Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-05-09
lose Just grazed the ground she u,
tered q broken. coughing sound. an
launched herself. nimbly as a spring

very incomplete. but he realized now
that II he and the little red beast
should meet, the consequences would
be unpleasant. He dropped his gun
quite forgetting it was a possible
means Of defense, and hoped Into
the reeds. 1t seemed only a few
seconds later when loud cracking
and splashing rose at his heels.
Really alarmed now, he ran as he
had not run since he was boy,
throwing himself at the sea OF reeds
that half-upheld, malt retarded him.
His feet slapped a quick tattoo on the
hidden ooze. He stepped on wabbly
"tussock," reeled from 1t to little
pool. splashed through the semiviscid
stun in a shower Of spray. and found
himself on the brink Of a wide, deep
drain, where unhealthy pinkish mud
glistened as II vanished, and seemed
to leer up at him through iridescent
eye-llke bubbles.
It was an unclean-looking sink, but
the red COW was behind him, and he
went on the edge like a frog. He
struck with the sound Of an explod-
ing soda-water bottle, and kept on
sinking, through the rancid crust and
deep into the pudding-like mud. Then
something "whooshed' by him, and
landed with an explosive grunt and
spatter Of slime. 1t was the little
red COW.
Sawyer was rather amused at the
plight into which he had drawn his
pursuer. for she was begged to her
belly, as helpless as fly on gum
med paper Then he discovered that he
was trapped himself. The mud held
him as II 1t we're hot rubber. Wrench
and pull and sway as he would, he
was immovable from mid-thigh down.
The color receded from his ruddy
face in streaks.
The little red COW, born to the
grim ways Of. the marsh, did moi
struggle as an inexperienced animal
would have done. She knew that
would only cause her to sink deeper.
Occasionally she lifted one Of her
shoulders and pulled slowly and even
ly on the imprisoned leg; but Saw.
yer watching her anxiously. could not
see that she gained anything. AT
each deliberate effort her long tail
stiffened sympathetically. and once
the brush Of 1t almost struck Sawyer
across the face for she had fallen at
an angle across the drain, with her
s.n-r toward the late object Of her
pursuit.
lu4. tail flashed in front OF Saw
yer like ray OF hope. He watched
for 1t. his fingers set like springs, his
mind rigidly concentrated on every
ripple Of the red cows skin.
At the same time he was curiously
conscious Of a little brown bird swing,
Ing and singing light,heartedly from a
reed on the bank, of the stir OF lace
like vapor high in the blue arch over
head, and the insistenta odor OF sui.
phur that rose from the mud.
He was conscious. too, that he was
settling deeper. 1t made him des.
perate, and he picked up handouts Of
mud and threw them at the poor COW,
and reviled her. This startled her
out of her despairing calN. Her tail
/, ertr,cata heraaIy and as ,ncL would
have 1t, Sawyer caught the tall.
that u woe hsat 10 % ~ ,be hps,.
neas or,ietlv Pulline strongly and
evenly on her tail he wr,reIed hia
feet until the nressnre about them
was somewhat loomened Then he
bent over waistcoat n the mud and
wrippIad and kickad downward his
hands i,nchinpi nm the tail while the
cow plared round a. him With black.
nrotrndinp ewes and muscles humping
with fear
All Al once with a kind Of sticky
s,gb his legs drew ont Of the r,b.
her boots and SAWYER went hand over
bana along the tan sliding nm his
stomach like turtle, Ha crawled I'm
over iaer. hips stranded her sharn
h.cL ana hayan - Iamrh hvs.aricai.
Nv .97',7
y shadow swent over him and he
looked nm ain er,nninp yoolishlv A
btg sooty brown bird was wheeling
close above him on fitting wings An.
other waa descending from the
clouds in .comnlaisant CIRCLES and a
tbird came slonch,np aver, tho reads
SAWYER had heard about bnzzards
and their diet ana the ,nferenca was
not amusing Ass he watched them
two aNghted ,,non the sareinp rail
az What had onca heen mart ~ !
cov.pen The third came straight
and SONY AT him He rot a f,eetine
imnressinn ~ 4 red naked filthan.
cn,atad n,ack and rnf, a. aoi,ea
faathera Then almost before
he could throw I'm Mia arm the
hooked IN, snanned. and he selt .
nanp n hia cbeek ana the warm
tricS,a a. blood
Tho hnzx.rd damned ri, .ston,shed
A. Ito y,yorm,a racant,on and ioined
the tvo on the rail These catch.
haains a. the marsh were their
friends Anythinp that fall into them
>--~s - 49,