Year: 1875

in twenty minutes, for / believe your
horse is in sight-not more than three.
quarters of a mile off. My husband il
liable to come at any moment"


"But with him inside the house We


"With him !"-she emphasized it in
despairing tones-"he's Bill VOLTS
brother!"


was out of the coffin in a trice then
you may we'll believe.


cit is death for you any way" she
moaned-" for hear the rattle of Dicks
axels already"


"Stay! There's the rain-barrel," said
!, in desperation. They've tried that
once; they may not again."


Before you would be able to speak a
sentence the water was dashed out of the
cask and stealing down into the arid soil,
and / was in the barrel. The woman
quickly put tub halffilled with water
in at the top, as cover.


She had barely time to enter the house
the door of which, fortunately, opened
on the side away from the moon-when
a rattling vehicle drew up at the door
and l heard hOarse voice raving and
swearing at the woman for something
done or undone and then, from the
bunghole-the plug having been dis
lodged in the upsetting of the cask-l
saw the furious return of the three rene.
gades.


There was a good deal of loud talking
and explanations, and Oaths and stirring
up of hot nectar, and rough remarks
about the cistern ia the corner; but both
Dick and the woman seemed sore about
something, and the man peremptorily
refused to Join the hunt because of the
coffin.


"Well you're going our way piece, "
said Wolf" likely enough you'll have
the fun of seeing us wing the turkey"


The conversation was distressingly
personal-made acutely so by Dick ask.
ing:


"Is there water enough out there, Jen,
to drink my horse!'


"I;ll see," she returned, moving slowly
over the door-sill. Leaping to the cask,
she lifted out the tub, and tipped my
prison over little so that could spring
out. was behind the cask when Dick
came to the door and chirruped his
beast up 10 the tub to drink.


"Pll go with you as far as the forks, "
he said, as two Of them came out with the
coffin and slid it into the body of the
wagon. They then stepped back
probably to call the other.


At that moment wild and desperate
plan entered my brain; but, feeling for
my knife, l found that it was missing,
along with the belt to which il was at
tached. Ii was SUI eide to attempt seizing
one of them. But as the woman, with
some D., pose in her mind, sang out to
the men to come back and get the last
dipperful of liquor which she had mixed,
I seized the only alternative. l sprang
lightly into the wagon, lifted the coffin
lid, arG again ciawled into the long,
narrow prison.


The three ruffians were mounted, and
all were about to start, when the woman
ran out with some sort of blanket, and
muttered something about covering the
coffin. The nan yelled out to her to
mind her own business, and let the thing
alone.


She retreated with the cloth, but she
had accomplished her purpose. In its
folds she had concealed bowie knife.
Under its cover she had raised the lid
and dropped the weapon inside, itgiving
me cut as it fell upon me. In the
nonentaiy noise and confusion: l had
got the weapon in my hand, and with its
point raised the heavy lid of the rough
box the fraction of an inch, SO that
breathing was easy if my position was
cramped.


The three horsemen spread out, re-
marking to each other: "Beat up the
game now speedily before, by any
miracle, he gets into the wooded belt by
Buford's Springs


BY and by there was shout off to the
right of a "tally hop as if the hunts
man had sighted the quarry. Nothing
but an unwarrantable amount of liquor
could have Influenced them to co lluct
themselves as they did-for no sooner
had they called out from the right, than
Dick c..me to sudden halt, leaped from
the seat, and ran off toward those who
were hallooing.


For an instant my heart stopped beat
ing at the thought of the hazard which
l was aborS to run. The next moment l
sprang from the coffin to the ground. A
few Iightning-like strokes, and / had
severed the traces and the holdbacks of
the harness.


The whole scene is vividly pictured in
my mind-the moon-lighted prairie, the
little ravine toward which the renegades
were dashiDg, the wagon standing in the
trail. Then the rattling of the falling
thills reached the ears of the party, and
with wild shout they turned toward
me. / was on the horses back. but
boldly defined by the moonlight. There
was the sharp report of two rifles. / felt
sting in my foot, another in my
shoulder, but the horse was unframed,
and the race for life began.


On and on my steed, desperately
spurred with the point of my knife, bore
ahead, actually causing me to gasp for
breath and not two hundred yards in
the rear rode my would-be murderers.


On the rolling prairie now. My animal
took the declivities with a plunge, and
the elevations with sure, fierce stride.
Across the brawling ford. But crack
came another rife-echO, and again a
stream of fire seemed to strike my
shoulder. They were closing in-closing
up. could make out only two horse.
men following me. One of these had
discharged his rifle at me, the other !
knew was held in rest for nearer shot.


A momentary dizziness Topped me
upon my horses neck. The ruffians
yelled triumphantly behind. A distant
echo brought me up. Giving my poor
beast stinging blow, / emitted the
wild, long, fierce yell of the border
rangers, and sped on again. But my
horse had that peculiar squirm now and
then in his gait that told me he was
faltering.


Again that echo reached me, swelling
out on the rising wind. 1t was the shrill
squeal of the fife and the drum-diddle.
um, did-e-um-dum. dun, dun, of infantry
returning from some expedition to Fort
l.. Again l sent out that long,
wild, border yell. / knew by the quicker
breathing of the fife, and the rapid pulls
ing of the drum, that the soldiers had
broken into the "double-quick" in heed