The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1881-01-06

back to look at the box. Almost at
the instant of my sitting down at the
table the clicking stopped short, as it
had done before, and these words were
repeated Watch the boz
i Every dot, every dash, every letter,
every word came with such horrible
distinctness, that it seemed to send 4
sharp pain tingling through my ears,
it was like the loud whispering of some
ghostly voice. Then again, broke out
the jargon of sound that turned the
clicking into meaningless confusion.
i Isprang up from the table and with
the now strengthened conviction that
it was no delusion, no fancy, but that
the sound had come plainly over the
wires. felt my courage returning and
resolved to heed the mysterious warm
ing. The rolling of the thunder and the
mad roar of the storm no longer de-
pressed me. l stepped boldly back in
my own room and rested my eyes IN
fiinchingly on the mysterious box
W at was its mysterious freight? Why
had the phantom of the storm sent
| tlloSC Slt1A llllIS "o1uS ONS1 Tie WI Is.
What unknown hand had reached out
from the very lightning itself to warn
me of some impending danger? These
questions rushed through my mind as
felt the dread fear disappearing and
found myself of a sudden growing
strangely calm.
The clock struck ten. l turned to
the shelf and with hand that no long
er trembled inse ted the key and
wound it composedly. Would it be
the last time that I should perform
that simple task? No matter. Happier
than most men, because content with
my humble lot, it should never be id
that old Billy flinched in the face of
duty. For that night it was my duty
my one sacred, all-important duty
to guard the treasure left to my keep
ing. And guard it I would while life
remained.
When l had finished winding the
clock took down from the shelf an
old rusty pistol which had lain for
years undjsturbed. It was not loaded,
nor had either powder or bullet any
VIII ere in the station. But the weapon
was an ugly looking one and carried a
sort Of silent force in case Of too ag-
gressive argument. After examining
the rusty lock I put the pistol on the
table, made a fresh glass of toddy,
drank it, lighted my pipe and-closed
the door that opened into the freight
room. Now that was thoroughly my
self again l found it easy enough to
shut out the sight of that ominouS OBJ
long box.
It was not until the clock struck
again-that is eleveu-that I made up
my mind to go to bed All that time
the storm held on, although the thun-
| der had began to rumble more distant
ly. l threw off my coat and slippers,
put out my light in the ticket office
and turned that in my sleeping room
down to a low fame. Then I drew the
money package from under the mat
tress and pinned it securely to my
WOODEN shirt under my vest. This
done, and the table so placed that I
could reach both the lamp and the pis-
| tol, opened the door into the freight
room some three or four inches and
| then threw myself upon the bed. Just
as my head touched the pillow the in
strumcnt. which had grown quiet now.
clicked off for the third time, loudly,
distinctly, slowly, its words of warning:
| Watch the boz!
! This time the warming was not heed
ed. | had not gone to bed to sleep,
but for the very pupose Of watching
the box. Standing as it did, with the
head close to the door, and therefore
close to the box itself, the bed afforded
the best point from which to keep an
eye on the suspicious freight. Had
my faith in the Geographic clicking
been less, or had my own sense of great
responsibility deserted me for single
moment, I should have certainly given
up the job Of watching as foolish, and
in that case it is not likely that this
narrative would ever have been writ
ten But I believed in the thrice-re-
peated message and l did not let drow-
siness overcome patience. Twelve,
one, two-how very slowly the hours
seem to drag themselves. The
low flame of the lamp went out as the
oil ran dry. What a relief it was to
hear the clock strike, At last, some
where about midnight: the storm had
broken. I could see the stars as they
came through the window in the freight
room, which was on a line of vision
with the box. How strangely still it
seemed after the mighty roar of the
storm and the sharp clap of thunder.
Not click from the instrument now.
Not sound save the sturdy ticking of
the clock. Still I lay listening, watch
ing, with faculties all alert and my eyes
always on the oblong box
A little past two-perhaps ten min
utes. The silence almost painful in its
profoundness. Nothing but the tick
tick of the clock, which, to my eager
ear, had taken on this sound, which it
kept repeating over and over:
| "Watch-the-box, Watch-the-i
box"
| What was that?
Not the clock, not the telegraph in
strument. No, it was the sound as of
the grating of iron Faint, very faint,
yet still audible to my earl Breathing
regularly and deeply, as one breathes
in sleep, lay and listened Another
interval Of silence and then the grating
sound came again, this time trihe
louder than before. The light of the
stars shining through the window made
the objects in the freight room just Wis
ible. Almost simultaneously with the
second grating noise 1 saw the cover of
the wooden box rising slowly from the
end further est removed from the bed
1 could feel my heart humping away
like a sledge hammer, but I continued
to breath heavily and to watch keenly
Gently and noiselessly the cover was
,ra-,.1 ,,,f,1 hrI
angle which completely shut out from
my view the window beyond. A mo-
ment later the figure of man came
out of the shadows, while the box cover
was let down as noiselessly as it had
been raised.
| This, then, was the burden of the
box This was the meaning of the
mysterious warning which the sounder
had spoken.
| With cat-like tread the fip1lre moved