The
Sky Pilot, ignoring the screaming Charlie, thought only
of the loot which had vanished with the Oskaloosa Kid.
"Come on! We gotta get him," he cried, as he ran
from the barn after the fugitive. The others, all but
Dopey Charlie, followed in the wake of their leader.
The wounded man, his audience departed, ceased
screaming and, sitting up, fell to examining himself. To
his surprise he discovered that he was not dead. A fur-
ther and more minute examination disclosed the addi-
tional fact that he was not even badly wounded. The
bullet of The Kid had merely creased the flesh over
the ribs beneath his right arm. With a grunt that might
have been either disgust or relief he stumbled to his
feet and joined in the pursuit.
Down the road toward the south ran The Oskaloosa
Kid with all the fleetness of youth spurred on by terror.
In five minutes he had so far outdistanced his pursuers
that The Sky Pilot leaped to the conclusion that the
quarry had left the road to hide in an adjoining field.
The resultant halt and search upon either side of the
road delayed the chase to a sufficient extent to award
the fugitive a mile lead by the time the band resumed
the hunt along the main highway.
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