The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1900-01-19

| commanded the lives or at least three men
when the attempt should be made to take
me.
was aware that the wilderness Of black
| ened walls and charred timber, which
seemed such a haven at present, would be
about the first region over which an or
| ganized search would be prosecuted. The
very unlikelihood of my returning to the
] tavern had made it possible for me to enter,
regain my arms and leave unmolested, while
| the darkest holes of the city would be thor
oughly secured, and that at once To bur-
row into a crevice in this field of desolation
might be possible, but it would end in
starvation and final discovery. To disguise
/ myself was not possible, nor, had I the
| means, would it have availed me much, as
/ my unusual size would have made disguise
Of little more than temporary benefit Ny
] line OF flight, which might easily be traced
/ along the sands Of the strip of beach, point
/ ed plainly toward the region which / was
now traversing, and to remain in its vicin-
/ lty was tantamount 20 placing myself with
IN easy reach Of my pursuers. I had but one
: ezpedlent, and that to elude capture until
I nlghtfall by placing myself where there was
the least liability of search, and, under
| cover Of darkness, boldly attempting TO force
/ the lines at a spot remote from the regular
/ roads Of travel
To this end / bethought me of taking to
water, and by swimming outhank the de-
] lenses; but l soon realized that the banks of
| either river would be dOubly guarded bv
| sentineis and patrol boats, though. aside
/ from the risk, gave over the idea, as the at
| tempt would necesstate my complete dis
/ arming
Turning northward, therefore. | kept
| within the limits OF the black desolation IN
/ I'll reached its upper termination. Leaving
/ 1t behind, / cut through the grounds cf
| King college, walking with apparent care
| lessness, then on 10 the hospital, through its
! confines, and still onward over a garden or
two and field until ] had arrived at the
! edge Of Lispenard's Meadows.
dared not trust myself 10 its broad open:
/ l could have been too easily marked from a
/ distance, so l turned me toward the Hud-
! son, keeping the while close to the shrubberv
/ which defined the meadows limits, and
! finally took refuge under a chestnut tree,
] though ere long was up 1t and as far toward
/ as top as l burst venture.
Years after l looked in vain for this tree,
! but 1t had fallen under the AK, as fell ali
the heavy timber on the island during the
! terrible winter Of 1850.
/
! had continued 20 wear to prevent easy idcn-
LITIGATION, together with The reeking wealth
er and the showers OF water which had
| poured from the wet leaves, had saturated
me, AID was anything save comfortable as
l sat astride bOugh and waited for the day
to end.
It was something after five o'clock, but as
yet / had discovered no signs of pursuit in
ny direction. To beguile the time, reload
cd my rifle and pistols, though I laid more
/ reliance on my strength of arm and hard
ness OF fist to overcome a single guard than
did on firearms. The great wet meadow
stretched before me Ike a green sea, broken
only by the clump OF trees which was 10
have been my dueiing ground on the NOR
row, and the sluggish brook taking its rise
from the Collect, cutting in twain length
wise and draining the plain which had once
been dangerous and pestiience-breeding
quagmire. The thunderstorm had passed,
but the sky was yet heavily overcast, prom
sing a dark, wet night (which suited nv
/ pUrpose), and by the time the sun set and
! | swung myself from my lofty perch the rain
was coming down, not in torrents, but with
a steady drip-drop that told of decided
change Of weather.
1 had 10 preparations TO make, nor from
| the point at which had been hiding had
a long distance to 90 before coming to the
| line OF defenses. This line was rot con
/ tinuous embankment, but consisted of short
/ 6rcastworks and redoubts at no great dis
/ lance apart, every foot OF the intervening
! spaces being patrolle; by sentinels. | had
! resolved TO strike the line near its center, or
/ about midway betwizt the kingsbridge and
! Greenwich roads, and so walked straight
/ over the meadows, crossing the brock and
feeling my way Up the rising ground of the
northern boundary of the great field.
II was not Jet dark, but through the
/ gloom l soon made out that | was exactly
/ IN the rear Of a redoubt. Retracing my
steps, l worked eastward, then again head
/ cd north, and this time found myself at the
end OF a slight dip Of the ground, with forti-
! fcations on the heights at either hand. The
way between appeared uaobstructcd by
! military works, though what guard was
/ there posted / could not guess, and as yet il
/ was too light 10 attempt the passage.
Still protecting my primings, I threw
/ myself on the sodden ground, and IT. this
] fashion lay waiting, while the minutes
/ dragged and the half hour seemed length
/ ened 20 On age. / say half hour, but il might
! have been more or less. There was TO
! sound save the pa.ter OF the rain, the dismal
/ chirrup of a forlorn tree toad, and an oc-
casional hail of a guard Finally, the
/ gloom grew to dusk, the dusk 70 darkness.
/ and that to pitchiness in the tree-shad0wed
passage which lay before ne. And now l
/ girded myself for the attempt, fully con-
scious that my life and death hung finely
balanced
had first thought of crawling through
! the line like a snake belly down but the dis
taEce ard nature Of the ground made such
/ a course impossible unless / was to take the
/ whole night to il, and # discovered / would
] be taken AT disadvantage. Rising. there
| fore, ! stepped behind q tree, slung my rife
/ across my back, and drew M cloak well
] about my sword. throwing back the garment
I in a manner that left my right arm free
/ From this cover l slipped TO another and
/ another, and so onward until | found ny.
/ self at what l thought TO be the edge of
small clearing beyond, but | could neither
see nor hear aught ahead, fact causing me
some perplexity. was debating the