The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1915-10-02

| had been born and bred in these for
ests. knew well how to travel in a
circle, and how to conceal himself. II
was race for freedom-nay. for very
| life.
So dark that we could see before us
har''v a foot. we were compelled to
| place our hands in front of US to avoid
collision with the big tree trunks,
while ever and anon we found our
selves entangled in the mass of dead
creepers and vegetable parasites that
| formed the dense underground. Around
us on every side we heard the shouts
and curses of our pursuers, while
above the rest we heard an authorita-
tive voice, evidently that of a sergeant
of the guard, cry:
Shoot the man, but spare the wom-
| an! The colonel wants her back. Don't
let her escape! We shall be well re-
warded So keep on, comrades! Meme
edemmaski!"
But the trembling girl beside me
heard nothing, and perhaps indeed it
was best that she could not hear.
1t was an exciting chase in the dark
ness. as we gradually circled round
our prisoners, for we knew not into
what treacherous marsh we might fall
Once we saw afar through the trees
the light of a lantern held by guard,
and already the sweet-faced girl be-
side me seemed tired and terribly ia
tigued
At last, breathless, we halted to
listen. We were already in sight of
the gray mist where lay the silent lake
that held so many secrets. There was
not sound. We crept along the wa
ter's edge, until in the gray light we
could distinguish two empty boats
that Of the guards and our own. We
were again at the spot where we had
disembarked.
Let US row to the head of the lake."
suggested the Finn. I'VE may then
land and escape Them" And a mo-
ment later we were all three in the
guards boat, rowing with all our
might under the deep shadow Of the
bank northward, in the opposite direc-
ton to the town of Nystad. | think
We must have rowed several miles,
for ere we landed again, upon a low,
fiat and barren shore, the first gray
streak of day was showing in the east.
Elma noticed it, and kept her great
brown eyes fixed upon it thoughtfully
1t was the dawn for her-the dawn of
a new life. Our eyes met; she smiled
at me, and then gazed again eastward,
with silent meaning.
Having landed, we drew the boat up
and concealed it in the underground
so that the guards, on searching,
should not know the direction we had
taken, and then we went straight on
northward across the low-lying lands.
to where the forest showed dark
against the morning gray. The mist
had now somewhat cleared, but to dis
cover a path in a forest forty miles
wide is matter of considerable diff
Guilty. and for hours we wandered on
and on. but alas! always in vain.
Faint and hungry, yet we still kept
courage. Fortunately we found little
spring, and all three of US drank ca
gerly with our hands. But of food we
had nothing, save a small piece of
hard rye bread which the Finn had in
his pocket, the remains of his evening
meal. and this we gave to Elma, who,
half famished, ate it quickly.
How many miles we trudged I have
no idea. Elma's torn shoe gave her
considerable trouble, and noticing her
limping, / induced her to sit down |
while l took it off, hoping to be able |
to mend it. but, having unlaced it, l |
saw that upon her stocking was a |
large patch of CONCEALED blood, where
her foot itself had also been cut. /
managed to beat the nails of the shoe |
with a stone, so that it's sole should |
not be lost, and she readjusted it, |
allowing me to lace it up for her and |
smiling the while.
Forward we trudged, ever forward
across that enormous forest where the |
myriad tree trunks presented the same |
dismal scene everywhere, a forest un-
trodden save by wild, half-savage lum.
bermen. My only fear was that we
should be compelled to spend another
night without shelter, and what its
effect might be upon the delicatelv
reared girl whose hand / held tenderl
in mine. Surely my position was a
strange one. Her terrible affection
seemed to cause her to be entirely
dependent upon me.
Suddenly, just as the yellow sim.
light overhead had begun to fade. the
fiat-faced Finn, whose name he had
told me was Felix Estlander, cried
joyfully:
"Polushaite! Look, excellency! All,
The road at last!"
And as we glanced before us we
saw that his quick, well-trained ewes
had detected away in the twilight AT
some distance, path traversing our
vista among the tree trunks.
Elma made gesture of renewed
hope, and all three of us redoubled our
pace, expecting every moment to como
upon some log hut, the owner of which
would surely give us hospitality for
Inc night. But darkness came on
and yet we still pushed for.
"aro. foor Elma was limping, and
III an instant with innumerable stines,