ds, and could
have been easily trailed had not the pursuers been led in the track of our
recent companions.

It seems from what I have read since, however, that I had myself left with
my landlord at Madelia, Col. Vought, of the Flanders house, a damaging
suggestion which proved the ultimate undoing of our party. I had talked
with him about a bridge between two lakes near there, and accordingly when
it became known that the robbers had passed Mankato Vought thought of this
bridge, and it was guarded by him and others for two nights. When they
abandoned the guard, however, he admonished a Norwegian boy named Oscar
Suborn to keep close watch there for us, and Thursday morning, Sept. 21,
just two weeks after the robbery, Oscar saw us, and fled into town with
the alarm. A party of forty was soon out in search for us, headed by
Capt. W. W. Murphy, Col. Vought and Sheriff Glispin. They came up with us
as we were fording a small slough, and unable to ford it with their
horses, they were delayed somewhat by having to go around it. But they
soon after got close enough so that one of them broke my walking stick
with a shot. We were in sight of our long-sought horses when they cut us
off from the animals, and our last hope was gone. We were at bay on the
open prairie, surrounded by a picket line of forty men, some of whom would
fight. Not prepared to stand for our last fight against such odds on the
open field, we fell back into the Watonwan river bottoms and took refuge
in some bushes.

We were prepared to wait as long as they would, but they were not of the
waiting kind. At least some of them were not, and soon we heard the
captain, who, we afterward learned, was W. W. Murphy, calling for
volunteers to go in with him and rout us out. Six stepped to the front,
Sheriff Glispin, Col. T. L. Vought, B. M. Rice, G. A. Bradford, C. A.
Pomeroy and S. J. Severson.

Forming in line four paces apart, he ordered them to advance rapidly and
concentrate the fire of the whole line the instant the robbers were
discovered.

Meanwhile we were planning, too.

"Pitts," I said, "if you want to go out and surrender, go on."

"I'll not go," he replied, game to the last. "I can die as well as you
can."

"Make for the horses," I said. "Every man for himself. There is no use
stopping to pick up a comrade here, for we can't get him through the line.
Just charge them and make it if we can."

I got up as the signal for the charge and we