Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1923-05-10

and crossed them at other times the
little wilderness which protected him
changed suddenly 10 a well-kept lawn
where some great house with Its
garages and outbuildings doomed
ahead, and afraid to cross these open
places, he was obliged to retrace his
steps and find a way round. The dis
rance from the bridge TO the place
where the men he was following had
got out Of their motor, he had thought
TO be about two miles; but when he
had been travelling more than an hour,
he had not yet reached II. Then.
suddenly he came upon the road for
which he was looking; somewhere to
the east along IL was the place he
sought. He crouched as hear to the
road as he dared and where he could
look up and down 1t. This being a
main road, was guarded. A motor
car with armed men In 1t passed him,
and presently repassed, evidently pa
trolling the road; its lights showed
him a man with a gun standing at the
FIRST bend of the road TO the east.
Eaton drew further back and moved
parallel to the road but far enough
away from 1t to be hidden. A quarter
of a mile further he found a second
man. The motorcar. evidently, was
patrollng only to this point another
car was on duty beyond this. AS
Eaton halted. this second car ap-
preached, and was halted. backed
and turned.
Its headlights swept through the
woods and revealed Eaton. The man
standing In the road cried out the
alarm and fired at Eaton point blank
he fred a second and third time.
Eaton fled madly back into the shad-
ow as he did so, he heard the men
crying TO one another and leaping
from the car and following him. He
retfeated to the woods, went further
along and came back to the road, ly-
Ing fiat upon his face again and wait
ing till some other car in passing
should give him light to see.
Eaton, weak and dizzy from his
wounds and confused by darkness and
his struggle through the woods, had
nc exact idea how long 1t had taken
lin to get TO this place; but he knew
that IT could have been hardly less
than two hours since he had left Har-
riet. The men he was following,
therefore, had that much start of
him. and this made him wild with I'm.
patience but did not discourage him.
His own wounds, Eaton understood.
his escape practically impossi-
BILE, because any one who saw him
would at once challenge and detain
him and the other man was still more
seriously wounded. II was not his es-
that Eaton feared 1t was con-
cealment OF him. The man had been
from the car because his condl-
ton was so serious that there was no
hope of hiding II; Eaton thought he
must be dead. He expected to find
The body concealed under dead leaves,
,urriedly hidden.
The night had cleared a little: TO
he north, Eaton could see stars. Sud. :
the road and the ~leafiess bushes :
It Its sides flashed out In the bright !.
light OF a motorcar passing. Eaton .
forward. He had found the !,
'lace he sought; there was no doubt !,
car had turned of the road some !.
before and stopped there. The :
Of man. cars had so tracked y
he road that none of the men In the :
motors seemed to have noticed any
hing of significance there; but Eaton :
plainly In the soft ground al
he edge of the woods the footmarks
4 two men walking one behind the =
Their. When the car had passed, he !,
rept forward in the dark and fingered =
he distinct heel and toe marks in
he soft soil. For a little distance II
e could follow them by feeling: then "
s they led him into the edge of the ,
Toods the ground grew harder and =
e could 10 longer follow them in l
hat way.
1t was plain to him what had oc-
urred; two men had got out of the d
ar here and had lifted out and car o
led away a third. He knelt where
e could feel the last footsteps he d
ould detect and looked around.
The wound In his shoulder no long L
os~Nt Va lax pun VI ~ ANtlkNu
Inn through and through; his head
hrobbed with the hurt there; his feet 81
'ere raw and bleeding where sharp n
DOTS and branches had cut through 81
Is socks and torn the flesh his skin
as bot and dry with fever, and his 81
cad swam. Il
There was not yet light enough TO m
any distance, but Eaton, accus- L
to the darkness and bending RI
lose to the ground, could discern the 50
,otmarks ever on the harder soil. h
hey led away from the road into W
woods. On the rotted leaves and n
Wigs was a dark stain a few steps 50
eyond there was another. Eaton N
up a leaf and lingering II,
that they were blood. so the III
ian was not dead when he had been
fled from the car. But he had been
urt desperately, was unable to help m
imseif. was probably dying; II there n
I'd been any hope for him, his com m
anions would not be carrying him al
this way away from any cnsnce OF 10