Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1896-09-07

He tried to open his clothes as if TO
look for the wound. but his fingers
slipped on the buttons With that he
gave a great sigh, his head rolled on his
shoulder, and he passed away.
The lawyer said never a word, but his
face was as sharp as pen and as white
as the dead mans: the servant broke
out into great noise OF crying and
weeping, like child; and I. on my side,
stood staring at them ina kind of horror
The sheriffs officer had run back at the
first sound of the shot, to hasten the
coming of the soldiers.
At last the lawyer laid down the dead
man in his blood upon the road, and got
to his own feet with kind of stagger.
| believe it was his movement that
brought me to my senses; for he had no
sooner done 50 than | began to scramble
up the hill, crying out The murderer.
the murderer
SO little time had elapsed that when
[ got to the top of the first steepness,
and could see some part OF the open
mountain, the murderer was still moving
away at no great distance. He was
big man. in a black coat with metal but
tons, and carried long fowlng-piece.
''Herer' l cried 81 see himn'
At that the murderer gave little,
quick look over his shoulder, and began
to run. The next moment he was lost
in fringe of birches; then he came out
again on the upper side, where l could
see him climbing like a jackanapes, for
that part was again very steep; and then
he dipped behind a boulder, and l saw
him no more.
All this time | had been running on
my side, and had got a good way up,
when voice cried upon me to stand.
l was at the edge of the upper wood,
and so now, when [ halted and looked
7 ~ Ytn no
below me- The lawyer and the sheriff's
officer were standing just above the.
road, crying and waving on me to come
back; and on their left, the redcoats,
musket in hand were beginning to strug-
gle singly out Of the lower wood.
''Why should / come back?' | cried.
"Come you on
'.Ten pounds if We take that lad.'
cried the lawyer. Hes an accomplice.
He was posted here TO hold us in talk"
At that word (Which | could hear quite
plainly, though it was to the soldiers
and not to me that he was crying it,
my heart came in my mouth with quite
a new kind OF terror. Indeed, it is one
thing to stand the danger of your life,
and quite another to run the peril of
both life and character. The thing, be-
sides, had come so suddenly, like thun-
der out of a clear sky, that l was all
The soldiers began to spread, some of
them to run, and others to put their
pieces and cover me: and still | stood.
''Jouk duck in here among the trees,
said voice close by.
Indeed, [ scarce knew what [ was do
ing, but / obeyed; and as | did so
heard the frelocks bang and the balls
whistle in the birches
Just inside the shelter of the trees |
Ian 10 iCh-
ing-rod. He gave me no salutation; in
deed it was no time for civilities; only
Gomez says he, and set off running
along the side of the mountain toward
BalachuliSh. and /, like a sheep, to fol-
low him.
Now we ran among the birches; now
STOPPING behind low humps upon the
mountain side: now crawling on all-fours
among the heather The pace was dead
w. my heart seemed bursting against
my ribs; and | had neither time to think
nor breath to speak with. Only l re-
member seeing with wonder that Alan
every now and then would straighten him
self to his full height and look back;
and every time he did SO there came
a great faraway cheering and crying of
the soldiers.
Quarter of an hour later. Alan stopped,
clapped down fiat in the heather and
turned to me.
Now" said he. Its earnest. Do as
| do for your life
And at the same speed, but now with
infinitely more precaution, we traced
back again across the mountain side by
the same way that we had come only
perhaps higher; till at last Alan threw
himself down in the upper wood of Let
termore, where | had found him at the
first, and lay, with his face in the brack-
en- Oantin0 like n dog
My own sides SO ached, my head so
swan, my tongue SO hung out of my
mouth with heat and dryness, that / lay
beside him like one dead