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Show LIVELY BANDIT HUNT STAGED IN KAIBAB (Coconino Sun) A bandit hunt that was exceedingly exceed-ingly lively and keenly planned, came to a successful finish Saturday with the capture of two fugitives. The third bandit was already under arrest. ar-rest. It was the sequel to a holdup of the motor service station at Jacob's Lake, between the Lee's Ferry bridge and Fredonia, and a thrilling after-dark after-dark gun fight between the men and Elwin Pratt, intrepid young deputy dep-uty sheriff at Fredonia. Thursday afternoon a Chevrolet with three young men passed south through Fredonia and reached Jacob's Ja-cob's Lake, in a forest 31 miles away, an hour later. They backed away from the Bowman service station sta-tion a short distance and hung around the rest of the afternoon. A little after eight o'clock that night, two of them, with a .38 Colt and .32 automatic, entered the store, covered the manager, Ezra J. Nixon and his wife, and took $77 in cash from the till. They then broke the telephone mouthpiece, jerked the wires loose, and left, in the direction of Fredonia. The only other phone accessible was at the ranger station a mile away. The owner of the station was soon notified. He and three others drove at once to Fredonia, and notified noti-fied Pratt. They set out for the scene of the hold-up to intercept the bandit car, with instructions from Pratt to pass it and then turn and block the road behind it. Pratt followed in another car with two men. At the Johnson wash bridge in the sagebrush five miles from Fredonia the leading car met the bandit car and passed it, then turned turn-ed to block the road as per schedule. sched-ule. Pratt's car met the bandit car right on the one-way bridge. Pratt jumped out and into the head-light glar.e between the two cars, calling on the bandits to clime out and surrender. But the driver twisted the wheel and backed to turn and run. Pratt shot three times at the tires. Then the bandits got into action with their guns. Pratt raised his aim. sending three bullets bul-lets from his .30 Lucer through the windshield close to the driver's head. That none of the bandits was hit was a miracle. The bandit car i whirled. Pratt still firing. Their car sped back on the road it just ' come over but left it just before reaching the Bowman car and took off on an old wood road. Pratt ar.4 his men fc'.'.Owed. Knowing Know-ing the bandits couldn't get far on j the wood road the pursuers left their 1 machines and proceeded on foot. : A mile out on the wood road, they : caueht sight of the bar.d.l car. standi!-. sti'.l. Fearing ambush. Pratt made haste s'.ow'.y. The trail was followed into the heavv timber for a distance cf 20 miles. At noon Saturday, broken I down by thirst and hunger, the men : returned to the highway and w-cre : overtaken by officers from F.ag- j staff, who had joined in the chase. , |