Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-09-19
DAILY SHORT STORY
ONE CHANCE IN A HUNDRED.
IOriginal.l,

between the state attorney and coun-
sci for the defense, with "a defeat for
the latter and Gan innocent man SEN
fenced TO death.
How a few dayssbeforettfse sentence
was to nave been carried out he got
out of Jail was never certainly known,
though it was admit ted at the prison
that his wife was admitted to see him.
and when she went away a keeper re-
marked that she look ed taller than
when she went in. and another. seeing
her get on to a trolley car. noticed that
she wore heavy boots The rest of the
story goes that thei wife was found
locked IL the prisoners cell alone.
He had been hiding during the day
and had heard them beating the bush
all about him. Several times he be-
lieyed that in few minutes he would
be dragged from his'hiding place. But
while men are much more intelligent
than dogs phere are cases where dogs
may throwlmen into a contrast of stu
pidity. His\ pursuers could not smell
him.
Night came, and under its friendly
cover he left j region where he was
known to be and must certainly be
discovered on the morrow if not dur
ing the night. C;lwling under bushes
between two menSset to watch for him,
he stole through their line and ran
with all the strength he had left after
two days fast till he came to a farm
house. There, knowing that he must
have food for strength to struggle fur
Their. he went boldly in, asked for a
hn ort
ed on with one, and only one, advan-
tage-strength. But his chances were
growing less.
Suddenly he stumbled into a depres-
sion and fell. His hands struck
smooth iron and he knew he was on
railroad. He got up and walked on
the track, soon coming TO a point where
he could see a station few hundred
yards from him. 1t was lighted, and
a single man walked back and forth
on the platform. The fugitive watched
him, suspecting that he was there to
prevent his escape by train. IL he
could only get aboard without the
man seeing him he would have fur
| Their and a better chance than before
| TO escape. A way train came along
and stopped at the station. but it was
| closely watched, and he did not dare
| try to get on. The watcher went
through it, and when it had gone left
| the station. Doubtless there could be
no other train for some time.
Two hours passed. A man drove up
to the station in a buggy and dragged
| Il big bag to a post beside the track
| a short distance from the station and
1 -
the post 1t was the mail bag placed
| in position to be caught by an express
| train.
There is no such nourisher of ideas
as self preservation. All that man is
| today may be traced TO his one in
| stinct. The hunted man knew that by
and by an express train would pass,
an iron hook on the mail car would
be adjusted and catch the bag around
the center and it would he caught and
swung into the car.
The idea flashed into the fugitlve's
brain, "Can | be swung on to the train
with this bagf" He calculated the
| chances. and concluded that they were
about as follows: Death, ninety;
thrown beside the track manned, nine;
taken in alive and recovering from
wounds, one.
While he was celebrating there came
| from a distance the bark of dog, fol-
lowed by another and another till their
| number was lost I'm a confusion of bay
| ing.
His pursuers had secured blood
hounds and his capture was now GER
tain.
Hark-the distant rattle of a train.
Ii must be the express. The mans
mind Is made up. He will take the
one chance in a hundred.
When his wife had taken his place
in prison she had brought him a rope
| and a knife. These We're all the ar
| ticles he had asked for and he had had
as yet no Use for them. Taking the
rope from his pocket, he went to the
post, stood on a platform beneath ii
| and began to lash himself 10 the bag.
He first tied part OF the rope around
| the bottom of the bag, then dashed his
| body under his arms TO the upper part
OF the bag and, lastly, wormed his feet
into the rope about the bottom. This
| left his middle free
The barking of the dogs and the
rattle of the train came nearer though
| from different directions. 1t was the
train alone in which he was interested.
Having finished his lashing he turned
with the bag, which. finally settling.
brought his face to the track. With
out this his one chance would have
been lost. AS the train Numbered
near he bent his body like bow.
When the hook struck the bag Ii
struck out his consciousness. When
he regained his senses he was lying
on the floor of the mail car with sew
eral trainnen standing over him. His
| pursuers would not have known him.
| for his face was drenched in blood.
All he knew was that he was alive.
aboard the car and there was hope.
When he reached the city the train