Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1912-07-18

ureQ as to De unrecOgnlZable. 1t flash.
ed upon Kedtieid that If he could
change clothes with this corpse his
chances of escape would be greatly i'm
proved. Looking about him. be could
distinguish only Il few people. and they
were absorbed in their efforts.
He managed to get coat. waistcoat and
trousers off the corpse and. without
stopping to put them on. set about
drawing bis striped garments on to the
dead man. Some time was needed to
effect the exchange. since the body
was partly covered with heavy tim
bers. which were removed with diff
Guilty.
However. when the fugitive had fin
ished the work be ran on with the
clothes he he'd obtained on his arm till
he reached !: clulnp Of trees. which he
entered and put them on. When he
emerged it had grown quite dark. and
he took heart. feeling that he had
some chance Of making his escape.
But he we'll knew that a force from
the prison would scour the neighbor-
hood till every n of the laboring
gang outside the walls at the time of
the storm had been brought in either
alive or dead or was known to, have
put a long distance between him and
the ~penitentiary: therefore it behooved
him to go on.
He did not overestimate the energy
Of the prison officials, for he had not
gone a quarter of a mile when. hear
ing distant shouts. he turned and saw
a clump Of lights flashing in his eyes.
1t was too soon after the storm for q
rescue party to have collected; such
rapidity could only have come from
the prison. Satisfied that it would be
better to employ strategem rather than
attempt to outrun these persons. be
looked about for a place of conceal
ment- He was near q house that had
been spun around. its front door fac
ing a yard that had been In its rear.
1t had been partly wrecked. and the
fugitive crawled in under some lower
timbers. drawing a post over him to
indicate that it had fallen on him.
Having thus prepared to play dead
man. he waited in his uncomfortable
position under the timber which he
would make others believe had killed
him. The voices came near. and the
party at last tackled the house in
which Redfeld was lying with a view
to saving any person in it who might
still be alive. They were, as he had
supposed. the prison officials looking
for escaping prisoners, but they had
been joined by several persons who
were bent on rescue work. Redield
had taken the precaution to lie on his
face so that he must be turned owe for
it to be exposed
Here's a corpse!" called a voice that
he recognized as that Of the warden
of the prison. You fellows look into
it. We must move on"
The warden's footsteps died away,
and Redfeld knew that another light
was turned upon him. Then the TIM
Der was lifted off him. and he felt a
hand laid over his heart.
Bring some liquor" cried a voice.
This nan isn't dead. We may save
him."
His jaws were pulled open, a flask
put to his lips and whisky poured
down his throat. He needed it, but
not for what the rescuers supposed. 1t
was required to give him strength and
courage to play his part. Having slim
out and laid him on q board, it being
evident from what they said that he
was to await an examination from a
, surgeon whenever one could attend to
him. But there were calls in so many
| directions that one by one his attend
ants left him for more pressing duties.
There were by this time so many
persons about that Redfield concluded
that it would be safer for him to TEN
porarily join a rescue party than to
pursue his flight. Arising from his
hard bed. he went to the nearest
wrecked house. where some men with
lanterns were working, and assisted in
the removal of several wounded per-
sons. While doing so he heard a man
say to another:
1.-The party we laid on a board to
wait for a surgeon has disappeared"
Impossible said the other
"Sure as you live. l found a doctor
for him. and when we found the place
where we had left him the board was
there. but the man vas gone. | Won
der If d rescue party came along and.
thinking him dead. buried him"
1t was midnight before all the wreck
ed houses had been examined and the
persons engaged in the work dispersed
and stiffness reigned. Then Redfield
began a tramp that did not end till
he had reached the Mississippi river.
where under the name of Jacob Thomp-
son he shipped as deck hand on a steam
boat bound for New Orleans.
Meanwhile Mrs. Redfeld learned that
her husband had escaped from i'm
prisonment during the cyclone and his
body found under a wrecked building,
though no one could account for his
having been there when the house was
demolished. 1t was two months after
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