nger was lost sight of. The pursued had no time to
hatch any scheme calculated to delay pursuit. The pursuers forgot to
look for obstructions. On one side it was capture or die; on the other
it was escape at all hazards. The people of the towns and villages
through which the road passes knew not what to make of the spectacle.
Before they could recover from the surprise of seeing a locomotive with
one box car dash wildly past the station, they were struck dumb with
amazement by the sight of another locomotive thundering by, tender
forward, a tall man standing on the bumper and clinging to the brake
rod.

They were going at a terrific rate of speed, but Peter Bracken, the
brave engineer of the "Texas," knew his locomotive so well, and handled
her with such a nice eye for her weak as well as her strong points,
that the pursuers gradually shortened the distance between them and the
raiders. The "General" was a good locomotive in its day and time, but
it was in unfamiliar hands. Any locomotive engineer will tell you that a
man must be thoroughly acquainted with his machine, and somewhat in
love with it to boot, to get the best speed out of it, when speed is
necessary.

The raiders were pushed so closely that they soon found it necessary to
abandon their engine and car. Three miles north of Ringgold, they slowed
down a little, and, seizing a favorable opportunity, tumbled out, and
fled through the woods in all directions. It might be supposed that
Captain Fuller would be satisfied with recapturing his locomotive, which
was in all respects a remarkable achievement. But he had other views. He
knew that there would be no safety for the road with the bridge burners
at large, and so he made up his mind to be satisfied with nothing less
than their capture. In passing through Ringgold, three miles back, he
had noticed a company of militia drilling in an old field. So he sent
word to the commanding officer by his engineer, Peter Bracken (who, with
his fireman, took the two locomotives back to Ringgold), to mount his
men as promptly as possible, and join in the chase of the fugitives.
This message dispatched, Captain Fuller and two of his men, Fleming Cox
and Alonzo Martin, ran into the woods after the fleeing raiders.
Jeff Cain, the engineer of the "General," had been left with the Rome
locomotive. Mr. Antony Murphy remained in the chase until the "General"
was recaptured, and returned to Ringgold with the two locomotives.

All th