Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-08-02

Then upon Duane fell the crushing
burden Of the old waiting, watching.
end just now. His chance still per-
sisted-looked q little hriglite,-led him
on. perhaps, to forlorn hope.
All at once twilight settled quickly
down upon the willow brake. or else
Duanc noted it suddenly. He imagined
storm. But there was little movement
of air or cloud. and thunder still NUT
tered and rllnbled ut Il distance. The
fact was the sun had set, and at this
time of overcast sky night was at hand.
Duane realized it With the awaken
ing of all his old force. He would vet
elude his pursucrs. That was the mo-
ment when he seized the Significance
of all these fortunate circumstances
which had aided him. Without haste
and without sound he began to crawl
in the direction of the river. 1T was
not far. and he reached the bank be-
fore darkness set i'm. There were men
up on the bluff carrying wood TO build
u bonfire. For Il IN he half yielded
TO a temptation to try to Slip along the
river shore. close in under the will
lows. But when he raised himself TO
peer out he saw that an attempt of
this kind would be liable to failure. At
the same moment he saw Il rough
hcwn plank lying beneath him. lodged
against some willows. The end of the
plank extended in almost to a point
beneath him. Quick as a flash he saw
where d desperate chance invited him.
Then he tied his gun in an oilskin bag
and put it in his pocket.
ne bank was steep and crumbly.
lie must not break off amy earth to
splash into the Water There was a
willow growing back some few feet
from the edge of the bank. Cautiouly
he pulled it down. bent it over the
water so that when he released it there
would be no spring back. Then he
trusted his weight to it. with his feet
sliding carefully down the bank. He
went into the water almost up to his
knees, felt the quicksand grip his feet;
then, leaning Forward till he reached
the plank, he pulled it toward him and
lay upon it.
Without a u one end went slowly
under water n the farther end APP
peared lightly braced against the over
nahslng willows. Very carefully then
duane began to eXtricate his right foot
from the sucking sand. 1t seemed as if
ms foot was incased in solid rock. But
IheFe was a movement upward, and
ne pulled with all the power he dared
use. 1T came slowly and at length was
1ree. The left he released with less
difficulty. The next few moments he
put all his attention on the plank to
ascertain if his weight would sink it
into the sand. The far end slipped off
the willow with a little splash and
gradually settled to rest upon the bot
tom. But 1t sank no further. However,
as 1t was manifestly impossible for him
to keep his head up for long he care
FULLY crawled out upon the plank until
ne could rest an arm and shoulder upon
the willows.
When he looked up it was to find the
night strangely luminous with fires.
There was a bonfire on the extreme end
of the bluff. another a hundred PAGES
beyond. A great flare extended over
tne brake in that direction. Duane
heard a roaring on the wind, and
ne knew his pursuers had fired
the willows. He did not believe
brake was dry enough. but too green to
burn readily. And as for the bonfires
ne discovered that the men, probably
having run out of wood, We're keeping
up the light with oil and stuff from
the village. A dozen men kept watch
on the bluff scarcely so PAGES from
where Duane lay concealed by the will
lows. They talked, cracked jokes, sang
songs. and manifestly considered this |
outlaw hunting q great lark. AS long
as the bright light lasted Duane dared
not move. He had the patience and the
endurance to wait for the breaking of
the storm, n if that did not come,
then the early hour before lawn when
the gray fog and gloom We're over the
river.
Escape was now in his grasp. He
felt it. And with that in his mind he
waited, strong as steel in his convic- |
ton, capable of withstanding amy strain
endurable by the human frame.
The wind blew in puffs. grew wilder.
and roared through the willows, carry
ing bright sparks upward. Thunder
ming. began to flash Then the ain
fell IN heavy sheets. but not steadily.
The flashes of lightning and the broad
flares played so necessarily that Duane ,
could not trust himself out on the open
river. Certainly the storm rather i'm
creased the w~atchfulness of the men
on the bluff. He knew how to wait,
and he waited, grimly standing pain
and cramp n chill. The storm wore
away as desultorily as it had come, and
the long night set in. There were times
when Duane thought he was paralyzed,
from the strained posture. The first
pallng of the stars quickened him with
a KIND or Wild JOY. He watched them
grow paler, DINNER, disappear one by
one. A shadow lowered down, rested
upon the river, and gradually thick
ened. The bonfire on the bluff showed
as through a foggy veil. The watchers
were mere cropping ark figures.
Duane, aware of how cramped he had
become from long inaction, began to
move MS legS and un1nJured arm and
body, and at length overcame a par
alyzing stiffness. Then, digging his
hand in the sand and holding the plank
with his knees, he edged it out into
the river. n by inch he advanced
until clear of the willows. Looking up
ward, he saw the shadowy figures of
the men on the bluff. He realized they
ought to see him. feared that they
would. But he kept on, cautiously.
~noiselessly, with a heart numbing
slowness. From time to time his ell
bow made a little gurgle and splash