Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1878-04-10

that they.might b s~uperfiuous, and 81
smiled ct the thought Of what her frien'
would ny when she related to the
the terrors of the night. Her child "
sleeping TRANQUILITY, It's rosy cheeks ha
buried in the pillow. The fire hs
blazed up into . flame, whilst the u,
snufed candle burned dimly. The roo
was full Of pale, trembling shadows, b,
she had no superstitious fears. Som
thing positive could alone raise h
alarm. She listened attentively, b,
she could hear nothing but the howlir
Of the wind over the roof, and the pa
tering of the rain against the window
panes. As her excitement diminishet
the fatigue-which had been forgotten
began again to make itself felt, and sh
resolved to undress and 20 to bed.
Her heart leapcd into ner throa'
For q momen: she seemed perfect
paralyzed. She had undressed and pu
out the candle, when she accidentl
dropped he watch. STOPPING to pick ]
up, her eyes involuntarily glanced to
wards the bed. A great mass of re-
hair. aAend, - a cleaning knife, wer
revea1od By th1elight of the fire. Ate
the fsDt monent of terrified alarm, he
presence Of mind returned. she Eel
that she had herself cut off all means o
escape by the door, and was left entirely
to her own resources. Without u~tterinl
. cry, but trembling in every limb, thu
poor woman got into bed by the side o1
her child. An idea-a plan--had sug'
gested itself. 1t had flashed through
her brain like lightning. 1t was the
only chance left.
Her bed WA 20 disposed that the rob-
Der could only get out from under it by
. narrow aperture at the head without
making q noise; and it was probable
that he would choose, from prudence
tnis mean of exit. There were no cur
tains in the way, 50 Mrs. Martin, with
terrible decision and noiseless energy,
made . running knot in her silk scarf,
and held it poised W. the aperture by
which her enemy was to make his ap-
pearance. She had resolved to ~strangle
him in defense of her life and that of
her child.
The position was an awful ono; and
probably had she been able to direct her
attention TO the surrounding circum-
stances, she might have given way to her
fears, and endeavOred to raise the house
by screams. The fire on the hearth
unattended to-had fallen abroad, and
now gave only q dull, sullen light, with
an occasional bright CLEAN. Every OBJ
ject in the vast apartment showed dimly
and uncertainty, and seemed to be en-
dowed with q restless motion. Now and
thea a mouse advanced stealthily along
the floor, but, startled by some move
ment under the bed, went securing back
in terror to its hole. The child breathed
steadily in its unconscious repOse; the
mother endeavored also to initiate slum-
Der, but the man under the bed, uneasy
in his position, could not avoid occasion
ally making a slight noise.
Mrs. Martin was occupied only with
two ideas. First, she reflected on the ex-
traordinary delusion by which she had
been led to rec enemies in the people Of
the house and a friend in this red haired
man; secondly, it struck her that as he
could fear no resistance from a woman,
he might push aside the chairs that were
in the way, regardless of the noise, and
thus avoid the snare that was laid for
him. Once even she thought, while her
was strongly directed to one
spot, he had made his exit, and was lean
ing over her; but she was deceived by a
Pickering shadow on the opposite wall.
In reality there was no danger that he
would compromise the success of his
sanguinary enterprise; the shrieks of a
victim, put on his guard, might alarm
the house.
Have you ever stood, lour after hour,
with your ~fishing-rod in hand, waiting
with the ~ferocious patience of an angler
for q nibble? If you have, you have
some faint idea of the state Of mind in
which Mrs. Martin-with far other in
at state-passed the time, until an
old clock on the chimney-piece told one
hour after midnight. Another source of
now presented itself-the FIRE
had nearly burnt out. Her dizzy eyes
could scarcely see the floor, as she bent
with fearful attention over the head of
the bed-terrible moose hanging, like the
sword of Damocles, above the gloomy
aperture. what" she thought, off
he delays his appearance until the night
has completely died away? Will it not
then be impossible for me to adjust my
do the deed-to kill the as
sassin-to ave myself and my child?
0, God! deliver him into my handsI"
A cautious movement below-the
dragging of hands and knees along the
aeoe-A heavy, suppressed breathing
MISUNDERSTANDING the supreme moment
W1oHGar u Ind. Her white arms were
bard to the shoulder; her hair fell
around her face. like the name
Of . lioness about to leap upon its prey;
the distended orbits of her eyes glared
down upon the spot where the question
OF life and death was to be 70 soon de-
cided. Time seemed immeasurably
Heightened out-every second assumed
the proportions of an hour. But at last,
just y all lines and forms began to float
before her sight through a distinct
medium of blended light and darkness,
. black mass interposed between her
eyes and the floor. Suspense being over,
the time of action having arrived, every
thing seemed to pass with magical
rapidity. The robber thrust his head
cautiously forward. Mrs. Martin bent
down. There was a ~half-choked cry
the sound of . knife falling on the floor
IA c%onvulsive struggle. PULL pull!
pull! Mrs. Martin heard nothing-saw
nothing but the scarf passing over the
head of the bed between her two feet.
She had thrown herself back, and, hold
ing her scarf with both hands, pulled
with desperate energy for her life. The
conflict had begun and n or the other
must perish. The robber was a power
full man, and made a furious effort to get
loose: but in vain. Not q sound escaped
his lips-not q sound from hers. The
dreadful tragedy was enacted in silence.
Well, Mother Guerard," cried a
young man, leaping out of a carriage
that stopped before the door of the
Guberge next morning, 6 what news have
Won for mo9 Hos vo0tha~ c~.olJy