The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-09-10

The journey took good three hours,
and Mt the end of that time the oprt drew
up before the door of n s,nall eottige
that sto,Hl IN the bleakest part of the
inoor-a kind of shelter place for shoot
parties and the ganiekeepersi when tile
FORMER came fol- sport aud tho latter
looked after the eggs and tho young
broods, and tried nclusiops with such
poachers rs might he Hbohs. Here tie
man, always masked and always silent,
carried poor Debby again slung over his
shoulder like a huge bundle or lifelcss
sack; putting her down in the middle of
the floor, while he set to work to make
fire and to boil some water that stood
there, handy, in kettle. All that he
did IVES done IN stolid, mechanical way,
with no unnecessary haste, no stirring Of
feeling anyhow, but rs task that had to
be got through no matter what the cost
or what the result. The girl had to be
trapped and secured; not killed outright
only Kept from the mischievousness of
freedom; and If she died in the process
TINT would not be his fruit; but neither
would he hasten nor cause that death by
undue neglect or gratuitous brutality.
| Therefore he boiled the water In the
kettlci ma,le some hot tea, into which he
PITT few spoonfuls Of brandy, then GO
ingup to whre poor Debby lay; stunned,
,lazet; helpless, he took tho kerclief
from her mouth IND matle q Bign that
she was to drink what he provided.
When, shuddering, she turned away
her head and said: "No, cannot 7"
he gripped her arm 20 savagely that for
very fear she obeyed him and took the
stimulant which was to save her from
cold and ague.
BY this time the storm had abated,
and the flying clouds gave glimpsPs Vt the
moon and stairs overhead. Still the
masked man neither spoke nor removed
his disguise, but went about the little
hut arranging this and that for the bet
ter comfort Of his prisoner. FOodand
fuel were put within her reach enough
to last her for some days-and bed was
arranged i'll the corner near the chimney
She was not then to be left to starve,
and she was not to be tortured. No, she
was only to be secured-and left. In
truth it was very safe security that was
enforced. The windows and shutters of
the little hut were fastened so that no
light came through them, save In marrow
Sits and chinks. Fixed In the wall was
n huge staple, and fastened to the staple
was an iron chain. The man who had
poor Debby in captivity buckled strong
leather belt round her waist, then fast
ened this to the iron chain; leaving her
tether enough to move about the fire
place, 30 that she eould prepare her food
and keep mp the fire, but not allowing
her to reach either the window or the
door. She was chained up to the wall
like wild animal, and she might shrek
till she died, no living thing, save the
birds and the moorland beasts. wmld
hear her. 1t was bold game to play,
but it was al eiIectual one; and it accom-
plished with the incest precision all that
it was intended to do. .l
With the first streaks of dawn the
masked man, giving one last look around
to See that all was as it should be tax
ing final survey Of the Htaple-giving a
final pull at the chain-nodded his head
to Dehby IN token of adieu, then left the
hut, pulling the door behind him lock-
ing it from the outside.
trapped cleverly-and eflectually, I"
he said aloud to himself with n grim
smile, as he took off his mask and turned
his cold, cruel face to the light "Now
the family honor is saved and no crime
committed"
Naturally there was terrible commo.
ton when the giIl's loss was discovered.
The under-game-kecper, Joe Wilson,
passing the house the next morning saw
the gate and the door both open, and
went i'll to find the bird flown and the
nest cold. No one had u doubt but that
she had gone to join Julian III London,
and the most positive of all was Clarence.
To hear him one might have believed
that he Ind taken her ticket Mt the rail.
way station and heard of her arrival nj
the terminus, he was so sure of the whole
matter. The thing was ~ plain as the
traditional pikcstatf, according to him
and no other solution of the mystery was
possible. Hugh Armstrong and his wife
brother; but when James Scambler came
home he shook his head, and said
he could scarce credit it of his girl.
There was something in it all sc
unlike her-she who had never
been other than careful and
thoughtful, obedient and sincere--thal
he was forced to think twice, he, said,
before he condemned once; but as he
had no other hypothesis to offer, his
mere negation went for nothing. More.
over, the circumstances of his own ali.
sence told against Julian and Debby.
For when he got down to that oddly
spelt place in the heart of the Welcfl
mountains he found his uncle a live and
hearty, with no intention of bequeatn,
ing farm or food for twenty years to
come; while no neighbor had written any
letter whatever summoning him to thost
parts, and the name Mt the foot of that
which had brought him was unknown
hereaway. And if that did not look like
planned thing to get him out of the
way, what was it like? No; the whole
affair was q plan from beginning to END
"A strategem of the young squire's tc
get Debby's father off the board so that
he might carry off Debby herself il
safety. ..-a ~
But this fell to the ground sooner OF
later, and by means Of the family law
yer the Armstrong; found in time that
Julian was innocent of the girls disap.
pearance, and that wherever she was she
was not with him. BY means, too, OF
the same lawyer, Julian found out what
had happened Mt Holme Wood, and how
one wild, stormy night James ScambleI
had been lured away to Wales on
false scent, and Debby had disappeared
without leaving n trace behind her. Nc
one could say what had become of her
and if Julian himself did not know, Ill
the world beside was Mt fault.
More mad than sane, the yoaIng mau
put in motion all the resources at the
disposal of M English citizen. The
police were stirred up to look for the lost
girl i'll every town in England; rivers
were dragged; lunatic asylums were over.
hauled; warehouses; and refugees, and
even prisons were visited, but the little
hut on the moor was left untouched; and
no search revealed the whereabouts OF
poor, pretty Debby Scambler. So the
time passed and the trap which held it,
prey was yet secure. r
One day Julian, who had come down
to tho neighborhOOd of Holme Wood,
but who was not mt his own home
scarcely knowing where he was, nor how
he got there, found himself in the middle
of the moor, within q stones throw OF
the little hut where the shooting parties
were wont to take shelter, and whence
the keepers made their lookout. The
door was close shut; the window and
shutters were fastened; all was still and
deserted-looking as the grave; but faint
wreath of smoke rose from the chimney,
and surely there was slight noise, as of
| -. IL.