Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-01-26
MARKED FOR THE KNIFE.


IN Edinburgh had placed the legal supply
~ q subjects upon its present satisfactory
S,otinr. there occurred to my elder brother,
~ that time delicate boy of about IA,
a;ngular adventure, involving such shock
80 S;s nerves as, the doctors believed very
,ruch fastened his death, which occurred
n less than year after it.
We then resided in large white house,
,rith a row of poplars in front, close to
ono of our canals. Within stones throw
IF our halldoor was lock and lock-
house, and then followed, in the London
direction, one of the longest and most
solitary levels to be met with in the United
Kingdom. 7as@t. -
The canal at point about seventy yards
from the lock, makes slight detection.
The consequence is, that neither the lock
nor our house are visible from the long,
closely fenced between tall hedges and old
trees. - - ~.
NV brother had been ordered walking
exercise, and my father generally appoint
cd the path beside the level / have de-
scrihed for his walk. The traffic, never
verv attractive, was, at that time, little bet
ter than extinct. Not more than two or
three boats passed in a day, and chiefly
owinp to its perfect quietude it had been
chosen for the walk of our solitary in
II was now summer, and the hour of his
daily walk was from 5 to q and the earlier
hours of the afternoon. being pronounced
too hot for exercise.
On The evening in question he set out
alone. His usual walk was to point two
miles up the level, where there was stone
block, ON which he used to sit and rest
little before setting out for home.
While he was taking his ease on, this
down the long and deserted reach of water,
there emerged, a few hundred yards to his
left from sequestered path, singular
figure, which approached slowly and
psssed him by, with only the narrow tow.
path between them. 1t was moving in
The direction of our home, and was that of
an emaciated man, with a complexion dark
as very old lockwood, limping, as it seemed,
painfully, very much stopped, and with
big angular hump upon his back. His
hair was long and sooty black, NE had
prominent dark eyes, under thick black,
brows, and his face and chin were
sprinkled with a week growth of beard.
He was leaning heavily on a. long stick,
and walked with a kind of hitch, which
resembled spasm, and gave one the idea
that each step was accompanied by sepa-
rate sting of pain.
The face of this man expressed extreme
weakness and suffering, and might almost
be that Of man dragging himself away,
with mortal wound, to some spot where
he might lie down and die in quiet. /, iii.
He had long and heavy bottle green
coat, which had grown to be, indeed, a coat
of many eolors, for over the thre9dbare,
and greasy ground it was oyerlaid, with
fantastic and extraordinary industry, with
a tesselation of patches, of every imagina-
BILE color, in which yellow, and red, and
blue, and black were discernible, under a
yarnish of grease, and toned with variety
of dirt; and even these patches were
patched again, and had broken here and
here into rents and assures, and punches
of shreds and tatters. Round his body
was buckled,a broad discolored leathern
strap, and he wore wide-leafed felt hat,
with conical crown, brown and grimed
by time and ill-treatment. pa
The figure with long CATERS of rabbit
skin, and shapelcss "brogues," limped
past my brother without taking the slight
est notice of him, and uttering now and
then short groan, as If of suppressed pain,
he excited the wonder, and in some degree
the compassion Of the boy.
He watched the progress of this man,
who was moving with great difficulty, and
with many halts, in the direction Of our
home 1t was not until he had got on
nearly quarter of a mile, that my brother
got up, now quite rested, to follow in the
same direction.
AS this strange crooked man, with the
stick, got on, he appeared to grow more
and more exhausted, and at length he tot
tered into little recess at the edge OF the
path, and fell .hopelessly on his side
among the bushes. ~ fsr f.,fas,f.l /,
The boy quickened his pace, and as he
approached the spJt ne passed the head OF
narrow lane, in which he saw donkey
and cart standing. The cart had in it,
upon some straw, piece Of old carpet
from under which emerged some folds. of
coarse canvas, like a part Of an old sack ;
but he could not gee any one in charge of
this conveyance, though, being anxious to
obtain help, he called repeatedly.
Despairing Of succOr, he went on, and
reached the point where he had seen the
man fall Here he found him. He had
crept little further in among the bushes
He was supporting himself feebly on the
ground upon his elbow, his eyes turned up
as if he were on the point OF swooning,
and he nhoaned family.
but the sick man seemed to perceive him,
turned his eyes upon him implorinly, and
extending his hand toward him, go evil
IDENTIFY signalled for aid, that my brother
could not help drawing near.
The fainting man then told him, in
whisper, that if he would take his hand
and draw him gently toward him, he
would perhaps be able to turn himself a
little to his great relief.
My brother did give him his hand &C
cordingly, and the fainting man instead Of
taking it, seized his arm above the elbow,
with gigantic hand, 10 a grip like vice,
and jerking him under, sprang over him,
thrusting his other arm round and beneath
him, so as to pinion him fast. He had car
ried in his hand the end Of the bek which
he had removed from around his own body
while waiting for his prey. and with q
dexterity acquired. no doubt, by long prac-
tice, In ia moment, with the now Olsen
gagged hand he drew it and buckled it
around the boys arms and body at single
jerk, with pressure so powerful that he
cOud rro1v hr<o no uluch vQSo dilen paOQ