Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-07-31

| that 10 N,uld not fvturn without th<
prisoner.
Don Luis vagaert was on ths point
Of refusing his request. but he did no,
wish o. appear 90 hinder the due notion
Of justice. and. moreover. he still had
the hope that I,acw would 10 beyond
the reach ~ captue ~ he granted the
four men IN his sergeant aud went "a
himself with the rest of the troop In
another direction The half caste. for
his part. st out to explore the paths
which lei 10 the east VI the forest
knowing well by experience that an In
telliecnt man must think u flying ".
ward the river.
After an hours rrcarch no fornd
traces freshly made. the grass troddeu
down. small branches broken and here
and there bush the foliage 10 which
had iccn di,plsc~l This WAS enough
for him. Indeed 10 was more than
enough for this man. who hal the In.
stinct of q bloodhound lie lei his -four
soldiers along the road that Alfonso had
taken. hut fortunately nigh, set In. and
they were obliged to make their camp
Before sunrise the half caste set N
alone In the direction indicated by the
traces. which became more and more
visible. sceing that as che forest became
more dense Alfonso. Ina order to make q
passage for himself, had been obliged Ca
brcak more shrubs and to hsat down
morc 10 the high gras. Carried away
by his Artor. the sergeant was far In
advance ~ hi- men aud reached the
SPOT where Alfonso hal -toppcd. All. II
he had only known that the prey he w..s
seeking was lying Asl~p 20 feet over
his hoai' put the fugitive. Ia order 'o
reach his hammock. had made y circuit
of 80 to 100 yards over the trunks II
fallen tr,e., on the bark II which he
naturally lcft no trac-, ~ that the half
cast. was stopped like dog who has
l~t the scent, smelling. listening. look.
ing. feeling sure that h. whom b. was
seeking must IL cruuch-i somewhere
near. Too well u,ed 10 the virgin forest
and to the .traieg-ms of the hunters tn
give himself the trouble to look fs Al.
fonso's retreat. which might L. any.
where. the sergeant thought his is~t
plan would L. "a firc In the air. saying
Co himself that Bscas, even 10 be- wsr.
. couple ~ hundpd PAGES away, would
fancy the gun Wa. hr-d Close to him
on account ~ the extraordinary echo
which exists in th. wo.ls
His reasoning wa. Perfectly god. 80.
p-cially ~ the fugitive siill asleep
woke up with start and might. in
the fr-t moment ~ fright. have oom.
mittcd III. imprudenoc II showing him
s.lf hut Bacas had undorsto..l the
Mtful schcm. q his willy purusr AMI
remained mOtionle-s. Stall he mus, do
something The half caste could hardly
h. alone, AMI II hi. troop were to follow
him IL would not L. two but 10. rsr.
hap. 20. enemies that be- would have to
fight. for Alfonso did not know but
that Oh. Who'll. garrison 10 salem were
uI,nn hi- track.
lie turned all this over in his mind
while he was watching the Arg,niinc.
who SEEMED 10 have given up all hOIs
IL finding him. for be- was leaning
against the trunk of trco and s,emol
un the point ~ loading his gun again.
This VA. liz. ray u light To the fugi.
tive lie. ton, had q charge in the gun
with which he had mounted guard
minute before his escape, and the half
caste. II hc Lot any time would never
b" allie to hit him Taking. then, every
pr,caution. placing his gun Ina his shoul'
der b.lt. Alfonso hung on to - strong
branch. the leaves of which o,.r-had.
owol hi- bc,l. and then. with the agili.
~ u q monkey. he swung himself frOm
bough 20 bough till he roachcl the pas
sage which be had explored the evening
before
We may L. sure that all this was not
accomplished without the silence of tb.
wosis bsing broken. even though 10 was
ever ~ little The ear of the half caste
detected u slight sound among the TO
liagc. .o he looked up l.'furr loading his
gun and glanced eagerly al the side
whonc. the sound had cume. lie tber,
distinctly faw Alfonso Iass from one
trcc 10 the other and then disappear bc-
hind soft ~ palisale formed Ivy enur.
nous bushes with gigantic thonis.