The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-05-21

Bessie's Diagram
mood to fight the whole village, dogs
and all. Strengthening UP pointed to
the struggling cur and said:
IF any of you chaps own that dog
you are at liberty to take his price out
Of my hide
They eli looked at the cur and then
! at one another, but not a word was
spoken in reply to my challenge Pres
emily two of the men walked slowly
away, and most Of the youngsters fol-
lowed their example. Those who re-
manned still gazed at me in sort Of
expressionless suspense, as if waiting
to be kicked OF shot.
| suddenly thought of Bessie BoOle,
and forgetting my injuries, l mounted
and moved off, carefully at first, being
admonished by the sharp pain in my
ankle. AS I left the village heard
hCarse yell behind me, a species of
coon hunters clarion, quite familiar in
the wooded districts Of Southern In
diana. It was a note of defiance, al
though the fellow who uttered it prob
ably took immediate strides in the di-
rectien of his back yard @
Finding my sprain growing easier l
tooka great squirt and passed another
ten miles in less than an hour without
noteworthy accident But soon found
that my troubles were not over. The
roads up to this point had been re-
markably good, and most Of the way
smooth and level. now struck a roll
ing section, and the hills rose in con
tinuous .undulations. The roads were
rocky and srooved with winding gull
lies, describing the wash-outs of form
Ell rains. Ny progress was very labor
ious, and so frequent were the checks
and hindrances that when the fourth
hour had gone I had not made d foot
over five miles. 5,F.ss:
About this time, however, the coun-s
try became leveler, and had a. run of
five or six miles that did not occupy
more than half an hour. At the end Of
this squirt the road suddenly forked,
was brought to an abrupt halt, not
having the slightest idea which prong
of the fork led to my goal
I looked about. The only farm
house in sight was a quarter Of a mile
to the left, across broken meadows
and q wind-swept corn field. strain
ed my eyes up and down the three
highways, but net a human being was
to be seen. The two roads ahead,
which diverged at an angle of about
~ degrees, were equally travelled. The
one to the right seemd to turn off a
couple OF miles away, while the other
was straight so far as I could see.
/ was inclined to take the latter but
as had no time to waste experiment.
ing, decided to go to the farmhouse
and inquire which road led to Munger,
small town twenty-five miles west
of Feeder Station. This had ascer-
tanned by means of maps and inquiries
when first contemplating the trip.
Leaving my wheel in a fence corner,
half hidden by clump Of alder bushes
I struck across the fields in a trot. [
found the farmer in his barnyard, and
after he had with difficulty subdued a
pair Of savage bull dogs that wanted
to eat me without seasoning, I ELECTED
the Information that the road to the
right led to Munger. Thanking him,
hurried back in a great sweat, warn
ed by my chronometer that | had lost
just twenty minutes, which might
change my destiny.
Arriving at the forks / was horri-
fed to find that my wheel was gonen
Casting a hasty look around I saw q
fellow mounted on it and riding for
dear life, about two hundred yards to
the westward! Without waiting to
swear accurately and smoothly, I
snatched my revolver from my pocket
and rushed madly, after the thief,
shouting an agglomeration Of threats,
entreaties. broken imprecations and
abbreviated prayers. / fired a shot at
Intervals, when | could do so without
perfol2 ting my legs. The fellow gave
a nervous look behind, lost his gravity,
and minute later took an awful head
er. Gathering himself up he aban-
doned the wheel, scaled the fence and
quickly disappeared in the adjoining
woods.
Arriving at the spot where he fell,
found the faithful safety still unin-
jured, and was soon on my way to
Munger. The read was level and /
made the run in twenty-five minutes.
~ found Munger a good-sized town,
and got through it without any nota BILE
adventure. just before leaving it I
stepped at a restaurant and took a
hasty lunch. including a goblet Of ..hot-
Scotch Feeling quite refreshed / re-
sumed the road with Ill rejuyenated
hopes. slz s
It was now 10 o'clock. and I little
over twenty miles away The coun-
try was marvelously level. and the
roads excellent. I spurted the first ten
miles in about thirty minutes. but I
began to feel alarm at the aspect OF the
heavens. Heavy clouds were gather
ing and a storm was threatening. In
a quarter of an hour the big drops
began TO fall and pres nntlv t3,.AS m IN