The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-01-11

NAAN ~ -
afBill,, suE /, you'd better take Thu
clothes offmy back fofthAt wife o'yours.
Ny shoes stood by the side Of me, and ]
took 'em up and handed EN- toward him
and SUE /, Here's my shoes-take them.
That maddened him. He Jumped up
pulled OF his coat, jerked of his boot
and put 10 bed. I couldn't o. slept II
had gone 10 bed, and l thought 1 might
as we'll ait up ill the ere burnt out
should Judge that ! had set there about
an hour when all at once j heard VIII
liam bound out O. bed. In q minute he
come out, lookin' As I'd never seen him
beiore-kind O. wild-like-and put on
his coat and boots. Then DO went TO the
mantel piece, took down his razor aud
put Il In his pocket. / tell you, Miss
Martin, my heart come right up into my
mouth. Jumped up and held the door,
and SUE ], William, what are you going
to do?
"'T6ere amt no, use O. my tryin' TO
live any longer SUE be, and tried topush
away from the door.
snow there ant many men who can
handle William when he 10 himself, but
he was just as weak a. q kitten. 1dont
know how / done il, but / got that razor
out Of his pocket, and l opened thedoor,
and ] slung 1t Just as far as l could sling
It out into the snow. Then he got The
butcher knife; but by that time Bob had
got up, and between Us both We managed
10 get that away from him. l went into
the but'ry and'took all the knives ] could
find and locked 'em up. But there hap.
pened 10 be 4 sharp case.knife q layin'
on the table, and Bill got hold o that,
and got past Bub and put for the woods
"a fast a he couldgo. Iknew We couldn't
do nothin' with him so / told Bub TO go
and get Cal Corgan to come. Cal and Bill
had always been great friends, and i
knew Cal would have some influence
over him, IL anybody could
"Corgan's folks lived not more,n q
quarter Of a mile from US, but a half an
hour passed and still Bub aud Cal didn't
come, tell you, Miss Martin. that hall
hour O. wailin' was the .fearfulest time /
ever knew. / walked the floor back and
back and forth, and It seemed every
minute as IL I should 20 crazy. There
was all the time before my eyes q picture
l couldn't shut out-a picture O. William
a layin out there in the woods with his
throat cut from ear 10 ear, and the blood
a %runnin' out into fhe snow. At last, |
couldn't stand it any longer. l put my
shawl over my head, and started of
Corgan's to see why. the boys
didn't come. About half way between
our house and theirs there was q big
and when / got almost 10 It stop.
ped and listened, but / conldnt hear any.
thing except the water in the creek, a
bubblin' and a gugglin' among the ice,
and il sounded 70 me, for all the world,
like the blood u gugglin' out O. William's
l clapped my hands TO my ears
and run over the bridge, and beyond to.
ward .Corgan's till l met Bub and Cal a
"Cal had gone to bed when Bub got
there. No one was up but old Miss Cor
gan. She thought there was some tom
afoot, aud told Bub she shouldn't
wake up Cal unless he'd tell her what he
OF him
G'Itis a case Of life or death, Miss Cor
gam said Bub. Il mustn't tell any one
but Call
aMiss Corgan told me afterwards that
looked into Bulbs face then, and he
was Just as pale as a sheet, and a tremblin
like a poplar leaf. Then she went right
upstairs and walked up Gal. She knew
something was the matter.
at was a long time before Bub could
to go with him. William has
got too many brains TO kill himself seq
he. IF lie liant, he al worth savin'.
40 Cal, do hurry seq !, when | met
'em.
"'DOes yer conscience smite ye, old wo,
man p seq be.
al didn't mind this fling. All ] thought
Of or cared for vas the sayin' O. VIII
liam. We hurried aleng, over the bridge,
past the house, past the orchard, past a
long strip O. medder land, and then we
reached the woods. We went along a
few yards further, when we came to q
wide cut in the woods-the log.men's road
TO Job Bolton's saw mill. We stopped
there and looked, but could see no track
had been made since the snow fell
except the track O. one man that had
gone down this road, but hadn't come
back. Cal looked at these tracks. Then
he looked up the road again. knew
that he was afraid. 'Hadn't / better go
and have job Gomez says he. Bolton's
folks lived a half a mile away. l knew
II would be too late by the time they got
back, If William meant 10 kill himself. j
took hold O. Gala arm, and SUE ], 'Cal we
ha'n't a minute 10 lose. Do CONT on.
I'll go with you.' Bub was runnin' back
to the house as though old Nick was
chasin' him. well, l a go alone SUI
l and / started on. But Cal dashed past
me aud went as though he was determined
to follow the tracks wher ever they might
lead him. We went around n little
curve, and then the road began to ascend
and, lookin' straight ahead, it seemed to
end up In the sky. After we hBd follow.
ed on apiece further, We could see, where
the light from n clearin' shone, n long
dark object that looked as though 1t was
a lyin'on the snow. 1tmight be only a log;
yet the cold shudders chased each other
down nv back as ] thought O. what else II
might be. Cal quickened his steps, and l
followed on as fast as I could, and soon
we had both reached the dark object. II
was William I-but he was standing up
and a holdin' the. old knife against his
throat. He had kicked the snow away
clear down TO the frozen ground, stood
there like u statoo, u starin' straight
ahead, and his eyes lookin' as set IS
though the light O. this world had al.
ready faded from out O. them. Cal went
up 10 him and said William two or
three times, but he didn't get no answer.
He took hold OF his arm, and sur he:
"Bill, don't you know mef"
ayes, it's Cal Corgan,n SUI he.
al wouldn't a believed 1t was Will
JAMS voice il l hadn't stood right there
and seen his lips move; 1t sounded SC
hollow, with the life all gone out Of II
Just like the voice o the dead, l fancied
II they was TO speak.
"Iknew Cal would take care OF hin
then, so / turned and went back TO The
hopse. Bub hsdn't tended to the fire a
all, but had locked himself in his room
The boy couldn't a. thought that anything
was soin' 10 harm him. He must a beer
nearly scared out O. his wits, and though
that by Iockin' the door he could shut gu.
the tormenting fear that William woult
a fNN q s---N -IN A. l.u4a II