The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1914-04-09
ON the WINGS
OF A CYCLONE
Whir|ing Storm Brought Free
dom to a Convict.


party outside the prison Enclosure. OF
course prison officials stood over the
workmen with loaded rifles. .-
But something came up in COMPARE
son with which the rifles of the guards
were but as popguns. Kirby looked
up from his work and saw black
cloud coming that looked more terrible
than the judge who years before had
passed sentence upon him. 1t was bal
loon shaped, the neck trailing on the
ground. He glanced at the guards and
saw that they were standing with
their backs to the prison wall, with the
cloud also behind them.
It passed between him and his
guards. Being forewarned, he threw
himself fiat on the ground and held on
to a stout bush. When it had passed
the guards were nowhere to be seen.
There was method in what he did
when he started to run in the wake
of the storm. 1t was the only direction
he could go to find possible safety. He
ran mile over a ruined strip of coun-
try, when be came to a small village
that had been wrecked. Before a
house that had been turned around
and blown over on it's side man was
lying On his back dead. Kirby no.
ticed that the head had been disfgur
ed beyond recognition. He was plan
ming ahead, and his plans were made
with lightning rapidity. He took the
dead mans clothing for himself and
put his stripes on the dead man. Then,
taking up the body, he carried it to a
distance from the wrecked village and
threw it in a ditch.
The storm had no sooner passed than
parties were sent out to scOur the
country for those convicts who had
escaped. But they were not the only
persons moving about. Without the
narrow belt traversed by the storm no
one had been injured. and rescue par
ties We're coming from all directions.
Kirby, whose long confinement had
brought i'll health, had by this time
used up all his strength. In the out
skirts of the village house had been
reduced to Il heap of kindling wood.
Kirby decided to crawl in under the
wreck He had wormed himself in as
far as possible when Il rescue party
came along and, seeing his boots, IN
covered him. Feigning death. he lay
on his back but one of the party put
his ear to the convict's heart and heard
it throbbing. Liquor was poured down
his throat. and he knew that his sham
could not be kept up. Through partly
closed lids he saw that no prison Off
cial was present. and he opened his
eyes. He begged the party to leave
him and go on to others who needed
their attention. They were persuaded
and did as he suggested.
Then came another party. and the
convict, mistaking them for searchers
from the prison. again feigned death.
By this time it was dark, and his effort
was more successful-almost too sue
cessful. They began to dig beside
him. and when they had made a shall
low grave they put him in and covered
him with earth. He was about to cry
out when it occurred to him that they
were not burying him deep and the
earth above him would be loose No
sooner had the shovelfuls of clods
ceased to pound him than he began to
push them away for air.
Meanwhile all who coulC be spared
from the prison we're securing the
country far and wide. Judging that
those who had escaped would attempt
to hide in the track Of the storm, they
followed it, and one of them, Jim
Mackin. came upon the body wearing
Kirby's stripes He identified it as
Kirby by the clothes and concluded
that there was one less prisoner to be
recaptured. Being we'll armed, he
pushed on alone. AS the burying party
were completing their work of cover
ing Kirby, Mackin was approaching
the grave, and they disappeared in
the darkness just before be came up.
Seeing something moving directly be-
fore him, Mackin threw light from
his lantern upon the spot just in time
to strike the corpselike face Of Convict
Kirby rising from the grave
Prison officials are not likely to be
easily ratified, but Mackin had few
before seen the body of the
convict, and the sight of the deaG
mans features confronting him in tbs
fashion was too much for his nerves
Throwing down his gun and lantern,
he ran as fast as his legs would carry
him.
Kirby. kicking off the earth, arose
from his grave, picked up the lantern
and was hurrying away when he saw
the light glisten on metal and found
the gun. This gave him courage. He
could either appear to be hunting for
bodies or convicts. as he liked. He
worked his way through the people
about till he heard a distant
locomotive whistle: A few minutes
later he struck the rails and by the
lights near by a station. Best of all.
the locomotive headlight shone far
down the road and was slowly grow
ing brighter. Throwing away his gun
and lantern, he ran for the station and