Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1901-04-23
CHAPTER XIV.

A light snow had fallen during the
night, and on the comparatively little
| Travelled country road the lovers first
/ took there was no difficulty in following
| the track of Johns cutter. But on the
| turnpike it was quickly lost among the
multiplicity of others. Only from the
| direction it took in emerging from the
road-turning towards the left-it APP
| peared that they had gone to Washing
| ton. But, after driving half an hour,
| the pursuers met a man coming from
! Washington, who said that he had seen
no cutter with a man and a girl in it on
the road that day. They went back to
where the trail entered upon the pike,
and, by more careful and acute observa-
ton than .they had employed before,
! found now that John had cunningly driv-
en- few hundred yards toward Wash
ington. and then retraced his course and
gone in the direction of Canonsburg.
He had evidently calculated upon the
possibility of what had occurred and his
trick had cost his pursuers nearly an
hour and a half of valuable time. The
consciousness of having been so easily
outwitted still further enraged Simeon
Mulveil, and he dashed his horses into a
gallOp.
The fortunate accident of meeting a
man who knew Cameron and had recog-
nized him, with a girl in a cutter, on
the road to Pittsburg, saved the consta-
bic from a vain chase to Canonsburg
and enabled him, though still far in the
rear, to gain ground steadily in the pur-
suit from that time on.
John Cameron, confident of having baf-
fed his possible pursuers and dreaming
naught of the danger now following
swiftly, was wildly happy in possession
of the greatest joy and triumph Of his
life. Hetty, nestled close under his
arm, so bundled up that only her spark
ling eyes, the blOssomy roundness of her
cheeks and the tip of her little nose APP
peared amid her muff1ings, in submission
to his insistance uncovered her lips lust
for a moment and the moment was so
long that the big black horse felt the
neglected reins lying loosely upon his
back, and intoxicated by exultation in
his own vigor and the inspiriting fresh
ness of the morning breeze, took the bit
between his teeth and galloped madly
away with the speed of the wind, his
bells sounding a paean of rejoicing. That
was on the country turnpike; there was
no such good going on the Pittsburg road.
1t had been badly cut up by heavy
teaming during a recent thaw, and the
snowfall of the preceding night had only
partly concealed and not filled the deep
ruts and holes in the frozen ground. Add
ed to that, when the sun was we'll up,
the snow was softened just enough to
"ball' constantly under the black horses
feet and worry hftn. Consequently, the
travel was slower than John had antici
pated, and it was the middle of the af-
ternoon when he found himself descend
ing the long, steep sidehil above Tenn
peranceville and saw Pittsburg, across
the MOnongahela river, before him. But
that did not trouble him. Anybody in
pursuit would have had the same diff
culties to encounter, and he had a good
enough start to free him from anxiety
about the result of chase. Besides, his
goal was in sight, the victory practically
won.
The little erryboat-propelled by horse
power-had been laid up for the season.
anG since then all crossing of the river
was upon the ice. So thick and strong
was this natural bridge that enormous
WuSULiS IUueu Will COdl, anu GdCn uIdWu
by four huge horses, had crossed it in
almost a continuous procession between
the mines of Coal Hill and the city, day
after day for weeks, without causing its
CLASSY floor to even crack; but it was no
longer so secure. Successive Snowfalls
had made it rotten" and riverm2n af-
irmed that the swift current of the
stream had "cut it away on the under
side" so that now. though still perfect
ly safe for pedestrians, only rather ven
turesome persons drove horses Upon it.
Those who did drive across followed a
curving course almost like a great let
ter S, that led from the ferry landing
on the South Pittsburg side to the city
wharf near 1.-The Point" that way hav-
ing been carefully picked out by sound
ing where the ice was yet thickest and
strongest.
ITO be continued)