,pon: sapy cheek, my brain
whirled, my heart seemed to cease
"a beating, 4 tgrappleds the handle. bars
with a frenzied clasp. and grew deathly
faint. l was within forty rods of the
ravine. { The yrfngersHwere approach
ing like thesw1nd- thirty-twenty -ten
s1tiyeax ! saw you'd not have time to
sdismoqnt sahef rosg the plank there
was but one thing to do! "A man has
to die some day,''h smuttefed between
my teeth, and heading down. the slope
= daShed SIT Upon the long, auivering
as ny weigh. game r'pon i, end then a
wild yen Of rage rang out and I felt
the shantile-bars jerkkdt Violently from
my grasp, while with a, lunge shot
into the air and fell head first on the
opposite 1eege: Jumping to my feet
aur1edES about sjust id time ftoTsee both
bicycle and plank disappear into the
ravinea Il Qnssof the &'tsringers'' had las
soed the little wheel to the machine.
esssai 1sas 4snsiea sof. sthe.rope~je rked
him bodily from his saddle to the earth.
1Iwalked tl.ere,neining nile to the sta
ton. and related my anQyel adventure
to my companions over sour, pipes
around faJroaringscasnf,3 6re that. even
ing. Iihad covered The entire distance
oftwenty miles il two hours: and TWEEN
ty-one. minutes III
Two days thereAfter the survey was
completed and The corps disbahded /
game on home and 'H3vs since enjoyed
many Pod Will upon my old wheel,
although hardly of such a hazardous
schPracterea o the one narrated nj.
lean la RUE BYRNETr.,
--Thesheart6 the lettuce is the only
one that is not troubled with palpita-
T. :.