The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-10-28
The Case of the Convict Code

J w ucE 10 We
| Silence. Hang to your work"
| The occasion of these last hurried Mt
terances was still two hundred yards
| away-a low-lying stean1-Iaunch, not
more than forty feet in length. vet evil
! IDENTIFY designed for speed, and having
every appearance Of a private pleasure
craft. That she frequently had been
seen during the past month cruising
aimlessly up and down the river, indi-
Gates the care taken to avert suspicion
on the part of the prison guards. and
| the deliberate preparations made for
| the one bold stroke of that September
! afternoon
| AS Wykoff's confidence suggests.
/ moreover. this eliminating move VAS
made with a dash and abandon largely
inspired by the operations of Felix
{ Boyd. and the ignorance attributed To
! him of Scanlon's fund Of information
/ and counter-designs.
Out OF the mist that hung like a veil
over the river. the launch suddenly had
| emerged. bearing slowly downstream
/ some fifty yards from the bank. With
in half-d- minute every guard on The
J pier, and every convict. had discovered
! her. Yet only two observers. save those
already mentioned, displayed more
than cursOry interest in her. or in
the three men discernible aboard her.
Clad in the garb of a convict and
4
eVmclng his exquisite art, Felix Boyd
gradually worked nearer the outer edge
| of the partly constructed pier.
AT the same time. one of the guards.
70 whom Rafferty, had so viciously re-
! terred. sauntered 10 a position nearer
Paul Wykof. The latter suppressed a
smile when he saw the move
Meantime. the launch had drawn
/ nearer, still heading downstream. as
II none aboard her had any interest in
| the convict work When fifty yards
above the pier, however. she veered
| slightly. showed her nose more plainly.
/ and a sudden swirl of back-Wash be
| trayed her increased speed.
Rafferty, dropped the adj with which
! he had been working, shaken through
and through with suppressed excite
ment, which Wykoff quickly observed
and Missed:
STEADY, you fool Not YETI
/ by God! Pm
You're going TO do what I command,
Wait, / say."
Wen be too late, curse you, if"
| Wait-ten seconds" WykOff fierceIy
whispered, snatching the impatient
ruffian by the wrist
Break away there, you twol" cried
| one Of the guards suddenly
His sharp command brought all eyes
toward the two men addressed.
! At the same moment the launch
then barely thirty yards upstream.
clapped on fun head Of steam, and
veered sharply toward the pier.
Instantly a yell rose with thrilling
vehemence from Wykoff's lips.
Now, then, Rafferty,! Away with
you!"
The burly ruffian needed no second
! bidding. With roar that fairly
drowned the immediate tumult of the
startled gang OF convicts, who at once
attempted, Rafferty, leaped toward the
edge OF the pier, telling with a blow
the guard who stood in his way, and in
a moment more had plunged into the
river.
AS Wykoff darted in the same direc-
ton, however. the guard who had been
constantly watching him dashed across
his path, and succeeded in graphing
him from behind.
Verbal pictures do but scant justice
to such scenes as that which followed,
brief though it was.
To a man, the gang of convicts DROP
ped their tools, rending the air with
tumultuOus yells and jeers, and swarm
ing out upon the pier with a frenzied
eagerness to seize this possible oppor-
tunity to escape. All were quick to see
that only men OF their own stamp
would venture to abet so desperate a
design as was plainly obvious.
!, The prison guards instantly fell TO.
and began to beat them back. Pistol
shots rang out above the swelling up
roar, and within a moment a conflict
was in progress that would beggar
language.
Meantime. the launch darted nearer.
head on. then a sharp sweep threw her
broadside within a rod of the pier.
Half-a-dozen men suddenly appeared
at her portrait, ready TO lend a hand
to their popI-iCf and pa
swimming like a mailman TO meet her
was nearly within their reach
!, AT the very beginning of all this, wy
koff swung fiercely around. and gripped
the guard by the throat. In the struggle
that followed. he was hurled to his
knees, and. ordinarily. his chance OF
escape would have been hOpeleSsly lost.
At that moment. however, Felix Boyd
got in his work. With his feature con
vulsed as if with genuine fury, he
snatehed crowbar from the pier. and
sprang toward the two struggling men.
Drop that fellow" he roared, above
all the tumult. LET him go, guard, IT
: III brain youi''
The guard sprang quickly aside. and
uodged the blow apparently aimed at
his head
Wykon came TO his feet with a bound.
GOOD for you. stripey, Now follow
me- he screamed. with one grateful
!, LOOK
The guard snatched out revolver.
and fired. but the hand of FeliZ Boyd
beat up the weapon. and the bullet
went INTO the air. Before the attempt
could be repeated. Boyd felled the man
with single blow. hurled aside sec
ono guard who sprang in his way. and
then plunged headlOng over the edge
or the pier. and into the river.
Rafferty, had already been hauled
aboard the launch. Wykoff, we'll I'm ad
vance OF Boyd. was gripping the hands
, outstretched 10 aid him. For moment.
however. 1t looked as if Boyd must be
left astern of the swiftly moving boat.
The possibility of this brought fren-
! zied yell from ScanlOn, in the wheel
house window
"a line! Throw that man a liner he
shrieked furiously. Don't let him fall
astern! Throw him a liner'
Before the command was fairly ut
tered, rope whirled through the air
toward Felix Boyd. who caught it as