The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1906-04-19
for The Term of Ills Natural Life
BY CLARKE
CHAPTER xII.-(Continued.)

CHAPTER XII.-(Continued.)
BY and by, having eaten of this mir
aculous provender, the poor creature be-
gan TO understand what had taken place.
The coal workings were Abandoned; the
new commandant had probably other
WORK for his beasts of burden TO exc
cute. and an absconder would be safe
here for a few hours O. least. But he
must not stay. For him there was no
rest If he thought to escape, it be-
hooved him to commence his journey at
once. Here was provision for his needs.
The food before him represented the
rations of six men. Was it not possible
TO cross the desert that lay between him
and freedom on such fare? The very
superstition made his heart beat faster.
IL surely was possible. Twenty miles a
day was very easy walking. Taking a
piece of stick from the ground. he made
the calculation in the sand. Eighteen
days, and twenty miles a day-three
Eundre and sixty miles. More than
enough to take him to freedom. 1t could
be done! With prudence, 1t could be
done! He must be careful and abstem-
ious.
Having come to this resolution, the
next thing was TO ~disencumber himself
of his irons. This was more easily done
than he expected He found in the shed
an iron CAD, and with that aud a stone
he drove out the rivets.
Before dawn the next morning he had
Travelled ten miles, ard by outstanding
his food he succeeded, by the night of
the fourth day, in accomplishing forty
more. Foot-sore and weary, he lay In a
thfcket, and felt at last that he was be-
yond pursuit. The next day he ad-
vanced more slowly. The path termin-
this glide was something that huttered.
kufus Dawes pressed forward. and
stumbled over a corpsei
he recognized the number imprinted
on the coarse cloth at that which had
designated the younger of the two men
who had escaped with Gabbett. He was
standing on the place where a murder
had been committed A murderIand
what else? Thank God. the food he
carried was not yet exhausted! He
turned and fled. looking back fearfully
as he went.
Crashing through scrub and brake,
torn. bleeding and wild with terror, he
reached a spur Of the range, and looked
around him. He raised his eyes. and
right against him, like a long dull sword,
lay the narrow steel-blue reach Of the
harbor from which he had escaped One
darker speck moved on the dark water,
1t was the Osprey making for the
Gates 1t seemed that he could throw a
stone upon her deck. A faint cry Of rage
ooooao1 hi. n.-f-- A. - 49, H.
in the bush he must have retraced his
steps, and returned upon his own track
to the settlement! More than half his
allotted time had passed, and he was not
Jet thirty miles from his prison.
For four days he wandered aimIessly
through the bush. At last, on the twelfth
day from his departure from the Goa
Head. he found himself at the foot OF
Mount Direction. at the head Of the
peninsula which makes the western side
of the harbor. His terrible wandering
had but led him to make a complete
circuit of the settlement, and the nex1
night brought hin round the shores OF
Birches Inlet to the landing place oppo
site Sarah Island. His stock of pro
visions had been exhausted for two days
and he was savage with hunger. He nc
longer thought If suicide. His dom.
inant idea was now to get food. He
would do as many others had done be
fore him-give himself up to b. hogged
n fed When he reached the landing
place, however. the guard house was
empty. He looked across at the island
prison, and saw no sign Of life. The
settlement was deserted,
The shock of this discovery almost de
prived him Of reason. For days, tina
had seemed centuries. he had kept lift
in his jaded and lacerated body solel,
by the strength of his fierce determine
tion to reach the settlement; and nov
that he had reached it. after a journe,
of unparalleled horror, he found it de
serted He struck himself to see If h
was cot dreaming. He refused to be
lieve his e~ye-sight. He shouted, screame,
and waved his tattered garments in tn
air.
At last the dreadful truth forced itsel
upon him. File retired a few PAGES. an,
then, with a horrible cry of furious des
pair. stumbled forward toward the edg
of the little reef that fringed the shore
just as he was about to fling himsel
for the second time into the dark water
his eyes. sweeping in a last long loo
around the bay. caught sight of a strang
appearance on the left horn of the Sc
beach. A thin blue streak. uprisin
from behind the western arm of the littl
inlet, hung in the still air. It was tn
smoke Of a fire.
The dying wretch felt inspired wit
new hope. God had sent him a direc
sign from heaven. The tiny column O
blush vapor seemed to him as gloriou
as the pillar of fire that led the Israe
ties. There were yet human beings nea
aim! And turning his face from tn
hungry sea, he tottered. with the las
effort Of his failing strength, toward til
BLESSED token of their presence.