Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-10-22

pistol. and a bullet sang over my head;
| and then l knew they were after me, for
could hear the patter of their feet upon
the hard road
Now, as 1 ran, my brain cleared, but
| this only served me to appreciate the diff
nculty OF eluding men so seasoned and
| hardy as my pursuers; moreover, the
handouts CALLED my wrists. and the short
connecting chain hampered my move-
| ments considerably, and 1 saw that, upon
this straight level I must soon be run
down, or shot from behind.
Glancing back. beheld them some hun
dred yards or so away, elbows in, heads
| up, running with that long, free stride
that speaks of endurance. / increased
the pace, the ground flew beneath me,
but when / glanced again, though the
man Bob had dropped back, the satur-
| nine Jeremy ran on, no nearer, but no
farther than before
Now. AS I went. presently espied that
for which I had looked-a gate set in
| the midst of the hedge, but II was closed,
and never did gate, before or since,
appear quite so high and insurmountable;
| but, with the desperation of despair, I
| turned. ran at It and sprang, swinging
my arms above my head as 1 did so. My
! foot grazed the top bar-down I came,
| slipped. stumbled. regained my balance,
n crash behind me. an oath, second pis-
| tol barked, and Immediately it seemed
| that hot iron scared my forearm, and
glancing down, saw the skin cut and
bleeding, but. finding it.no worse. breath
ed a sigh of thankfulness and ran on.
BY that leap had probably gained
some twenty yards; 7 would nurse my
strength, therefore. II I could once gain
the woods! How far off were they?-
half mile, a mle?-well, I could run
that easily, thanks 70 my hardy life.
Stay! what was that sound behind me
the fall Of flying feet, or the throbbing
of my own heart? I turned my head;
the man Jeremy was within IL yards of
mclean and spare. his head thrust for
ward, he ran with the long, easy stride of
| a greyhound.
So 1t was to be a question of endurance?
Well, I had caught my second wind by
now. l set my teeth and, clenching my
firsts, heightened my stride.
And now, indeed, the real struggle be-
gan. My pursueT had long ago aban-
doned his coat but his boots were heavier
again. my confining shackles seemed to
contract my chest; and the handcuffs
| CALLED my wrists cruelty.
On l went, scattering fiocks of scamper-
ing sheep. past meditating cows, who
started up, putting out snorts of perfume;
|
and stile and ditch, with eyes upon the
distant woods full of the purple gloom
| of evening, and, in my ears, the muffied
thud! thud! thud! thud! of the pursuit,
sometimes seeming much nearer and
| sometimes farther off, but always the
same rhythmic, remorseless thud! thud!
thudl thudl
On, and ever on. climbing steep up
lands, plunging down precipitous slopes,
past brawling brooks and silent pools all
red and gold with sunset, past oak and
ash and thorn-on and on, with ever those
thudding footballs close behind. And, as
we ran, 1t seemed to me that our feet
beat out a kind of cadence-his heavy
shoes and my lighter ones.
Tlrud! thud!-pad! pad!-thud! thud!-
padl pad! until they would suddenly be-
come confused and mingle with each
other.
One moment it seemed that / almost
loved the fellow and the next that Bit
terIy hated him. Whether 1 had gained
or not, 1 could not tell; to look back
was to lose ground.
The woods were close now, so close
that / fancied l heard the voice of their
myriad leaves calling to me-encouraging
me But my breath was painting thick
and short, my stride was less sure, my
wrists were raw and bleeding, and the
ceaseless jingle of my chain maddened
me.
| InQQ! Inuus - pcISiSbChl
thud!-thud!-the pulse at my temples
throbbed In time with II, my breath
painted to IL. And surely 1t was nearer,
more distinct-yes, he had gained on me
in the last half-mile-but how much2
| cast a look over my shoulder; 1t was but
glance, yet saw that he had lessened
| the distance between US by half. His face
shone with sweat-his mouth was a line
his nostrils broad and expanded-his eyes
| staring and shot with blood, but he ran
on with the same long easy stride that
was slowly but surely wearing me down.
We were descending a long, grassy
| slope, and / stumbled, more than once.
and rolled in my course, but on came
those remorseless Observation-Disclosures =
thud!-thud!-strong and sure as ever.
He was nearing me fast-he was close
| upon me-closer-within reach of me.
could hear his whistling breaths. and
then, all at once, i was down on hands
ana knees; he tried TO avoid me-failed.
and shooting high over me, thudded down
| upon the grass.
For a moment he lay still. then. with
a groan, he rolled over and, propping
himself on his arm thrust a hand into
his bosom; but hurled myself upon him,
and, after a brief struggle, twisted the
pistol from his grasp, Whereupon he
groaned again.
"HurtT" painted,
EARN broke, think" he growled. and
| fOIthWitn DufSl Oub into WITHIN "
curses.
sDoes it--hurt-so much" / painted.
"Ahl but it-ain't that" he painted back;
'ft's me-a-lettin' OF you-work on a
moldy-old trick on me-like that
| there"
"It was my only chance" said /. sit
ting down beside him TO regain my wind.
'"ro think" he growied, 20 me bein
took In by a.
s'But you are a great runnerw said l..
"A great fool. you mean. to be took In
by A.
"You have a long walk back. ana your
arm will be painful"
"And serve me right for bein' took in
by"
.If YOU will lend me your neekerchief
L think i can make your arm more com
Portable" said l. He ceased eursing to
stare at me, slowly and awkwardly un-
wound the article " question, and passed
"A 10 me. Thereupons having located the
fracture, / contriyed a rough splint with
a piece OF wood lying near which done
he thanked me. in burst Of arofanity
and rose.
.I.re see worse coVes nor youl" said
h.. s'and one good turn desarVin' another
lie snug ali day, and travel By night
ana keep 10 the byroads-this Amt nc