The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1915-11-05

bullet came after him, and this time
it was more suggestive than before.
1t cut through his hat, leaving a burn
ing sensation along the side of his
head. He made one jump and went
into the corn.
Cad" he said, "but that was close"
Once in the corn he breathed q little
easier. for there was some room for
hope that he might escape his pursuer
there. At any rate, he knew he was
In far less danger Of being killed. 1t
would not he an easy matter to shoot
a man in Il field Of growing corn, es-
pecially when both shooter and shootee
We're running wild over rough, uneven
ground.
Ross felt that if he could gain suf-
f%iciently OIL his pursuer to get entirely
out of his sight he might dodge off to
II side and steal quietly away. He
even hoped that since he had reached
the corn his pursuer might give up the
chase. But that individual was more
tenacious, more determined than he
supposed.
He had gone only a little way in the
corn when he heard the other tearing
along behind him. and the next mo-
ment a third bullet came singing past
his ears. He made a still greater eff
fort to increase his speed, but without
profit. The other man could yet be
heard crashing through the corn, and
now and then a hastily fired bullet
came whistling through the air.
For a quarter of an hour the chase
continued in this manner. Then Ross
discovered that he had o~utdistanced
his pursuer and that the time to turn
aside and elude pursuit had arrived.
So he checked his speed and crept eau
tiously away through the corn, making
as little noise as possible in order to
avoid attracting the attention of the
| other to the course he had taken.
He heard his pursuer pass within
n few feet of him, heard him crashing
on in the direction they had both been
! going, and then presently there was
silence.
Hes stopped to ~listen," Ross whis-
pered to himself. "He discovered that
he's on a cold trail"
Presently he heard the man utter a
strong oath, an oath of bitter disap-
pointment.
perhaps he'll give it up now" Ross
thought. But he did not know his
man. Not yet.
Ross had gained a decided advan-
tage, and had it not been for an un-
foreseen event he might have made
good his escape without any further
trouble, and many things that after
ward happened to change the whole
course of his life would never have
TRANSFERRED. 1t is remarkable how won
derfully n common, trivial, everyday
incident may influence ones entire fu-
ture. If during that part Of the chase
Ross had escaped he would have miss
| cd the sweetest part Of his existence,
and his escape ut that time would have
been a blessing to the man in pursuit.
But the latter did not know the queer
caprices fate and time We're to play.
Ross was hurrying along, his hopes
Frightening, when suddenly a number
Of pigs jumped out of a clump of weeds
and started to cross his path immedi-
ately in front of him. Before he could
check himself or turn his course he
was among the pigs, and n of them
in attempting to run between his feet
tripped him and sen him sprawling
across the backs Of the others. There
was scufIling and squealing enough,
Ross thought, to wake the dead, much
alert guerrilla.
With a curse on the pigs, Ross
scrambled to his feet and listened, and,
sure enough, he heard his pursuer COM
ing. Without loss of time he darted
away again. and the next moment a
bullet followed him, cutting through
his clothing and grazing his shoulder.
Again the chase began, and again
Ross exertcd himself to regain the adj
vantage he had lost. but for Il time the
race held even. neither of the two men
ginning or the other. Presently Ross
which was a strip of open ground and
still beyond that a piece Of heavily
wooded forest. He looked ut the forest
with longing eyes. for there, he be-
lieved, lay his safety. But between
! him and it was that stretch Of open
ground.
Hell shoot me as l cross it," he
whispered to himself. He'll be al
most sure to get me-"
| But there was nothing for him to do
but chance 1t. 1t was a risk, n great
risk. but it would be a greater risk still
to attempt to double on his track. He
had no idea how many OF the enemy
there might be securing that field Of
corn. and lie had no desire to ever
again get nearer the Conrow place. He
had seen enough of that to do him for
all time.
He hurried up to the fence and at
tempted to creep noisclessly over it..