The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1906-11-15

+ shock II bis fall and hts lex was badi,
Q bruised by the weight u his horse
r His mlnd, however, palned him NOR
than his body lie sank his head lot,
+ bis rAnioned hands and STAMPED madl,
! with his feet. rocking himself 10 aud
! FRO 10 his despair What fool tire
r hle fool. he had been lie, nm old sol
, tiier who had seen something 81 war
10 Walk with open eyes into such q
trapl
hut then came return OF that com
mon sense which lies 80 very closely
beneath the lmpetuasity Of tho celt
The matter was done now. and he must
see II II could not he mended Amos
Green had escaped That was one
grand point In hts favor. Aud Amos
Green had heard the kings message
and realized It's importance. II was
true that he knew nothing OF Paris.
but surely man who could pick his
way AZ night through the forests Of
Maine would not be baked IN finding
so well known a house as that OF the
archbishop Of Paris,
Aud then the thought OF escape oc.
CURED TO his mind Might he not even
nov be In time perhaps 20 carry his
own message Who were these men
who had seized him2 And where were
they taking him tot Fun OF curiosity.
he peered out OF the windows.
A horseman was riding close up on
either side, but there was glass IN
front of the carriage, and through this
he could gain some idea ms 10 his where.
abouts, The clouds had cleared now,
and the moon was shining brightly,
bathing the whole wide landscape In
its shimmering light To the right lay
the open country, broad plains with
| clumps OF woodland and the towers OF
| castles pricking out from above the
1 groves. On the left. but far away, lay
the glimmer of Paris. They were leav-
| Ing II rapidly behind. Whatever his
| destination, II was neither the capital
nor Versailles. Then he began TO count
the chances OF escape. His sword had
been removed and his pistols were stlll
In the holsters beside his unfortunate
horse. He was unarmed then, even If
he could free himself, and his captors
We're at least dozen In number. There
were three on ahead, riding abreast
along the white moonllt road. Then
there was one on each side, and he
should Judge by the clatter of hoofs
that there could not be fewer than half
dozen behind, That would make ex-
actly twelve, including the coachman--
too many, surely, for an unarmed man
to hope to battle. At the thought OF the
e0achman he had glanced through the
glass front ut the broad back of the
man, and he had suddenly IN the gllm-
mer Of the carriage lamp observed
something which struck him with hor-
ror.
The man was evidently desperately
wounded. II was strange indeed that |
he could still sit there and nlck his
whip with so terrible an injury. In |
the back of his great red coat, just un-
der the left shoulder blade, was a cash |
in the cloth where some weapon had |
passed, and all round was wide patch |
OF dark scarlet which told its own tale. |
Nor was this all As he raised his
whip the moonlight shone upon his
hand, and De Catinat saw, with
shudder that II also was splashed and |
clogged with blood. The guardsman
oil 10. al, ..l -
the mans face, but his broad brlmmed
hat was drawn low, and the high col
br of his driving coat was raised, so
that his features were In the shadow.
And now they had come TO spot
where the main road ran onward, but
a smaller side track wound away down
the steep slope Of HILL and so In the
direction of the Seine The advance
guard had kept TO the main road and
the two horsemen on either side were
trottlng In the same direction when, to
De Catinat's amazement, the carriage
suddenly swerved to one side and In
an instant plunged down the steep In
cline, the two stout horses galloping
at their tspmost speed. the coacbman
standing up and lashing furiously at
them and the clumsy old vehicle bound
ing along In a way which threw him
backward and forward from one seat
TO the other. Behind him he could hear
q shout Of CONSERVATION from the es-
cort and then the rush OF galoping
hoofs. Fast as the coach went Its
pursuers went faster still. The rattle
Of their hoofs was at the very back,
md suddenly a, one OF the windows
there came into view the red, dstcnd-
ed nostrIls OF a horse. Slowly II drew
forward. the niilz2le the eye, the ears,
The name, coming into sight as the
.ider Gtlll gained. and then above them
he fierce face Of Despnrd and the i
,leam Of brass pistol =
AT the horse, Despard; at the horse" q
,ried an authoritative voice from be
lind
The pistol flashed, and the coach
urcbed over as one Of the horses gave
conyulslye spring. But the driver
TN shrleked aud lashed with bis whip,
tnlIt liit tuTTiaGe Dpunttu pHNhius
But now the road turned sudden
urve, and there, right In front OF /
hem not n hundred PAGES away, was /
he Seine, running cold and still In the =
loonshIne. The bank on either side
( the highway ran straight down with.
ut any break 10 the waters edge.
here was no sign Of bridge. and 9
lack shadow In the center Of the G
tream showed where the ferryboat y
'as returning after conveying some b
elntcd travellers Across. The driver u
ever hesitatcd. but. gathering up the ~
sIns, hc urged the frightened crea. |.
Tres into the river. They besitated.
Dwever. when they first felt the cold Vi
ater about their hooks, and even as Nj
icy did 80 one OF them. with n low @
oan, fell over upon her side Dcs 1
irds bullet had found its mark. Like M
fash the coachman hurled himself n
ON the box and plunged Into the 8,
ream, but the pursuing horsemeD ~
ere all round him before this. and ~
III dozen hands had seized him ere =,
could reach deep water and had ~
'agged him 10 the bank His broad =,
4 had been struck of IN the struggle. i,
..... "A. fa.a A.. ,Ia ! ~