Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1880-01-01

dropping ny voics b . whisper, mo-
. word come in
"Jaek," began the irrepressibl.
Bill, meanwhile eyeing me - hs would
. raging maniac.
"fts I'll right, boys," I interrupted,
mo time TO waste. Lord Davis, o1
the First National, was murdered and
robbed Mt ten minutes before yeus
train leff Lucerne- His nurd1rer ID
probably aboard the express. Ordsr,
have been sent aleng the lins," 1 rat.
tied on, that shlcsrs may nab him d
Frankfort, but why not honor thif
station by making il the scene d
captanel T. would read bie-smur.
der will out-justice aided BY threa
modest agents-rewarll' That would
sound nicely, and the road might dc
the right thing, Aoo-faithful and ef
ficient, you know" And thought
Of the captain and Mades, q I locked
earnestly into the faces of Bill and
Ransom.
''But yen have no name, dsscrip.
ton, Or
ssNevsr mind" replied /, undaunt.
cd. "But We have an advantage over
Frankfort-fsllow may jump the train
there; make it up at Lucsrne, Ran
som?"
"No; attached > sleeper and one
coach. But only three aboard sleep-
er, and I know them all; but the
coach 10 full, and"
'Never mind that; splendidi"
excitedly interrupted. s'Pans out
sweetly-only one claim to work
here's my plsn."
"Jack. you are the darling Of my
heart 1T
I had explained my plan and Bill
liked it.
So did Ransom. I boarded the
coach from one side, and Conductor
Ransom from the other. Bill had al
ready entered. and was "cornersd"
and in darkness. .-.
As l swung my lantern back and
forth, l dare say my hand trembled
bit, but no one noticed. As for
my voice, that must have worked all
right, since Bill afterward assured me,
ut would hare driven terrier and re.
morse into the heart Of q tenpenny
na,lp'
Swinging the lante-n high, that il
might cast its rays upon a. many a
possible, I cried out in q loud voice,
making the words r1ng out - quick
and startling as modest agent could :
"Can any one tell whether Presi-
dent Lord Davis, of the First Nation
ii Bank Of Lucerne 10 abosrd?'
There was no reply; only the impa-
tient wheezy snoYting Of the Meteor,
eager to be on ~ way, came back in
echo. a~
Involunta,fly my eye had rested on
the man who sat BY the open window.
Perhaps--I have always Thought sc-
he stared when that name suddsnly,
in the gloom Of night, soundsd on
his ears. watched him.
/ walked slowly down the aisle.
"Do you know President Lord
Davis a' I suddenly asxso, ssarn,nE
squarely upon him.
He winched beneath nv piercing
gaxe-but then 1t might have been
only the suddenness OF my manner
that startled him. Then he got bet
ter control Of himself, and glaring
suspiciously at me, growlsd back,
''Nov" s.... .-.t
He pulled his slouch hat over hil
eyes. He wanted to look like q mai
borsd by impertiness.
But was not 80 easily satisfied
The ticking Of the instrument still
rang in my ears, "Aurderer-proba-
bly-on-ths-express.''
"Can it be possible that Presiden,
Lord Davis il not aboard" I agair
asked.
There came q groan from che darl
corner. / confess that, prepared q
WAS, it sent . chill to my very
bones. 1t Was not - from . dyin1
or q poor wounded soul (Bill hat
greatly improved on my hinn), bu
as il the dead had been summoned
back from purgatorial fires. 1t 70
minded me Of the ghost Of Hamlet
father, walking unsasiiy the earth un
til justice bad been dens. 1t va
terrible. Bill Henderson could hav
made his fortune ON the stage Wit
that groan. -:...
The man Of the slouch hat spranl
from his seat. His face was unde
the glare Of my lantern. His eys
were turned to . leaden hue, as IL III
blood had deserted their sockets, AM
his cheeks were deadly pale. He In
stinctively seized the window sill WIT
his trembling hands, and tried to bal
ance himself, or he would have falle
a., with horror-ssricken agony in sv
cry feature Of bic face, be turned An
wildly looked back int the gloom
corner.
ST arrest you for the murder 9
Lord Davisl"
I was telling the old Captain ths
night all about it-how we found nc
much under IS, 900 on the murderer
person, besides many other clear ev
dences Of his guilt; how Bill an
RAnsem had taken him ON to Frans
fort, and pledged themselves to see
through; and, finally, how I felt sur
Of . coed thing.
| "And you desire It, too, my boy,
Interrupted the old man heartily.
! I tell you, it did me . world {
good to find him agreeing with Made
about my cleverness, for the old caI
tain was scant with his compliments
Then be added: szs 4s
! ''Go ahead, John. Talk 1t ovs
with Aadge. I'm agreed. kne
the Lehigh Road will re you through
And they did, and I went ahest
Three months 4om shat time Hade