Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-05-17
CHAPTER ".

/ f~@lHOROUGHLY mystified by the
ia action of the driver and at
ii IL length terrified by the pace that
carried them careening along
the narrow road, Beverly cried out to
him, her voice shrill with alarm. Aunt
Fanny was crouching on the floor of
the coach between the seats, grooming
and praying
Stop. Where are you goingY' cried
Beverly, putting her head recklessly
through the window. If the man heard
her he gave no evidence Of the fact.
/ His face was set forward, and he was
guiding the horses with firm, UNI
quigering hand. The coach ratified
and bounded along the dangerous way
hewn in the side of the mountain. A
misstep or a false turn might easily
Estart the clumsy vehicle rolling down
the declivity on the right. The convict
was taking desperate chances and,
with cool, calculating brain, prepared
Ito leap to the ground in case of acct
| dent and save himself, without a
| thought for the victims inside.
stop! Turn aroundr' she cried in a
frenzy. 1--WE shall be killed. Are you
crazy r
/ By this time they had struck a de-
scent in the road and were rushing
along at breakneck speed into oppress-
1 i've shadows that bore the first i'm
prints of night. Realizing at last that
-, s,.;x xx,s,,,<, Fa1yi,,x ~ Y,1,f,r, DIV
deaf ears, Beverly Calhoun sank back
into the seat, weak and terror stricken.
1t was plain to her that the horses were
not running away, for the man had
been flashing them furiously. There
was but one conclusion was delib-
erately taking her farther into the
mountain Businesses, his purpose
known only to himself A hundred ter
rors presented themselves to her as
she lay huddled against the side Of the
coach, her eyes closed tightly, her ten
der body tossed furiously about with
| the sway Of the vehicle. There was the
| fundamental fear that she would be
dashed to death down the side of the
mountain, but apart from this her
| quick brain was evolving all sorts of
possible endings-none short of abso-
| lutte disaster.
Even as she prayed that something
might intervene to check the mad rush
and to deliver her from the horrors of
! the moment the raucous voice Of the
driver was heard calling to his horses,
and the pace became slower. The aW-
| full rocking and the jolting grew less
severe, the clatter resolved itself into a
broken rumble, and then the coach
stopped with mighty lurch.
| Dragging herself from the corner,
poor Beverly Calhoun, no longer dis
dainful heroine. gazed piteously out
into the shadows, expecting the MUIR
derous blade of the driver to meet her
as she did so Pauloff had swung from
the box of the coach and was peering
| first into the woodland below and then
upon the rocks to the left. He wore the
expression of man trapped and seek
ing means of escape, Suddenly he dart
ed behind the coach, almost brushing
against Beverly's hat as he passed the
window. she opened her lips to call
him, but even as she did so he took
to his heels and raced back over the
road they had Travelled so precipitously.
| Overcome by surprise and dismay,
she only could watch the flight in ST.
lence. Less than hundred feet from
| where the coach was standing he turn
ed to the right and. was lost among the