Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1901-03-26
We skate mighty fast a1readr,n

had broken both runners. He was al
ready unbuckling the useless skates.
He looked up, grinning ruefully.
De las of st. Xavier" he said.
'Ole, you geet out of dis"
The big Norwegian glared at his au-
dacious partner for an instant while
the flames cracked and roared inland.
DE onliest time" st. Xavier used to
say afterward, dat ever l see Ole
Sandvig mad"
Ole wasted no words in his wrath.
He flung off his greasy leather coat, cut
off the sleeves and ripped them into
string. Then he seized the little
Frenchman, bundled him into the
armless garment, and made the live
package fast to his belt behind. Then,
leaving both their guns upon the ice,
he skated away into the teeth of the
wind
Thus helplessly dragged, st. Xavier
looked back to see the Indian town al
ready ablaze, and the helpless Mus
quakies, men, women and children,
running out upon the ice. Now that
he had time to reflect, he doubted if,
with his short legs and heavy body, he
could even have skated away from
those Indians. Some of them would
of course cross the V-shaped PENN
sula between the rivers to throw
themselves across Ole's path, and 9TH
ers would follow directly upon his
trail.
Ole was a magnificent skater. but
ST. Xavier knew that he was a heavy
drag He wished he had chung to his
gun, and made Ole save himself.
The big Norseman bent against the
fierce wind, and piled his skates with
might and main. If only he might
make the turn, some three or four
miles distant, and get started with the
wind before those Indians should cross
the neck That was Ole's sole hope of
escape.
Not once did the swift skater look
behind. Bent almost double, he turned
curve after curve Of the river, and
the helpless st. Xavier slipped and
slowed and sometimes rolled over and
over at his heels. A half-hour's strug
gle against the fierce gale left Ole
pretty well blown when the turn came;
and even then he dared not abate his
tremendous exertion. He skated al
most at the speed of the gale for two
miles or more.
Then, in emerging from an island
channel, the skater saw that his long
and exhausting burst of speed had
been without avail
The feet-footed Musquakie runners
were ahead of him. Ranged across
the ice-channel, a score of Indians
stood ready to converge their line up
on any point at which he might aim.
And owing to the great drought, the
channel was less than a quarter of a
mile in width.
At first Ole was inclined to turn
back and race against the wind again.
Then his shreWd eyes, running along
the row Of clearly outlined figures,
noted that the Indians were armed, if
armed at all. with their knives only
Seeing that he and St. Xavier had dis
carded their guns, they had themselves
raced across the neck in lightest run
ming gear; and so Sandvig, gathering
his energies for a mighty burst of
speed, bore down upon the left wing
of the enemy. Their center and right
swung about in a sliding, scrambling
semicircle to close in upon him.
Instead of attempting to dodge the
gathering knot III his front, Sandvig
dove straight at the group. He
knocked two Indians out of his path,
and tore through the crowd of savages
like a cannon-ball. Nevertheless, he
felt an extra tug at his rope, and
glancing behind, saw that an Indian
was clinging to one OF st. Xavier's
feet.
Ole then gave himself up for lost.
His speed was greatly retarded by this
fresh clog. and horde of yelling In
dams were at his heels. But St. XaYi-
er drew the sliding Indian toward him
by simply doubling his legs, and then
delivered a kick with his free foot,
which, being we'll directed, rid him of
his incubus.
Nevertheless, Ole, tired and breath
less, was now no more than a match
for the Indian runners. These were
clad only in shirts and leggins, and
almost as sure-footed as the skater,
leaped and sid on their moccasins now
almost as fast as the tired trapper on
his steel runners.
At the end of another quarter-hour
the pursuers were running like per-
aistent woif-pack close upon Ole's
heels. Ten or twelve of them were so
close that a single mishap would pile
them, in a vengeful heap, on Ole and
St Xavier
As for the FrenChman. he found
some satisfaction in shouting defiance
at the Musquakies. Having one free
arm, he also iourished at them a knife
which he held ready, at the last ex-
tremity to cut the thong above his
head. and thus leave Ole free to fight
or save himself if he should choose
The Indians made no answer to ST.
Navier's revilings. Like the skater,
they bent every energy upon winning
the holly contested race. and they
were pricked on by the keenest of saw
age incentives-the lust for revenge.
Even when one fell forward upon all
tours, as now and then happened, the
fierce wind and his own impetus bore
him forward until, catlike. he had re-
gained his feet without perceptible loss
oisspeed.
Thus the race continued: then. in
turning an island. the skater caught
the glimmer of an almost impercepti-
bic line Of white busters. or ice-bub-
bles. q hundred yards in front of him.
There. he knew. was q streak of thin
ice where & swift crosS-current ran
round the island bars. He had already
avoided several such air-holes. but
now he continued straight on.
He slackened his speed until q dozen
or more of the Indians we're almost