Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1917-09-19

out their tales of horror. Parr, sum-
moned from what had been intended
as his final council with the officers
commanding Patria's private army,
prior to his departure for the South
west, had needed to hear no more
than half a dozen words before he
gave the order to sound a general call
to arms.
Thanks to their long and faithful
drilling, the men of the night shift
dropping whatever work they had in
hand at the moment, assembled under
arms in the yard in record time. The
flames of the second house to be fired
in the town were just beginning to
leap above the rising ground that sepa.
rated the factories from the settlement
when Patria's men doubled out of the
main gateway, Donald at their head.
Halfway to the town they got their
first taste of warfare, encountering
there in the darkness a very consider
able body of Japanese, outnumbering
them two to one. They responded no.
bly,, deplOying in open skirmish order
at the words of command and throwing
themselves flat upon the ground before
attempting to return the fire of the
raiders. Though here and there a man
fell, dead or wounded, not one looked
back. Their casualties, if anything.
seemed the one thing needed to stiffen
their determination to drive back the
enemy. And the accuracy of their fire
proved so CALLING that the first line of
Japanese was quick to give ground
and retreat upon the burning town.
There, in the scorching, flame-illu-
mined streets, the combat became a
hand-to-hand affair, the raiders, al
though they suffered heavily, giving, to
begin with, almost as much punish
ment as they received, but inch by inch
yielding.
The main street was Uttered with
dead and wounded when at length they
broke and fled, holly pursued by Don
aid and his men.
Beyond the town the pursuit became
more or less a running sl1irmish, the
raiders endeavoring desperately to
stem the pursuit long enough to enable
them to regain their motOrcars.
Both sides had suffered heavily. In
the end it was with but a handful of
his original command that Donald
pressed the pursuit across the ridge
pole of the hills and down into the
open fields where the motorcars of
the raiders had been parked.
There a final stand was made, a
desperate resistance opposed to PARIS
men till the last Japanese had found
a place in the car which he hoped
would bear him to safety. Then, as
the final car swept out of the field and
down the road, splitting fire from half
dozen rifles, the pursuers swarmed
upon the field and took possession of
the abandoned cars.
Communicating the first that came
to hand, Parr jumped in with four of
his men and resumed the pursuit. 9th
er cars, laden to the running boards
with employees of Channings, followed.
a running battle of racing cars swept
out through the sleeping countryside
| and, In due course, down into the val
ley or the treStle.
AS his car took the down grade at
the top of its speed, the nearest car of
the fugitives, leading it by bare two
hundred yards, Donald saw the head
light of a locomotive sweep through
the cut at the far end of the trestle,
like a sword of light slashing the
night.
Then. travelling at q fast clip, the
train ran out on the trestle-a light
train, he remarked, consisting of sin
gle coach in addition to the locomotive
and tender; in short, special, such
as Patria was accustomed to use.
BY this time his motorcar had de-
seconded to the bottom OF the valley
and crossed the bridge that spapned
the river. Ten seconds later a sudden
premonitfon drew his attention to the
train; he looked up just in time to see
the locomotive shoot out at a sharp
angle from the trestle, twist and fall,
dragging its tender and coach with it.
The crash o. the wreck filed the
valley like thunderclap, followed by
a kissing Of escaping steam and the
groans and screams of the injured
train crew.
Instinctively Donald shut off the
gasoline and jammed in the emergency
brake. bringing his car to halt within
thrice its own length. AS it stopped
he jumped out and began to run across
fields toward the wreck, his compan-
ions OF his heels.
fEND OF TENTH EPISODE.)