Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-02-13

1t was found by accident. The lieu
tenant was gathering his men to go to
1t when |. came away. If we are quick,
We may get there first
But the placer" said.
II could not hear where it was" he
answered bluntly. "We can hang on
their skirts, and at the last moment
strike In
The pair of pistols had taken from
the shock-headed man lay on chest
by the door. .snatched them up,
and my hat, and Joined him without
another word; and in. moment we
were running down the garden. I
looked back once before we passed the
gate. and saw the light streaming
out through the door which 1 had
left open; and l fancied that for an
instant a figure darkened the gap. But
the fancy only strengthened the one
single Iron purpose which had taken
possession Of me and all my thoughts.
/ must be first, must anticipate the
lieutenant and make the arrest my
self. 1 ran OF only the faster.
We seemed to be across the meadow
and in the wood in moment. There,
instead Of keeping along the common
path, l boldly singled out-my senses
seemed preternaturally keen-ths
smaller track by. which Clon had
brought us, and ran unfaltering along
It. avoiding logs and pitfalls as by in
stinct, and following all Its turns and
twists, until it brought us to the back
Of the inn, and we could hear the MUIR
muir Of subdued voices in the village
street, the sharp low words of com
mand, and even the clink of weapons;
and could see, above and between the
houses, the dull glare of lanthorns and
torches.
I grasped my mans arm and
crouched down, listening. Where is
your mater" l said, in his ear.
with them he muttered.
Then Gomez I whispered, rising.
II have seen enough. Let us CO."
But he caught me by the arm and
detained me. you don't know the
way!' he Kissed. STEADY. steady.
Monsieur. You go too fast. They
are just moving. Let us join them,
and strike in when the time comes.
We must let them guide U.s."
'.Fool!" said, shaking off his hand.
81 tell you. know where he is! I
know where they are going. Come;
lose not a moment, and we will pluck
the fruit while they are on the road
to it,"
His only answer was an exclamation
of surprise; at that moment the lights
began to move. The lieutenant was
starting. The moon was not yet up;
the sky was, gray and cloudy; to ad-
vance where we were was to step into
a. wall of blackness. But had lost
too much time already, and I did not
hesitate. Bidding my companion fol-
low me, and use his legs, / sprang
through low fence which rose before
us, and stumbling blindly over some
broken ground In the rear Of the
houses, came, with fall or two, to
little watercourse with steep sides.
Through this plunged recklessly, and
UP the farther side, and, breathless
and painting, gained the road Just be-
yond the village and so yards in ad-
vance Of the lieutenant's troop.
They had only two lanthorns burn
ing now and we were beyond the cir
Gle Of light these cast; while the steady
tramp of so many footsteps covered
the noise we made. We were unno-
ticed. In a twinkling we turned our
backs, and as fast as we could ran
down the road. Fortunately, they
were thinking more of secrecy than
speed, and in a minute we had dou-
bled the distance between US; in two
minutes their lights were mere sparks
shining in the gloom behind us. We
lost, at last, even the tramp of, their
feet. Then began to look out and
go more slowly; peering into the shad-'
ows on either side of the fern-stack.
On one hand the hill rose steeply;
on the other it fell away to the stream.
On neither side was close wood-or my
difficulties had been immensely in
creased-but scattered oak-trees stood
here and there among gorse and brack-
en-. This helped me, and in moment,
on the upper side, came upon the
dense substance Of the stack looming
black against the lighter hill
My heart beat fast, but it was no
time for thought. Bidding the man
In whisper to follow me and be ready
to back me up. l. climbed the bank soft
ly. and with pistol in my hand, felt
my way to the rear of the shack;
thinking to find hut there, set against
the fern, and M. de Cocheforet in it.
But found no hut There was none;
and all was SO. dark that it came upon
NE suddenly as / stood between the
hill and the stack that had undertake
en very difficult thing. The hut be-
hind the fern-stack? But how far be-
hind? How far from it? The dark
slope stretched above us, infinite, i'm
measurable, shronded in night. To
begin to climb it in search of a tiny
hut, probably well-hidden and hard to