Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-03-26

At midnight Injun Charley called
halt.w He spread his blanket, leaned
on one elbow long enough to eat strip
of dried meat and fell asleep. Thorpe
initiated his example. Three hours
later the Indian reused his companion.
and the two set out again.
From 8 o'clock until 8 they walked
continually without pause, without
an instant's breathing spell. Then
they rested half an hour, ate littld
venison and smoked pipe.
An hour after noon they repeated the
rest. Thorpe rose with a certain phys
ical reluctance. The Indian seemed as
fresh as when he started. At sunset
they took an hour, then forward again
by the dim intermittent light of the
moon and stars through the ghostly
haunts of forest until Thorpe thought
he would drop with WEAKNESS and,
was mentally incapable Of contemplate
ing more than hundred steps in adj
vance.
when I get to that square patch OF
light I'll quit" he would say to him
self and struggle painfully the require
ed twenty yards.
"No. won't quit here" he would
continue. "I'll make Il that Birch.
Then I'll lie down and die"
And so on. To the actual physical
exhaustion of Thorpe's muscles was
added that immense! mental WEAKNESS
which uncertainty of time and distance
inficts on a man. The journey might
last week for all he knew. In the
presence of an emergency these men
of action had actually not exchanged
a dozen words. The Indian led; Thorpe
followed.
When the halt was called Thorpe
fell into his blanket too weary even to
eat. Next morning sharp shooting
pains, like the stabs of swords, ran
through his groin.
"You come" repeated the Indian.
stolid as ever.
Then the sun was an hour high. The
travellers suddenly ran into a trail.
which as suddenly dived into spruce
thicket. On the other side of it Thorpe
unexpectedly found himself in an ex-
tensive clearing dotted with the black
ened stumps of pines. Athwart the dis
lance he could perceive the wide blue
horizon Of Lake Michigan. He had
crossed the upper peninsula on foot.
"Boat come by today" said Injun
Charley, indicating the tall stacks of
mill. "Him no stop. You max him stop
take you with him. You get train Mack.
NAV City tonight. Dose men, dey on.
dat train" y
Thorpe calculated rapidly. The en-
envy would require even with their
teams day to cover the thirty miles to
the fishing village of Munising, whRce
the stage ran each morning to Seney,
the present terminal Of the South
Shore railroad. He, Thorpe, OH foot and
three hours behind, could never have
caught the stage. But from Seney only
one train day was dispatched to con-
meet at Mackinaw City with the Michi-'
gan Central, and on that one train, due
to leave this very morning, the up river
man was just about pulling out. He
would arrive at Mackinaw City at 4
o'clock in the afternoon, where he
would be forced to wait until s in the
evening. By catching a boat at the
mill to which Injun Charley had led
him Thorpe could still make the same
train. Thus the start in the race for
Detroitsland Office would be fair.
All right" he cried. all his energy
returning to him. Here goesi Well
beat him out yeti"
"You come back?" inquired the Indi-
an, peering with certain anxiety into
his companions eyes.
"Come back!" cried Thorpe. "You bet
your hatv'
II wait" replied the Indian, and was
gone.
Thorpe saw over the headland to the
east a dense trail of black smoke. He
set off on stumbling run toward the
mill.
ITO he Continued \