Jeremy growled, held up the bottle to the failing light of
evening, measured its contents with his thumb, and extended it
unwillingly towards his comrade's ready hand; but it never got
there, for, at that instant, the chaise lurched violently--there
was a cry, a splintering of glass, a crash, and I was lying, half
stunned, in a ditch, listening to the chorus of oaths and cries
that rose from the cloud of dust where the frightened horses
reared and plunged.
How long I remained thus I cannot say, but, all at once, I found
myself upon my feet, running down the road, for, hazy though my
mind yet was, I could think only of escape, of liberty, and
freedom--at any price--at any cost. So I ran on down the road,
somewhat unsteadily as yet, because my fall had been a heavy one,
and my brain still reeled. I heard a shout behind me--the sharp
crack of a pistol, and a bullet sang over my head; and then I
knew they were after me, for I could hear the patter of their
feet upon the hard road.
Now, as I ran, my brain cleared, but this only served me to
appreciate the difficulty of eluding men so seasoned and hardy as
my pursuers; moreover, the handcuffs galled my wrists, and the
short connecting chain hampered my movements considerably, and I
saw that, upon this straight level, I must soon be run down, or
shot from behind.
Glancing back, I beheld them some hundred yards, or so, away,
elbows in, heads up, running with that long, free stride that
speaks of endurance. I increased the pace, the ground flew
beneath me, but, when I glanced again, though the man Bob had
dropped back, the saturnine Jeremy ran on, no nearer, but no
farther than before.
Now, as I went, I presently espied that for which I had looked
--a gate set in the midst of the hedge, but it was closed, and
never did a gate, before or since, appear quite so high and
insurmountable; but, with the desperation of despair, I turned,
ran at it, and sprang, swinging my arms above my head as I did
so. My foot grazed the top bar--down I came, slipped, stumbled,
regained my balance, and ran on over the springy turf. I heard a
crash behind me, an oath, a second pistol barked, and immediately
it seemed that a hot iron seared my forearm, and glancing down, I
saw the skin cut and bleeding, but, finding it no worse, breathed
a sigh of thankfulness, and ran on.
By that leap I had probably gained some twenty yards; I would
nurse my strength, therefore. If I could once gain the woods!
How far off were they?--half-a-mile, a mile?--well, I could run
that easily, thanks to my hardy life. Stay! what was that sound
behind me--the fall of flying feet, or the throbbing of my own
heart? I turned my head; the man Jeremy was within twelve yards
of me--lean and spare, his head thrust forward, he ran with the
long, easy stride of a greyhound.