The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1903-07-16

CduSIC luS S1een DelOW. "A COlu nor
ror came upon him.
Beneath him lay the river.
Now his pusuers were upon him
indeed. Just below he saw the head
of some black object projecting from
the water, and as he gazed eagerly
out he saw that there was a series of
these dark objects leading away to-
ward where a tugboat lay moored.
The object seemed solid, and with
out moments hesitation he leaped
upon it.
HE has gone!" he heard a hoarse
voice cry.
'Then he's in the river" came the
answer.
And there was a rush toward the
rear.
The object upon which Warde had
lighted was a half sunken pile, and
a series of them were driven at in
tervals of a yard apart. Some had
been sunk deeper than others, and
they stood out from the water like
the black pillars of a ruined temple.
Ii he could walk along the tops of
these irregular columns he might
reach the tugboat. This would place
him where he could perhaps secure
help or where he could defend him
self.
The river had eaten a great semi
circle in the bank under the Rest,
and the current eddied and circled
around therein with silent but ire
mendous power. None but an expert
swimmer could save himself from-be-
ing drawn into this impromptu whirl-
pool. The piles had served the pur-
pose of protecting the bank from the
further encroachments of the river,
and the line began under the Rest
and extended away from the shore.
At first Warde leaped from one to
another of these pillars without much
trouble, but to climb up to n a
little higher than the others and
then let himself down to one far be-
meath it was dangerous task, and
the further he got out into the river
the more difficult it became for him
to make any Roadway.
Hardly had he ~traversed a dozen
OF these tr~eacherous stepping stones
when he was discovered, and, glanc-
ing back, he saw to his horror that
he was being followed by Old Tom.
He looked at the swirling river be-
low him, and the world was reeling
about him. A cold perspiration stood
upon his face. He became nervous,
blind almost, and felt an almost ir-
resistible impulse to throw himself
into the river and end the suspense.
Old Tom, however, vas at home in
this kind of an enterprise. It was
Npastime to him, and he crept from
pile to pile with the cat-like agility
which had won him his name.
1t was a fearful race. The moon
had now made some Roadway, and
it's light fell upon the black river
and gave it the semblance of oxy-
died silver. Another backward
glance, and a CLEAN of light revealed
something bright in Old Toms hand.
1t was a long, sharp knife.
Warde shivered.
On went the two figures leaping
from pile to pile, one with trembling
and uncertain steps, the other with
the easy confidence of one to whom
the way was familiar.
Old Tom was gaining steadily upon
him, and Warde, with some reeling
and despair in his heart, saw that he
could not escape.
Suddenly he remembered his pis-
tol. He did not want to use it as
long as he had been in the saloon,
for he knew very well that if he had
killed anybody the mob would have
torn him to pieces with joyous unan-
unity; and in his effort to escape he
had for the time forgotten it. It
was now his only hope unless Fen
ton should come to his assistance.
In his eagerness to get out his
pistol, his hand trembled SO that the
weapon, catching in his clothing,
slipped and fell into the river.
Old Tom had just lighted on the
pile next to him and was getting
ready to leap.
A pistol shot broke upon the air,
the cleaning knife dropped into the
stream and Old Tom gave a terrible
cry of mingled pain and disgust, and
then crouched down and held to his
pile to prevent himself from falling
into the river, but his strength was
not great enough, and he slipped into
the swirling water and was dragged
away from sight.
In the meantime a skiff which had