White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1859-06-02

WHICH, 4 W - aMahcutu u oOulc
what uneasy slumber. l had no sense o
having been aroused by anything in par
ticular, only felt uneasy, and wanted 1
new position for my body The moor
had been up an hour or more, and wa
shining through one of the windows, it
beams falling directly upon the doorway
on the opposite side of the room. As
turned, my eyes rested upon this doorway
and saw a man standing there. He had
apparently, just crept to the spot, and the
moonlight lay full upon him. IL ,cas JoI
GaJrand! Had l met him in the broad
blaze of noontime, 1 could not have dis
tinguished his form and features more
plainly. And l saw, in his right hand,
a long bladed knife. Behind him, in the
hall, | saw the outlines of another man,
whom | took, of course, to be McCara-
gan.
The discovery operated upon me like
the shock from a powerful galvanic bat
terry. There was a horrible deadly fear
thrilling through me, and depriving me
of both sense AMI reason, for a moment ;
but the very weight of the terrible cir
cumstance served to nerve me up, and in
a very brief space Of time | was as calm
as need be. mean my thoughts were
all collected, and nv instincts sharp and
clear. My wife slept on, for as yet there
had been no noise, save that something
which must have awakened me.
My chamber was large square room,
and the bed was in one corner. The win
dow through which the moonlight came
was close by the foot of the bed, and the
door that led to the hall directly opposite.
This room was in one corner of the main
building, so there were two more win
dows, one near the head of the bed, and
another. piercing the same wall only
few feet off. Between these two win
dows stood the bureau, there being only
the space of one window between it and
the bed
OF course | knew there could be but
few moments for reflection. sly motion
had caused the assassin to hesitate, but
he would not hesitate long He had come
to put his threat into execution, and |
knew the man well enough to know that
he would DO it without the least COM
Function, and that no ordinary occurrence
would deter him. If | had only given
importance enough to previous circum-
stances, to have been thoroughly on my
guard, should have had my pistol be-
meath my pillow but | was wholly I'M
armed, and successful stratagem conld
alone save me- With this grim presence
before me, my thoughts were very clear
and rapid. My first thought of suceor-
my first hope of safety-was in my pis-
tol. l must get that at some rate.
knew enough of human nature to know
what even an assassin would be most
likely to do under certain circumstances.
Gilbrand did not know that he was dis
covered, and yet slight motion of my
body had caused him to hesitate. He
evidently felt sure of his game, and he
could afford to wait until such time as he
could do his work with the least noise.
1t was clear. cold night. and this cir.
cumstance helped me to a valuable
thought.
"Mary," said l, speaking to my wife,
in yawning tone, as though | were not
wholly awake, "I'm cold"
Ny wife awoke and asked me what was
the matter.
'1'm cold," 1 replied. "Isn't there
an extra quilt in one of the bureau draw
ers 2"
She said there was, but did not seem
inclined to be very wakeful.
As 1 had anticipated, as soon as | spoke,
the lurking assassin crouched away out Of
sight, in the hall, and / believed he would
remain so while l got up and got the
quilt. If he did not suspect my knowl-
edge of his presence, he would certainly |
prefer to let me arise quietly, and then
get into bed again, than to attack me
when / might make resistance for be
had reason to suppose that myself and
wife would both be sleep again very soon.
And then l could not leave the room to
give any alarm without PASSING directly
by him, so he would feel safe on that
score.
/ leaned ont of bed and went to the |
bureau. may have trembled some, at
the the thought of a death blow, while
stood there, with my back to the the door,
but / felt pretty well assured that all
would be safe until l got into bed again;
and so it proved. l opened the upper
drawer first, and grasped my pistol. l
muttered something about not finding
things where they belonged, and then
opened another drawer. from which took |
the desired article. As l returned to the
bed, l allowed my pistol to drop by my
pillow, and then proceeded to spread the
quilt in proper order, never once allowing
nv ewes to turn towards the door. After
this, 1 crept into bed again, and as /
grasped my pistol and snuggled down. l
that / should now sleep with
some comfort. By lying upon my left
side, my face was turned towards the hall,
and when I had so arranged the bed
clothes that could see in that direction
without my eyes being seen in return. and
nv riTht hand was where it could be
free in an instant, / was prepared for the
result.
Nv wife slept soundly again, and, as
soon as judged it judicious, cOmmenc-
ed to snore. The sound had hardly left
nv nasal organs when Job Gilbrand again
made his appearance in the doorway, and
close behind him came cCaragan. They
had removed their shoes, and their tread