Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-04-20

And then, on a slight down grade,
though he took it at perilous speed and
seemed vertically to ride the wind, the
pursuing machine, aided by it's great
err weight, began to close in still more
rapidly. MOmentariIy the hoarse roar
ing Of its motor sounded more loud
and menacing It became a mere Ques-
ton of seconds.
Then inspiration of despair came to
him, as wild as any that was ever
conceived by brain of man.
They approached a point where a
dense plantation walled the road on
the left To the right, wide footwalk
of asphalt separated the drive from a
gentle declivity, sown with saplings,
running down to the lake.
Rising in his place, Lanyard slipped
from under him the heavy waterproof
cushion that fitted the seat.
Then, edging ever to the left of the
middle Of the road, abruptly he shut
off power and applied the brakes with
all his might
From its terrific speed the taxicab
came to a stop almost within its
length
Lanyard was thrown forward
against the wheel, but having braced
In anticipation, escaped injury and Ell
fected instant recovery.
The car of the Apaches was upon
him in pulse beat. With no least
warning of his intention, De Morbihan
had no time to employ brakes. Lam
yard saw its dark shape flash past the
windows of his cab and heard a shout
Of triumph, Then, with all his might,
he flung the heavy cushion across that
scant space, directly into the face of
De Morbihan.
1t few straight and true
IN alarm unable TO comprehend the
nature of that great, dark, whirling
mass, De Morbihan attempted to lift
a warding elbow He was too slow
tho cushion caught him full force on
the side of the head, and before he
could recover or guess what he was
doing, he had twisted the wheel sharp
~ to the right.
The car, running at little less than
locomotive speed, shot like a projectile
from a lannon's mouth across that
strip of sidewalk, caught its right fore
wheel against a sapling, swung heavily
broadside to the drive, and turned
completely over as it shot down the
gentle slope to the lake.
The terrific crash of this catastrophe
was followed by hideous chorus of
oaths shrieks, cries and groans.
Promptly Lanyard started his motor
anew and, trembling in every limb,
ran on for several hundred yards But
time pressed, and the usefulness of his
car was at an end as far as he was
concerned there was no saying how
many times it's identity might not
have been established in the course of
that wild chase through Paris, or how
soon the police might contrive to over
haul and apprehend him; and as soon
as a bend in the road shut off the scene
of the wreck, he stopped finally,
jumped down, and plunged headlong
into the dark midnight heart of the
Bots, seeking its silences where trees
stood thickest and lights were few.
Later, like some furtive, worried
creature of the night-panting dis
heveled, his rough clothing stained
and muddied-he skunk across an open
space a mile from his point of disap-
pearance, dropped cautiously down to
the dry bed of the moat, climbed as
stealthily the slippery side of the for
tifcations, darted across the inner
boulevard, and began to describe a
wide arc to his destination, the Omber
house.