St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1893-03-11
THE ESCAPE,
BY W. DELAPLAINE SCULL,

| The last pallsade and limbs
long sti.fened felt lissom once more with
the life of twenty-five. Now for slow
and cautious creep along the gully by
which water came into the township
later on he would bethnk him of that
narrow escape at the third doorway.
Whisht! mans head in the road, and
he bent down once more behind the
th-ridge and pushed his way up
stream with difficulty, showing as little
of himself as possible. 1t was an officer
coming into the town late.
Very silently; the moon was trouble
some to one just escaping, but praise the
Lord, who watches over bold English
men, the guard had not yet discovered
their loss, and the water was bearably
cold. Never return thanks too soon j.!
The officer reined his horse on a rising
slope, and. turning in his saddle, glanced
back over the shadow dapplcd land SO
that his eye, running up the shiny ribbon
of stream, suddenly saw the black dot
laboring away against its current.
Instincts of destruction ran along the
nerves of his hand he drew pistol and
fired, sending a splash of water over
Johns head, while the echoes smote the
fortress-Walls and lost themselves in the
woodlands behind. A low ella For rose
out of San Jago; John rose out of the
stream and ran to the copses. The
Spaniard spurrcd after him with drawn
sword, eager for the pleasure of slicing
him when caught up; in a few minutes
he was alongside, but this being sha-
dowed spot he stayed his hand overhead
till the stroke should be sure. In that
moment John doubled like hare and
rushed desperately at the soldier, who
rcincd up all at once and brought down
his blade-vainly. Por the cunning Eng
hshman ducked under the horses body.
then popped out, seized his foes leg and
foot, and with sudden fierce hcave shot
the soldier sideways out of his saddle
and oil to his head There he lay broken
neckcd, while the victor graspcd the
bride, bent to earth and snatched the
sword, mounted the animal and stuck the
weapons point into it's haunch; off shot
the horse with snort Of pain, while the I
CHATTER of pursucrs arose behind, finally
sinking away as the pine trees flew by.
Then, as the moon entered thick cloud .
bank, they came to an open prairie, and .
onward into darkness they went without /
more than the slightest of stumhles.
Several miles; the horse began to breathe !
hard and sob, then settled into slow .
trot.
More miles. The trot became a walk. |
and the walk more difficult; more miles !
yet, very long ones, and the earth went !
up and down as the darkness became !
gray--therc were low hills and shallow |
ravlnes, then came rocks, and lodges,
and cliffs; the gray speedily thinned, the |
horse stopped at cliff wall.
10 the right, to the left, John looked |
tor an opening; there was none. He |
raised his hands, licked finger of the
cleancst, thought he felt a faint fresh
ness on tie left side of it, and so turned !
in that direction. After some hundred |
yards he came to crack in the wall: he |
pushed into 1t. There was hardly room
at first. then it widcncd into chasm. and !
wound along in darkness with Il band of |
light at the top-then came sudden de-
scent, and the wearied creature he rode
stumbled and threw him into pool of
water.
The shock of the plunge brought him
together again. He struggled beneath
the water, came up at last, half chokcd,
and pulled himself upon rocky ledge
with the sword still hanging from his
wrist. Looking for the horse, he saw
nothing but violent commotion on the
water surface, which presently ceased;
few air bubbles came to the top and
broke, that was all; his rescuer had
ended its life in the depths from which
he had escaped.
Then he sat for space and thought:
ne could not stay there, they would track
him to the rock wall and cleft; was there
another way to the other side? The
cold, shut-in lake was quite still now.
the cleft by which he had come in was
dlmly visible across the dark level; he s
stood up and looked behind him; the {
cleft continued there like narrow road
upward. Then he knew that he had I
come to the hidden source of the stream ,
hat passed mysteriously underground, s
md came to daylight in the country {
where the Spaniards had placed Fort
San Jago. He went along the chasm |
md after an hour or two stood on the
bare rock and nothing else: he G
vent on higher still, with hunger assert f
ng itself, miles and more miles yet. The
I'm came out and sent yellow rays across t
he pinnacles, casting purple shadows as L
Iueerly shaped as they. He climbed the /
highest of these rock-teeth and saw a
asst upward plain, with an orange-tinted a
i'm; here and there gray twists, where /
light valley came, and a few lonely
tones-really great bouldcrs of prime v
al sea; he looked behind and only q
amt green tinge on that horizon indi-
ated the grass country of San Jago, but b
e felt that even now they might be at t.
he cleft in the rock-wall, those Span a