The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

| other.
 | "If we can," said I, s'wen stop him
 before he can get af1y." | "You think he is on this side or the | hummock?" asked the secretary. | "Ethan thinks so. but is not sure. l We'll have to look closely now" | While we were talking we had drawn up within a couple of miles of the hum- | mock, which was round hill covered with timber and rising to Q height of | perhaps 150 feet out of a broad, level | plain, where there were few trees and vegetation of all kinds except grass was scanty. I now slowed up, for | didn't want to run into an ambush. Seeing nothing suspicious in the vicin- | ity of the hill from our side, conciud- | ed to circle it, keeping good ofing | and sharp outlook.
 "Confound the fellow!'' exclaimed the secretary. "Where can he have gone? He must have a hole in the ground"
 Perhaps he is among the timber on the hill" said, and upon this thought I ordered the steersman to rise, at the
 same time turning inward. We had
 not risen more than fifty feet when
 Ethan Haight shouted:
 'There he goesw
 'WhereY' cried MT. Grantham and
 I in breath, running to Ethan's side
 as he stood by his gun in the bow.
 s'fLow down a'most a' t'other side O the hummock," replied Ethan, point
 ing. He's as green as grasshopper,
 but I kin sight i'm"
 And Ethan began to manipulate his
 gun.
 It was several seconds before suc-
 ceeded in catching sight of the Cha
 meleon, which, verify, as Ethan had
 said, was as green as a grasshopper
 and as hard to spy against the verdure
 that covered the plain, for she was
 running almost. in contact with the
 ground. If we had not edged round
 the hill toward the west so quickly he
 would probably have got clean away
 under the shelter of the hill.
 Payton's ruse was so simple and yet
 so perfectly executed that it made me redden with vexation. Why he had
 d night could not imagine, unless he thought that he could easily distance us and gave up that idea after he found that the Osprey was hanging on after daylight. He had merely drop ped down on the hither side of the wooded hill, a lone elevation in the midst of the plain, changed his color, crept round the base of the hill, keep ing opposite to us, whom he could doubtless see through the treetops all the while, and when he found him. self on the southern side and we on the northern had stolen away like a sinking fox.
 Now he was of for the south at the top of his speed. Already he was fully three miles away and gaining dis tance at every stroke.
 For heavens sake, Ethan" shout ed, ''why don't you fire?'
 'I'm drawing bead" replied the gunner. And as he spoke the blue glare leaped from the muzzle. There being no smoke, we could see the flight of the little projectile, which was pol. ished like billiard ball. He used a solid shot on account of the extreme range It rose in flat curve, chased the retreating aero, overlook 1t in a few seconds. and we believed we could see a few splinters fly.
 "HurahF' I cried. "Give him an otherw
 Ethan immediately fired again, but the Chameleon showed no sign of be- ing seriously hurt Tn moment she defantly waved black flag and kept on her course.
 In the meantime the Skylark, com ing up several points eastward of the runaway, altered her course to head Payton of. Then detected the flash of her guns in quick succession. The two were now not more than a mile and half apart, and the shots ought 1 to tell.
 This time Payton, who had not re- turned our shots, was more pugna- cious. He instantly answered the Sky lark's fire, and then they went at it | hammer and tongs, using shells, and l the Chameleon all the while edging l westward.
 It was an exciting spectacle, and we l watched it in breathless expectation. | I fervently prayed that the Skylark's | shells might reach a vital point; but, | eagerly as watched, I could not see | that they did any damage. We could l see them explode on the ground away | beyond the Chameleon. Ethan was | beside himself.
 'The blasted lubbers." he cried. | 'They ought to hit a crow at that | ranger'
 Still the firing went on, as we could | tell by the faint blue flashes and the rocketlike explosion; but, to my dis may, saw that it was only the | Chameleon's shells that reached their object. She kept low, and the Skylark gradually descended. Suddenly the latter almost turned turtle, then right ed herself and began to swing around with dropping wings and finally in slow, eddying circles dropped to the earth.
 It was all over with her, as far as the | fight was concerned, and everything now again depended upon us unless the Crow and the Bobolink should come up.
 They've lost us in the nightv I ex- claimed hitterlv