Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-01-20
peiied once or twice to dismount, rarely
less than mile ahead

peiied once or twice to dismount. rareIy
less than n mile ahead
had reached IA part of the beach totally
unknown to me, but the going was good
and again I slowly gained Their beasts
were obviously flagging, and they no Ion
ger Kept together. If could but hold out
another few miles, / might hope to com
plctcly distance them.
The shore before me took a wide curve
the first bend for 80 miles or more ]
rounded it, and, at The pace l was going,
as nearly as possible drove machine and all
INTO great inlet half a mile wide, through
which the rapidly rising tide was flowing
IN toward the lagoon at between two and
three knots an hour.
was trapped. Certainly could swim
ilttle, but nowhere near enough to cross
this wide. rapid estuary. Should take to
the scrub? 1t seemed the only possible al
tentative
ANA then an inspiration came to me.
MY pnrsuers were more than mile be-
hind, us far ms could judge. l had there
fore six to seven minutes in hand. Throw
ing the bicycle on the sand, in almost less
time than it takes to write it had DICTATED
and stripped off both the tires. In a very
few moments l had pumped them full
arfesh. Then l kicked off my boots, and
having with my belt secured both the air
filled tubes under my arms, plunged bold
ly into the ripping, moonlit water.
a growl of disappointed rage from my
ba11icd pursuors rang through the night,
ana then crack, crack, a couple of pistol
bullets flew high over my head and rico
chetcd in the wavclcts beyond. But a
mans head, bobbing about hundred
yards away, is poor mark by moonlight,
and an instant later l was whirled safely
around the corner of the bluff, and soon
out into midstream beyond
The water was quite warm and little
danger of sharks inside the bar. But l
was at the mercy of the tide and did not
know how long it might be before I
might be able to land In half an hour
was through the line and adrift on the
wide bosom Of the Indian river
Here the current bore me southwark.
and all night | was carried on. Dawn and
the turn of the tide found me weak and
exhausted close To a small islet which
recognized as only IA couple of miles north
OF our camp. Here ! managed to struggle
ashore and stretched myself in the long.
coarse grass, where the welcome sunlight
soon dried my saturated garments and
body
In the course of the morning was tax.
en- off by a fishing boat and landed safe at
the camp, where my arrival caused. as
had expected, surprise Northcott declared
he had sent me no message.
What was moro TO the point, as far as
was concerned, he gave me another week s
leave, and you may believe | didn't lose
much time in getting down again 10 Port
Lea. But this time | stuck to the river,
getting passage on II small schooner
None of us ever set eyes on them again.
Only short time ago, though, my wife,
formerly Miss Lena Warburton, came to
me in some excitement with q paper
which gave graphic account Of the cap
turc and subsequent lynching of big
mulatto whose name was supposed TO bo
Gilcad Mack. He had been caught in the
very act of firing the barns of man who
had employed him.
My wife and l live in n cottage near
Port Lea, and ours are now by no means
the only bicycles you may sec spinning
down the beach by nlight.-Answe-s.