The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1913-08-18
Story of Escape.

The shades were drawn in the
dormitorics ana the inmates were a.
sleep when Thaw left his room Sun
day morning. He was fully dressed
The milkman's cart was rumbling on
the road outside as he walked through
the store room and into the outer
court yard of the grounds. Barnum
sole attendant at the road gate, was
pacing back and forth when ThaW
closed the storeroom door behind him
and apparently did not grasp the
significance of Thaw's early rising.
Long years Of residence at the
asylum and repeated declarations by
Thaw that he would never attempt to
obtain his freedom except by legal
means had established the madmans S
status as "trusty" There was little
out Of the ordinary in his appearance,
even at so early an hour, in the court
yard and If Barnum saw hin1-as to
this no one, save the hospital authori-
ties, could say tonight and they re-
fused to talk-he raised no question.
A six-cylinder touring car, Of 60
horsepower followed by a limousine,
also black, loafed lazily along the road
as the miIkman drew near the gate.
Thaw standing a few feet away, ap-
Barnum unlocked the gate and swung
it wide to let the milkman enter. AT
the same time the two cars, drew UP
on the further side of the road, op-
posite the gate and stood still, their
engines throbbing.
AS Barnum stepped aside for the
millSnnan to drive inside, the grounds,
he heard the gravel crunch beneath
Thaw's feet and, looking out, saw the
madman flash past him for one Of the
waiting cars. With shout Barnum
started in pursuit, but flying leap
landed Thaw safe within the car. The
wheels were slowly turned before the
keeper had fairly reached the roadway.
They were throwing up a cloud of dust
before he had gone twenty-five feet
Down the roadway the cars sped in
a whirling cloud of dust that quickly
blotted them from sight. For a
moment Barnurn shaded his eyes with
his hand and watched them; then,
with the first great blot on his career
Of twenty years as keeper, he dashed
back into the ground and locked the
gate.
'Thaw's gone escaped" he shout
ed, bursting into DR.. Keib's presence.
And in a moment the hunt was ON.
The great black car flashed like
llEuLeHlnS through ss SoTOTIflV1iIe, ten
miles east of Mattewan, along the road
to the Connecticut line. Early risers
in the little hamlet saw three men
and Thaw--crouching low to escape
the sweep of their hush through the
air. They were going seventy miles
an hour. They were ten minutes out
of Mattewan.
Stormville nnarvelled at their speed
and watched them melt away In the
dust of the state road.
& The limousine had been left be-
hind. At the speed which the black
car travelled through Stormyille he
should have reached the state line in
half an hour. S
Barnun,s breathless declaration at
the asylum brought Dr Kieb to his
feet like a. pistol shot Within ii mo-
ment he was at the telephone and ais
Barnuar1 poured the story into his ears
he repeated IL over the wire to police
headquarters. Matteawan became the
center of a widening ripple OF telephone
and telegraph alarms as DR.. Kieb
planned pursuit. He might as well
have tried to chase a tweI We en- shell.
The tel, minute start the high power