The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-10-30

He made no immediate reply. Tn,
metallic noise, before referred to, agar
came from tho seat beside him. Re
membering that he had sworn to TAXI
my life If / refused him, was intense
" alarmed.
II must have your answer now, Mary,
right now. without any equivocation.
Say you will be my wife"
'.Oh. Leonard" I cried, show unlike
yourself you are tonight. You are ill
Have patience and all will be well. Lei
me think over the matter. It il moi
kind-it is most ungenerous to treat me
thus. If you loved me you wouldn't
be SO cruel"
''Here are two pistols, Mary. One
for you. and one for me-"
/ shrieked with terror.
"Shall they be discharged harmlessly
into the lake, or shall they dispatch our
souls simultaneously into eternity It
is for you to say"
The truth was now before me. was
alone and powerless with . mailman.
He. strong man, nerved by the insane
conviction that he was right and pos
sessed of the right to kill. and armed
with deadly weapons. I, = woman,
with woman's nerves, beyond the reach
of human assistance and benumbed with
cold. What would dop What could
I dor What would any other woman
similarly situated do? 1shrieked again
and again. and the sound of my voice
fell dead upon the waters.
Click. click.
"Oh, Leonard. if you love me, don't!"
Click, click.
dropped upon my knees in supplica-
ton.
''There is not moment to lose," he
said coldly. ''Your life is in your own
hands, to keep or lose, as you deter
mine"
l begged for mercy. With all the
earnestness of despair. for the love Of
God. Tor his mothers sake. for his peace
and happiness in this world and his
hope of salvation in the next. pleaded
with him not to stain his hands in blood.
'IIecide!" was his only response.
l barely heard the word. Ny brain
whirled, my heart stopped, nv tongue
refused to move. tried to speak. In
vain l tried to utter the word eyes" to
say that was willing to yield rather
than he should sacrifice himself and me
in his madness. No sound escaped my
lips.
He moved. Dimly through the gloom
thought discerned the shadowy form
Of his right arm rise until it pointed
directly at me.
There was sudden flash of light-a
shout from the clouds above us-a great
black shape swept over and down upon
our little craft between me and the man
whose arm was raised to slay. An aw-
Jul rush of waters. then the floor of the
Mystic, on which 1 still knelt, sank
iown, down, down! Then there was
sensation of suffocating, and knew 1
was drowning. My brain became con-
used then cleared again. Various
scenes of my life. many of them quite
forgotten, passed before me, and the
events of the night were repeated over
md over again in all their agonizing
reality.
Had l been shot? Where was Leon
ard? Why was in the water?
THESE and other questions | tried to
answer, but in vain. and at last sank
nto Inconsistencies.
You know the rest. The schooner
Mermaid, under full saiE moving slowly
before the rising breeze, had come upon
Is imperceptibly. till her sharp prov
struck the Mystic amidships. and the
weaker craft went under. 1t was her
light that flashed, her lookout that
shouted, and it was her black hull that
,ame opportunity between me and
Heath. The Mermaid was a good friend
to me. She saved my life, and she did
more than that. for which shall ever
De sincerely grateful. She saved Leon
'rd Spaldipg from the crime of murder,
md ushered him into the presence of
he Great Judge without the stain of
blood upon his hands.
This is the true story of the wreck of
he Mystic.-T. II. Osmoore, in Inter-
Ocean.