Beadle's Dime Novels No. 85: The Fugitives — page 28: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

30 THR FUGITIVES. — | the field In the direction taken by his enemy, ‘“ Can’t éid you,” he stuttered, “ but I k-k-nows yer s-s-somewhere out that. way, so here goes.” Saying which, he discharged his gun, and the savage dropped dead.* Providence himself had directed the ball. . Pete ran a long distance after his pursuer had fallen, enabler to understand that all danger for the present was past. When he finally discovered that no one was following him, he paused, panting, exhausted and quivering, so that he could scarcely stand. “ Dat’s what I call a purty close race. Dat Injin had hard work to get away from me. J’d had him sure, if de soldier hadn’t drapped him.” Sf His flight had led him in a different direction from the river, so that he was unseen by any human eye, and wearied and jaded as he was, he suuk down upon the ground to snatch a half-hour’s rest. “Dat yer’s hard work! Pity I didn’t catch dat Injin, so dat I mout sculped him, and took him home, but he runned too fast for me, so I had to let him go.” Occasionally, he raised his head, and peered over the top of the wheat, but he was in no danger, and he did not leave the place until he was thoroughly recuperated. “S’pect dey’s wonderin’ at home where I can be all dis time, so de best t’ing I can do is to go dar’, and set dar’ hearts at rest. I kinder s’pects when I get home, I'll eat a big sup- per, and go to bed and sleep off de bad effects of dis day’s trouble.” No time was lost in carrying out this prudent resolution. Making a long détowr, so as to avoid all danger of encounter- ing any roving enemies, he reéntered the wood, and took a direct line for home. The shades of night were gathering in the wood as he hurried along, and he, in his simple nature, experienced almost as much alarm from this alone, as from the vindictive enemies who at that moment were wandering hither and thither, devastating, destroying and slaying. “*'Pain’t safe to be out arter dark,” he muttered, almost running in his alarm. “ Dar’s ghostes and spooks in dese woods, and I doesn’t care about meeting ’em.” * An incident similar to this occurred during the Wyoming massacre. connicloooks.conn