Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1910-03-03


Dressed as he was In a dirty-white
and woody suit of indefinite outlines,
he could appear to these tourists only
as game in the shape of an animated
blotch on the mottled surface Of the
slope. Whatever sort of game these
Fasteners thought him, they were
likely to keep firing till they hit him.
Although the shooting was wild, be-
ing down-hill and at long range, yet
the ridge commanded every square
rod of the basin, and there was fair
prospect that the poorest of shots
might chance to spot him before he
should be able to get out of range.
Grenlet determined to get rid Of
his disguise. To take off his skin
and cast it from him ought, he rea-
soned, to arrest the shooting. To
this end he flung himself on his back
In depression, which would serve
to lessen a trifle the target space of
his body, and set frantically to work
upon the lacings of his goatskins.
OF necessity on account of the
rough scrambling, the leather strings
which fastened the decoy suit had been
tied in hard knots. Grenlet's fngers
We're absolutely without feeling-as
useless as dry bones. He tried &c
beat them into warmth but lying Oh
ones back on the ice, and in state
Of nervous fear, is not conducive to
warming exercise.
In the meantime his movements
were seen, or at least his animated
body, and the firing grew sharper and
more accurate. When slug struck
the frozen earth within a few inches
of his head and he felt the sting Of
lead spattered into his face, fight be-
came the only recourse. He dared
not feign death, for fear that at closer
range some hunter might wish to
make sure with some final shots.
He considered briefly the lines of
retreat, the routes to cover.
The way into the gulch below would
have been already speedy, but the
slope he had already reached was diff
cult enough, it's foothcld barely tena.
BILE. To return the way he had cone
would have been to lessen the dis
tance between himself and the shoot
ers.
So Grenlet chose a straightaway
scramble up the lower ridge, over
which the goats had fed-and he
would have been glad enough could
he have emulated the speed of those
fortunate animals.
And now began a lodging, scraEa-
bling fight along a scarp full enough
of danger without the added peril of
bombardment.
The hunters at this moment were
guessing their range with better
degree of accuracy. Their bulieLs
were striking. spat, spat spat, within
a radius of ten or twenty yards.
At least four men were firing as
rapidly as they could work the mech.
anism of their guns.
Go! He went in every way that a
mortal could go, lodging and curving,
leaping and scramblng, much of the
time, of necessity, on all fours. For
a minute the spat, spat of ounce slugs
followed Then, to his immeasurable
relief, the firing ceased. He scram-
bled straight ahead now, until sus.
picion of that lull in the firing attack
ed him.
He halted, and briefly scanned the
curved crest of the ridge in his rear.
And he discovered his tormentors rae.
ing like swarm of monkeys across a
shorter and less steep slope of their
heights. They were gaining ground
swiftly, and he saw that they would
considerably lessen their range be
fore he could pass over his ridge.
Should he wait and trust to signaling
at nearer view?
He dared not, but turned to a labor
of superhuman eXertion in getting up
the icy slope. When he had a little
more than covered half the distance
to safety the firing began again and
from point nearly at his level on the
ridge directly behind. The crack of
rifles sounded distinctly nearer,
He dared not now halt for single
second. To present the uncertainty
Of an erratically moving target was
his only hope Twice he was hit by
pieces of ice or of frozen earth knock
ed up by bullets. He felt the sting of
these missiles so sharply that for the
moment he believed he had been
wounded.
Then in a flash his reprieve came
He was slightly above the Level OF
the shooters now, and a depression on
his left suddenly offered it's protection
He rolled into this little hollow JOY.
fully. From this point his way round
curve on the ridge and to its top
was Of safe and easier ascent.
Once on the height, and with his |
whole body glowing, his fingers tin
Cling from recent fierce exertion, he |
speedily got out of his goat skins.
He turned the suit inside out and
wrapped it about his camera.
Dressed in a wooden shirt and kha.
XII knee-breeches, he was seated in a
sunny spot on a boulder when five |