Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1899-12-14

west recognlzeu i.ill with /, clest OF
trees which doomed against the horizon
and which was quite sure lay near the
plantation. knowing something Of tbe
direction from. my starry compass, {
felt confident that by making the hill
my objective point wopld not go far
amiss.
After making these observations,
which did not occupy q tenth Of the
time I have taken to mention them, l
dashed across the field. I had gone but
a short distance, when, glancing aside,
I saw figure getting over the fence
which inclosed the field on the north. I
stopped, as much from u paralysis of
terror as from wish to know whom I
would have to encounter. The fgu1s
dropped to the ground and made
straight toward me. AS it approached
was relieved to see that it was wom-
an, and delighted when I recognized
Margaret Beach. ...-..
Sam I missed?'''
eyes. Quick!"
BY consenting impulse we both made
for low growth of timber not hum
bred yards below. asked no ex-
PLANTATION as to what had happened, but
knew long after that my passage
through the bushes had been heard,
and while the guards were discussing
the matter and counting the prisoners
Margaret had slipped away. What was
or%s ~ rr-1,1oOo
and we lost no time in reaching the
edge of a creek. I looked about for
some place of concealment; my eyes
fell on dark corner in a bend of the
creek, where some driftwood was
heaped against a log lying partly on the
bank and partly in the water. I mo-
toned to Margaret to get behind the
log, and bounded after her. Then l
pulled the drift-wood so as to cover
US, and waited.
Oh, the excitement of those few min
utes! My heart thumped against my
breast, I trembled all over, and it was
almost impossible for me to keep from
throwing off our covering of wood and
pushing onward. Indeed, my impulse
got the better of me, and started to
rise, but Margaret held me down.
had no further opportunity, for in an
other moment there was a sound Of
boots among the stubble of the corn
field, and some men jumped the fence
on the hither side. One dashed into
the creek, across it, and hurried away
on the farther bank. Another crossed
lower down. Two more came to the
bank and paused.
Reckon he's som'r's bout hyar."
"Too near. He'd likely go further
'thout stoppin'."
"Don' know bout that. This tim
ber's good place TO hidin'. I'm goin'
ter look hyar; you 60 on if y like; l
want ter see what's behind that log
afo' I 60"
He descended to the creek, advanced
in the rocky bed, came to the end of
the log that lay in the water, and, bal
ancing himself by extending his arms,
assembled the incline. The disadvan-
tage of his position appeared to me like
a flash. Placing my hands on the log,
NdullSu OAlo II, tillu, oS1o1S tiS IilalA
could recover from his surprise, clasped
him round the chest under his extended
arms. We went down together, he on
his back, on top of him, into shallow
water. His skull struck the solid rock,
and he lay motionless. Igot up unhurt.
Climbing the log looked down into our
hiding-place. There lay Margaret In .
dead faint. Scooping some water trosa
the creek into my hands, I threw II IN
her face. It revived her and in few
minutes she was up.
"Come! Quick!" seized her by the
hand, and dragged her out and away.
She cast a glance at the man lying IN
the creek, and shuddered. We climbed
the opposite bank and stood on the edge
of the timber. There were only two
men in sight; they were pushing on to-
gether without looking back. Not fur
in advance of where we stood, in the
center of an open field was a haycack.
1t was the first and only place Of REF
uge I could see, and had no time 10
waste. Dragging Margaret after me-,
we staggered across the field, keeping
the haycock between us and the men
in advance; once there we plunged un.
der the hay. 1t was the worst possible
place to hide, for it would be the first
place one would be likely to search.
The absurdity of staying there soon
struck both of us. crawled out eau
tiously, but scrambled back on mistak-
ing stump for a man; waited,
crawled out again, listened, stood up,
and looked about me. A hundred yards
away, in the direction 1 wanted to go,
was more timber. Could reach it with
out being seen? The men in advance
had passed on, making to the left, but
there was great risk in passing over the
open ground between the haycock and
the woods, as other searchers might
still be coming. I cursed my stupidity
in getting into the center of an open
field, for I now saw that 1 could have
gone around it, skirting the edge o.
the woods. But it would never do to
stay where we were, and I was about tc
call Margaret to come out, when man
emerged from the woods in the direc-
ton of the rebel camp. was standing
out where he could see me plainly.
ITO BE CONTINUED