Year: 1877

ons, but with blow of his fist sen


his adversary. reeling, and sprans


past him like q deer. lie was /


brave man, but it must be confessed


that the yells of the savages, but {
few yards distant, somewhat unnerv


ed him, and he had run but few


yards when his foot struck a large
stone. and he fell headIong among
/ the bushes.


This caused him loss of time
and every second was precious but
rather stimulated by the occurrence,
he sprang up with new strength.
AS he did so, the Indian whom he
had struck, and who had rallied from
the blow, grasped him by the throat,
apparently desirous of capturing
him alive, no doubt in order to SUBJ
! ject him to the tortures in which the
savages were wont to take such
fiendish delight, and compared with
which instant death from blow of
the tomahawk would have been a
mercy. t.


A fierce struggle began. Sergeant
Crombie, in that moment Of awful
peril. realized that it must not last
beyond few seconds, for the other
savages were now within ten or a
twelve yards, and his adversary was
calling out to them with hideous
exclamations. He was a strong
man, and summoning his whole
strength for one mighty effort he
tore himself loose from his captor,
and with one fierce blow of his fist,
felled him to the earth. Then he
sprang away again through the bush
as. r-,-


The Indians seemed to pause q
few seconds, on reaching their pros
trate companion as if to learn the
exact state of things; then, with re-
newed yells, they dashed after the
flying soldier, whom they had for a
moment lost sight of in the bushes.


1t was race for life now, and
Sergeant Crombie knew what speed
he must make to escape from his
feet pursners. So. straining every
nerve and muscle, he fed through
the bushes like a frighteded deer,
followed by several random shots,
one--of which touched his capr They
! followed his track readily by the
noise he made; but it was no time
now to attempt to move by stealth
they were too near. To conceal
himself was impossible.


All depended on speed. and he
ran as he had never run before.


At first he seemed to pistance his
pursuers. At least, they did not
gain on him, and for some distance,
favored by the bushes, he managed
to keep ont of their sight. He knew
what he might expect should he
once come in their view, and within
the range of their rifles.


1t was q fearful chase. The game
was human being, flying like a
frightened deer through the wild
and lonely valley, with life depend
ent on the fieetness of his limbs the
hunters, a horde Of swarthy savages
merciless as wolves, keen as blood
hounds, making the night hideous
with their yells, thirsting for the
blood of the fugitive, aud longing
for the 'frightfuI pleasure of subject.
ing him to all the tortures that bar
barous ingenuity could deYise.


The chase continued a distance of
nearly mile. At times, in very
rough places for he had been un-
able to follow the trail of the army
he was bound to slacken his speed
as were also his pursuers, and dodge
from point to point with cautious
steps, for he knew that another fall
would be fatal to him. 1t was
very rocky in places. and more than
once he had to leap across dark fis-
sures, whose depth he could not esti-
mate. He might not have seen them
at all out he had not run far before
he noticed that the darkness was Civ
ing way somewhat, and he guessed
the reason. The moon had risen.
lie scarcely knew whether to be glad
of this or not. It enabled him to find
his way better, but in case the sava-
ges should once come within sight of
him, it would enable them the more
easily to keep him in view, or to shoot
him in case they should give up the
hope of cnpturing him alive. Still,
he made.the best of it, and greatly
increased his speed.


The light rapidly increased as the
moon began to find its way above the
hill-tops, aud as the fugitive heard
the Indians yelling at his heels. and
he realized that they were gaining on
him, he began to think that the dark:
ness Of the earlier part of the night
night would have been better for
him; but the bushes still covered
him, and he was too brave to give
way to apprehension He was de-
termined TO win the race.


But suddenly new danger con-
fronted him. He had reached the
limits OF the thicket, aud before he
was aware of it, dashed out into an
open space several hundred yards in
width, in which there was neither
tree nor bush. although it was very
rocky. lie could hear his pursuers,
scarcely fifty yards behind him, and
he knew be must come within range
of their rifles before he could reach
cover again. He could see more
woods in the distance,


1t was no time for hesitation, how
eyer. and he rushed on bounding over
the rocks, like the goat leaping from
crag to crag. In few seconds more
the savages would also reach the
edge of the thicket, and he must take
the chances of their aim. At any mo
mentnow he must expect to hear the
sharp crack of the rifle, and the whis-
tie Of the bullet about his ears. What
hope was there, knowing, as he did,
what wonderful marksman most of
the Indians were?