morning we left our horses and started through on
foot, hiding that day on an island in a swamp. That night we tramped all
night and we spent Sunday about four miles south of Marysburg. Meantime
our pursuers were watching for horsemen, not finding our abandoned horses,
it seems, until Monday or Tuesday.

Bob's shattered elbow was requiring frequent attention, and that night we
made only nine miles, and Monday, Monday night and Tuesday we spent in a
deserted farm-house close to Mankato. That day a man named Dunning
discovered us and we took him prisoner. Some of the boys wanted to kill
him, on the theory that "dead men tell no tales," while others urged
binding him and leaving him in the woods. Finally we administered to him
an oath not to betray our whereabouts until we had time to make our
escape, and he agreed not to. No sooner, however, was he released than he
made posthaste into Mankato to announce our presence, and in a few minutes
another posse was looking for us.

Suspecting, however, that he would do so, we were soon on the move, and
that night we evaded the guard at the Blue Earth river bridge, and about
midnight made our way through Mankato. The whistle on the oil mill blew,
and we feared that it was a signal that had been agreed upon to alarm the
town in case we were observed, but we were not molested.

Howard and Woods, who had favored killing Dunning, and who felt we were
losing valuable time because of Bob's wound, left us that night and went
west. As we afterward learned, this was an advantage to us as well as to
them, for they stole two horses soon after leaving us, and the posse
followed the trail of these horses, not knowing that our party had been
divided.

Accordingly, we were not pursued, having kept on a course toward Madelia
to a farm where I knew there were some good horses, once in possession of
which we could get along faster.

We had been living on scant rations, corn, watermelon and other vegetables
principally, but in spite of this Bob's arm was mending somewhat. He had
to sleep with it pillowed on my breast, Jim being also crippled with a
wound in his shoulder, and we could not get much sleep. The wound in my
thigh was troubling me and I had to walk with a cane I cut in the brush.
One place we got a chicken and cooked it, only to be interrupted before we
could have our feast, having to make a quick dash for cover.

At every stopping place we left marks of blood from our woun