Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-11-22

ton OF the enemy, whose purpose, II
they could not finish me by a long
chance shot. was to drive me straight
/ into an ambush? ] took in as many
. of the trees and bushes as / could at q
single glance. and wondered how many
of them might conceal a murderous
redskin? Nothing would have sur
prised me less. than TO see q pun OF
smoke at either hand. or 10 find my
self suddenly facing a detachment of
/ foes who should spring UP from the
roadside and draw me on. / pulled
my one revolver from my nip pocket. TO
| be in readiness to answer hostile chal-
lenge as effective as possible.
/ No ambuSled ice declared himself,
but. as l drew near the forest, | re-
fected with a chill Of something like
terror how vain il would be 20 keep on
the alert for signs of the enemy there.
4 regiment of GreaSers might be lying
OF one side. and another of Indians at
the other. and such a fearful gauntlet
of possibilities / must run, without the
faintest chance of escaping alive,
should a hundredth part Of my sur
misses be justified by events. With this
c~uesome speculation j entered the for
est. The change from the compare
tive brightness of the open land into
the s0ubre gloom Of the wood was
startling sudden. From without. the
trees had not appeared to be set very
close together. but now they were al
most like solid walls on either side.
supporting q matched roof overhead.
The habit of the experienced blcyclisJ
came upon me. and. mOmentarily, for
getful of pursUers. l bent over the
6andlehar and gave my attention 10
the road. Ii stretched. broad. gray and
indistincJ. straight ahead IOr an lnde-
finite distance. seeming TO fade in the
surrounding blacEness, as II tne night
had swallowed it, or as If it stopped
sheer. at the edge Of precipice.
1 felt. rather than saw, that the grade
was descending. and instinctiyely be-
gan TO back pedal You see. / had be-
come for the moment, not a fugitive IN
eminent danger of horrible death,
but simply a bicvclist keenly alive TO
the possibilities of spills, punctures and
collisions on q strange road. il should
rot need saying thar my lapse into or
binary caution was exceedingly tenn
porarv. l aw0ke TO the folly or back
pedalinE VITA considerable selt-ccL-
tempt. for what had l been longing lot
hut down grade? pushed on there
fore scanning the dim ribbon of road
as keenlv as I could. and gathering
courage and hope. as the wheels con-
tinued to reyolye faster and faster,
without 50 much OF jolt as might be
caused by @ pebble.
Distance was passing. II one may so
speak. more quickly than time. but In the
very few seconds since I had entered the
forest. 7 had recovered. 10 a great degree.
my customary feeling of confidence Per-
hans it was not so much confidence as deS-
rerate determination TO win in the race.
hut I'm either case sped on with the grow
ing conviction that my chance for live Law
with the machine and the road. ana that
10 would be folly for me 90 take more than
"a comoara lively passive hand in the yen-
t-rs could not see the road plainly
enough 20 avoid obstacles less large than
n locomotive and could not ask Cor a aet-
-s~ vehicle. actually felt in thar mo-
mont that was fortunate ia being astriue
Of machine instead Of horse. The
fact that. above the steady but faint Vhir
of the wheels I could hear neither savage
wells nor che tread of advancing horses,
was q source Of satisfaction, though 1
MAS ar7rchensive. OF course. that the
sounds o. the enemy would arise from be-
biS6 atany moment. and WAS not forget
full OF the possibilities Of hidden foes
ahead
Presently. the machine took on such n
sqlreck velocity that my feet We're