Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1910-02-18
ACYGON WORK.,
! a. ! ~

~ Sis1N TIL W.
Ralph ISirb cony Wet. ha Wing i good
record, was ordered to work with &
party outside the prison Incl osute or
course prison ofiicials stood over the
workmen with loaded rifles and reyoIyzs
Eers,s so escap was as ditiicui sas when
they were within the walls.
4 But something came up In comparis
son with which the rifles of the guards
were but as popgnns, Kirby looked
tup from his work and ga " a black.
cloud coming that looked more terrible
than the judge who years before had
passed sentence upon him. 1t was bal
Iloon shaped, the neck trailing on the
ground He glanced at the guards and
saw that they were standing with
their backs to the prison wall wi TIL / he
cloud also behind them. He worked
on and said nothing. but q hope was
rising and swelling In his breast
1t passed between him and his
guards. Being forewarned. he threw
himself fiat on the ground and held d,
to a stout bush. When II had passed
the guards were nowhere to be seen.
There was method In what he did
when he started to run IN the wake OF
the storm. 1t was the only direction
he could so to find possible safety. He.
ran mile over ruined strip Of couns
try, when he came to a small village
that had been wrecked. Before d
house that had been turned around
and blown over on its side a man was
lying on his back dead. Kirby no.
hced that the head had been disfgur-
ed beyond recognition. He was plan
ming ahead, and his plans were made
with lightning rapidity. He took the
dead; man s clothing for himself and
put his stripes on the dead man
Then, taking up the body, he carried t.
to q distance from the wrecked village
and threw it in a ditch to make II APP
pear that 1t had been carried by the
cyclone from the prison.
The storm had no sooner passed than
parties were sent out to scour the
country for those convicts who had
escaped. But they were not the only
persons moving about. Without the
narrow belt traversed BY the storm no
one had been injured, and rescue par
ties were coming from all directions.
Kirby, whose long confinement had
brought III health, had by this time
used up all his strength. In the out
skirts of the village house had been
reduced to heap of kindling wood.
Kirby decided to crawl IN under the
wreck. He had wormed himself in as
far as possible when rescue party
came along and, seeing his boots, un-5
covered him. Feigning death, be lay
on his back,sbut one Of the party put
his ear to the convict's heart and heard
Iii throbbing Liquor was poured down
his throat, and he knew that his sham
could not be kept up. Through partly
closed lids he saw that no prison Off
|cial was present and be opened his
eyes. He begged the party to leave
him and go on to others who needed
their attention they were persuaded
and did as he suggested. s ss
Then came another party. and the
convict, installing them for searchers
from the prison, again feigned death.
BY this time It was dark, and his eff
fort was more successful almost too
successful. They began to dig beside
him, and when they had made q shall
How grave they put him In and COW
ered him with earth. He was about
4 to cry out, when It occurred to him
that they were not burying him deep
1 and the earth above him would be
loose. No sooner had the shovelfuls OF
ciods ceased to pound him than he be-
gan to push them away for air.
Meanwhile all who could be spared
! from the prison were securing the
country far and wide. Judging tina,
those who had escaped would attempt
to hide In the track Of the storm, they
4 followed II. and one of them, jim
Mackin, came upon the body wearing
Kirby's stripes. He identified It al
4 Kirby by the clothes and concluded
4 that there was one less prisoner to- bt
4 recaptured. Being well armed, b,
u pushed on alone. AS the burying party
were completing their work Of coy
ering Kirby, Mackin was approaching
the grave, and they disappeared Ii
a the darkness just before he came up
Seeing something moving directly be
fore him. Mackin threw q light iron
a his lantern upon the spot just In tim
4 to strike the corpselike face Of Con
Z vict Kirby rising from the grave.
4 Prison officials are not likely to b
easily rnttled. but Mackin had fey
minutes before seen the body Of til
convict and the sight Of the dea,
II mo i, - -, s,, III