Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1912-01-26
CHAPTER XII.
A wild Ride.


A Wild Ride.
Once he realized the .futility Of re-
sistance, Britt busted himself with ef-
forts to get line on his direction He
was in an ordinary brougham, drawn
by a pair Of housekeeping horses. He
was lying on the floor, but on pile
of rugs. The silk scarf with which
he had been fastened had been loosed
from his neck, only to be drawn tight
ly about his mouth A smaller strip
of silk, rolled into a ball, had been
thrust between his teeth, gagg1ng him
beyond his power to utter a cry. His
wrists and ankles were bound with
similar scarves. He was as helpless
as II in the electric chair. His life,
it might be, depended on his self-con-
troll and resourcefulness.
In the faint light that flashed from
time to time through the windows OF
The brougham as it whirled past park
lamps, Britt saw that all three Of his
captors were dark of feature and 1.-THE
of form. One moment he was con-
vinced there was something foreign
in the appearance Of the men. The
next, he was less certain they were
~ American. A hawklike sharpness
Of profile, however, inclined him more
,trongly to the former belief. He had
seen recently, he thought, a face that
In such light would resemble those
bending above him. AS he was striv-
ing to recall It, and the circumstance
surrounding It, a fourth scarf was
passed about his eyes and knotted
behind his head. The silken strip was
light in texture. but folded so many
times that he could not see the dim
NEST glimmer of light
Britt focused his forces on the task
Of ascertaining his whereabouts and
direction. One, two, three blocks the
brougham sped westward. Britt knew
he was headed for the Hudson. Had
not his blindfolding convinced him his
life was not In peril, he might have
thought his captors were hurrying
him to the river TO make an end Of
him. He continued counting the
blocks until, wheeling sharply to the
right, the horses headed north, and
a change in the sound of their hoofs
betrayed that they had left the as
phalt and were on the macadam
again.
The Drive!" Britz told himself
with a slight glow of satisfaction. The
distance travelled from the park, the
change Of direction, and the altered
pounding of the highsteppers' hoofs
could mean but one thing; the vehicle
was bowling along the beautiful Riv-
erside concourse New Workers have
come to appreciate only In recent
years.
It was at that point Britt made his
first mistake of the trip. The latch
Of the left door was Jared loose by
! an uneven crossing, and the detective
felt the door give slightly against his
shoulder. He sensed In an eyenash
the door had not swung open. Prob
ably an end of the rug had caught
under it sufficiently to hold It shut
But 1t undoubtedly was unfsstened.
and that evidently without the knowl-
edge of his captors. Had any of the
three noticed the unlatching of the
door, he would have drawn 1t close i'm
mediately. There was momentary
danger of that There was not a mo-
ment to spare. Britt had little time
for thought With a powerful contor-
ton of his wiry frame he threw on
the men above him long enough to
fling himself against the door.
Britt reckoned on the likelihood
that his fall from the carriage would
be seen by a patrolman-at any rate,
that his attempt at escape would
cause a commotion sure to result In
police interference.
The detective omitted from his reck-
oning the astuteness and readiness OF
his captors. He thought the surprise
Ringing on his desperate attempt at
escape would be Of sufficient duration
to let him roll to the road. He was
shocked mentally as well as physical
~, therefore, when his fall was stopped
with jerk, and the back of his head
struck with cruel force against the
carriage step. Just for a seconds
! fight. reinforced steel and rubber
though he was, he lost consciousness.
When his senses returned, he was In
the same position-head dangling,
shoulders resting against the rods Of
| the stem hack bent painfully over the
steel-shod threshold Of the carriage
floor, legs inside gripped in a hold
not all his struggles could break. His
ankles still were bound. So, for that
matter, were his wrists. with his
hands behind him.
Then began as strange a struggle
as any in which Britt had engaged in
all his exciting career. The men in
the cab strove to pull him inside; he
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