The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1874-12-11

you came here on purpose to poison
me! !"
tried to soothe him and TO reason
with him, and he finally grew calm. L
told him that / was q detective, come to
arrest the old woman, and requested
him to unlock the door so that i could
seize her. He seemed about to COM
ply when he changed his mind and
whispered
"Help me to detect the poison, and
then we will 60 down and chop the old
woman 10 pieces"
81 cannot pick out tine bottle
"YOu must"
He drew the revolver again, and /
saw that he would shoot me if / did not
comply. Thinking that ne might be
satisfied if I selected one OF the three.
I made a choice and handed it to
. him.
"There is no poison in this? q be
asked.
"No-this is only pure wafer" / re-
piled.
81 shall not believe Won until ,you
drink !" he said, after Il sharp look n
! the bottle. "Let me see yOu taste !"
He had NE there. One good swallow
from one of the poisonous bottles would
have been death. 1 put the bottle
back, took another, put that back, and
finally gave IN in despair.
81 knew your" he Kissed, ''you
wanted to poisonme, but l have trapped
you! Now you must drink from n OF
the bottles !"
I began trying to get his mind on
something else, but it was a failure.
He went to the door, listened, and ten
l cav him look ut the galvanic battery
and then at me.
"Take hold. of those handles = he
ordered, fourishirg the revolver. !
knew that he woula rack me severe
", and so, after taking the handles and
while he was making ready, ! wrerhed
them of. He did not discover it, Icing
on the other side OF the table and
when he found that he could not dock
me his eyes CLEANED with new malice.
"You are Il ievil!" he said, ccming
around the table. "Iou must doose
a bottle or I will kill YOU"
l put him off in ore way and another
for about fifteen minutes, and then he
forced ME up to the table, presenting
the muzzle Of the revolver against my
back. ] shiver as l think of it now,
for there was that his every chance
carelessness would discharge the
weapon.
"Chonse , choose! choose ,"he fair
ly yelled, and finally l picked up one of
the bottles.
"Now drink J" he whispered, hold
ing the weapon not 4 foot from my
face.
Icould see by the CLEAN of his eyes
and his compressed lips that he was
determined, and / uncorked the bottle.
There was one chance in three if /
drank, and death was certain if l re-
fused. Holding the bottle in NV right
hand, 1 suddenly resolved to strike him
with it. I cannot tell how I did it, but
l know that the bottle came down on
his temple, that his revolver was dis
charged, and that he fell on the floor.
I hunted around the room a dozen
times to find the door, although the
lamp was burning, and then I crouched
down in a corner and was neal crazy
when a couple of men whom the woman
had sent for, came and burst the door
in. The truth was that Sherman had
been gradually becoming insane for
months; he had no idea of going to
Europe, and probably wrote the adyer-
tisement in order to get some one to
practice his wild trick on. He was
sadly injured by the blow, but recov-
cred after a few months, and l heard
several years afterwsrd that the doctors
had cured him of his naiady. The
bottles we're Examined a day or
two after the event, and the doctor
found that / had taken the one with the
arsenic in it.