The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1899-02-23

second pitch 1t swept, hummed acros.
the level stretch and took the third
pitch, faster and faster.
It was amazing that Rufus steered
so we'll, but he seemed to know how
at once. Ny own sensations swung
between terror and wild elation.
Down the long fourth pitch We shot
gaining tremendous eheadway. Tbs
pung was now going SO fast that the
jar and jolting motion had entirely
ceased, It seemed as If the road had
been oiled. The keen rush of cold air
cut our faces, and brought to my eyes,
remember, was haze OF tears,
through which I saw dimly wild pro
cession Of hurrying trees and roadside
fences. 49,:
The e,+;rmber Seven boys had seen MS
comip = r re We headed down the fifth
andule' ~ q ysh we heard them shouting,
andaaS 81 eight Of them ran across
the %.
"Msy're stretching their rope"
Dol exclaimed. Jumping to his feet,
he pulled off his red woolen mufaer
and waved it deiantly, while we ell
yelled like wild Indians. The bog.
trotters yelled back defiance and raised
their rope. IN their ignorance they
probably thought shat, with FIVE or six
boys at each end of til. rope, they
would be able to upset-us.
But the next moment they received
+, an impressive object-lesson. The mo-
mentum Of the heavy pung was some
thing prodigious! We scarcely felt
! the rope when we struck it, and the
next instant dozen Number Seven
boys were taking most extravagant
/ leaps as they ejerked into the road
behind US! All OF them had been
gripping the rope hard, and some Of
them were carried SO feet before they
could let 60! They were about the
most astonished-looking boys that I
ever sawl
As for the pung, it did not stop till
it reached the foot Of the hill beyond
the bridge over Longmeadow brook,
where We found the man and horses
waiting to haul it back up to Number
Six.
The bog-trotter boys had not wholly
recovered from their discontinue
when we went by; their school bell
was ringing, and when Rufus politely
asked them what they thought Of our
blockade.runner they had little to say.
'Hor' Lem said, feebly. "What do
we care for your old rantum -scooterH'
And the name stuck to Rufus armor-
clad. We soon came to call it the
Rantum.Scooter ourselves.
6 The Number Seven boys knew bet.
ter than to attempt to hold rope n
front of the blockade-runner again;
but they still imagined that the rope
would stop US, if only the ends canl2
be made fast. Next day at noon, W
weicoasted down, we found that ID
hsa.2r rdrawn i ;ghtsgsrass : ) a.
1E one end to a!tree ID tfee'e9<f'
house and the other to q horse.pos.7 n
front Of the grocery opposite. The
rope snapped like twine when we
struck it.
A day or two later, as we coasted
down, we found that they had collected
eight or ten OK chains, but they did
not dare to use them; perhaps because
they feared to kill some of US, or pos.
sibly because heselectmen had threat
enad to have them punished if they
seriously molested US more.
After this they no longer tried to
stop Us, but they pelted US hard with
frozen snowballs. For ordinary snow
balls we cared little, since we could
draw our heads down into the box as
we passed.; but soon 'Thias, Lem and
some of the others began hu1ling heavy
Jumps Of ice into the pung.
To set such missiles st defiance,
Rufus and Dol rebuilt the box Of the
pung, making the sides higher, putting
top on it and covering it with sheet
iron.
During the following week we made
the coast not less than 20 times with
this curious oontrivance. Lumps of
ice and even stones we're launched at
it; but no violence which the dis
gruntled bog-trotters could infict pre-.
vented our running their blockade as
long as the good coasting weather
lasted. Youths Companion.