A Hunted Animal (1914)

In the first story of the series, John Perriton assumed the blame of a murder to save the brother of the girl he loved. We left him crossing Long Island Sound in a boat. He had but little headway. The police were on his trail. Before reaching the middle of the Sound, a detective put out from the opposite shore to intercept him. Perriton bent all efforts to escape. The detective fired and broke the wooden oarlock. Perriton pretended to be hit, fell overboard and swam beneath the surface, but McWade, the detective, was after him like a flash, and soon had him handcuffed. When they landed, McWade forced Perriton to walk in front up a steep slope. Perriton purposely slipped, fell on the detective, and both rolled to the bottom. Perriton escaped into the woods. After hours of wandering, he came to a railroad track. As Perriton watched, a man emerged from the bushes across the track, looked cautiously about, stuck a white flag in the ground, and disappeared. Shortly afterward a train passed. A young girl on the rear platform threw a bundle into the bushes near the flag. With desperate agility, Perriton seized the bundle and fled. Opening it, he discovered a suit of clothes and a note, which said the clothes were intended for an escaped convict. Full directions for the man's further guidance were clearly written out. Since the handcuffs prevented Perriton from putting on the clothes, he resolved on a desperate expedient. Hearing the approach of a train he laid the chain on the track, averted his face and waited. The train roared by and the links were crushed. Perriton put on the clothes, and for lack of a better plan, followed out the directions of the note. A bribed farmer cut off the handcuffs and carried him in a trunk to a tenement house, where a Chinaman received him. And here we leave Perriton until the next story.

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Summary Details
GenresDrama Short