Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1893-02-09
THE ESCAPE.
by W. DELAPLAINE scuLL.


The last palisade over! and limbs
long stitfencd felt lissCm once more with
the life of twenty Now for n slow
and cautious creep along the gully by
which water came into the township I;
later on he would bethink him of that
narrow escape ut the third doorway.
Whisht mans head in the road, and
he bent down once more behind the
earth 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
The officer refined his horse on u 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 splash of water over
Johns head, while the echoes smote the
fortress walls and lost themselves in the
woodlands behind. A low ella or rose
out of San Jago; John rose out of the
stream and ran to the copses. The
Spauiard spurred after him with drawn
sword, eager for the pleasure of slicing
him when caught up; in II few minutes
he was alongside, but this being "A 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
reined up all at once and brought down
his bladc-vainly. Por the cunning Eng
lishnlan ducked under the horses body,
then popped out, seized his foes leg and
foot, and with sudden fierce heave shot
the soldier sideways out of his saddle
and On to his head. There he lay broken
necked, while the victor grasped the
birdie, bent to earth and snatched the
sword, mounted the animal and stuck the
weapons point into its haunch off shot
the horse with a snort of pain, while the
chatter of pursuers arose behind, finally
sinking away as the pine trees lew 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 stumbles.
Several miles the horse began to breathe
hard and sob, then settled into a slow
trot.
More miles. The trot became walk,
and the walk more difficult; more miles
yet, very long ones, aud the earth went
up and down as the darkness became
gray--there were low hills and shallow
ravines, then came rocks, and lodges,
and cliffs; the gray speedily thinned, the
horse stopped at cliH wall
10 the right, to the left, John looked
for an opening: there was none. lie
raised his hands, licked q finger of the
cleanest, thought he felt faint fresh
ness on the left side of it, and so turned
in that direction. After some hundred
yards he came to a crack in the wall; he
pushed into it. There was hardly room
ut FIRST. then it widened into chasm, and
wound along in darkness with band of
light at the top-then came sudden de-
scent. and the wearied creature he rode
stumbled and threw him into a pool of
water.
The shock of the plunge brought him
together again. He struggled beneath
the water, came up Mt last, half choked,
and pulled himself upon a 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; a
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 a space and thought;
he could not stay there, they would track
him to the rock wall and cleft; was there
another way to the other side2 The
cold, shut-in lake was quite still now,
the cleft by which he had come in was
dimly visible across the dark level; he
stood up and looked behind him; the
cleft continued there like narrow road
upward. Then he knew that he had
come TO the hidden source Of the stream
that passed mysteriously underground,
and came to daylight in the country
where the Spaniards had placed Fort
San Jago. He went along the chasm
and after an hour or two stood on the
platform; bare rock and nothing else; he
went on higher still, with hunger assert
ing itself, miles and more miles yet. The
sun came out and sent yellow rays across
the pinnacles, casting purple shadows as
queerly shaped as they. lie climbed the
highest of these rock-teeth' and saw a
vast upward plain, with an orange-tinted
rim; here and there gray twists, where a
slight valley came, and few lonely
stoncs-rcally great boulders Of prime
val sea; he looked behind and only a
faint green tinge on that horizon indi.
Gated the grass country OF San Jago, but
he felt that even now they might be AT
a. .l.f@ l.. az. ~ool .xon tbooa ooar