Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-07-16

he moved neaer her, still balancing the
Dagger in hs long nervous fingers.
lhat terribleknife! If he had only put
1t down for a moment, 1 could have
rushed in AID secured it before turning
TO nm; but as matters were, cruel eS-
perlence Taught me that the instant he
caught sight of me, he would rush to
the child to carry his dreadful purpose
INTO effect and that the mother in all
probability would fall the victim. On
the other hand, l dared not quit nv
PostIto summon assistance. and so leave
Beatrice entirely at his mercy. Iglanced
round the dressing-room, and the win
dow-cord caught my eye. 1t was new
and strong. 1 cut it as high as | could
reach, and crept back to nv hole at the
curtain. Crawford was growing rapidly
'n Sg;vs me that bovr no cr;., ,a,,rh.
~. "Get out of the way, Beatrice, and
let me have him." and he caught her bv
the arm and dragged her from the cot.
"Arthur, Arthur! husband, sweet
heart" She clasped both arms around
his neck, and raised imploring ewes to
his; but the sight of the thin white face
\only moved him to greater wrath.
"ltis all your fault l have not made
You strong long ago." he exclaimed,
fritahy. "You never laugh now, and
pu can't sing, and you won't dance"
"Dance:? o yes, 1 can. Look, Az
t}ur!" She drew rapidly back towards
tlle cot, speaking in her ordinary quiet
voice. ssYou shall do what YOU like
with BERTHE; I was only joking. Only
we must have our dance first, you
know"
With a sudden movement she stopped
and lifted the sleeping child from the
bed, talking all the time in an arch,
merry voice, that, still retained it's pow
er over the poor madman. He nodded
approvingly as she began rocking to
and fro with the hoy in her arms, and
he moved a chair or two to give her
more space.
''Dance, Beatrid e!" and he began
whistling a then fashionable valse, beat
ing time to the air with the dagger, of
which he never relihquished his hold.
Every we'll" she responded cheerily.
"stand by the mantel-piece and give us
plenty of room. Now, then, my baby
boy; one, two, and pf we CO."
My life has shown me instances of
self-devotion in plenty; 1 have seen
proofs of ready wit and more of in
domitable pluck; b{t 1 have never seen
them so marvelouslk combined as on
that terrible June night. Instinct
taught me what she meant to do. She
had persuaded her husband to stand at
the end of the room farthest from the
curtain that hid he{ one means of es-
cape, and now she intended to hazard
her only chance, dish through it, lock
the door on the otter side, and then 90
for help. Backwar ds and forwards,
round and round, She circled, a weird
enough figure in her white draperies.
The little white feet were bare, and ii
taxed her utmost strength to hold the
heavy boy in her arms; but with a sub.
lime heroism Of which I should never
have believed her capable, she never
once paused for breath. A miraclt
alone kept the child asleep; but when
saw the poor mothers lips move dumb.
" between the snatches Of the gay valse
! sha was humming, l felt that she was
praying God he might not waken
Nfrer and nearer the curtain sht
cahe; but, to my horror, I perceived
TINT Crawford was growing uneasy ant
advancing slowly in the rear.
9.Mrs Crawford! Quick!'
t There was not a moment to be lost. ]
, tore the curtain aside. and she rushed
toward me; but ere I could fasten the
heavy DIOR her husband wa upon us.
With a yell of bafled rage, he was tear.
ing after her through the opened door.
way, and in another moment woul6
have red ched her with uplifted knlse,
when l ripped him up, andhe fell head.
long to tte floor. He was stunned by
his fall; and while l fastened his hands
and feet by means of the window-cord,
his wife went back to the inner room
and rang loudly for assistance.
Ere he came to himself Arthur Craw'
ford was safely secured in my owr
room. Leaving him there under charge
of the men-scrvants, I went back to sec
Mrs. Crawford. She was lying on the
bedroom floor with her ervou fingers
still tightly i%nterlaced, and by her side
sat her little son, warm and rosy from
his broken sleep. He was kissing the
paling lips as I came hastily into the
room, and now held up a warning finger
as I knelt beside them.
'Poor mamma is fast asleep" he
whispered. "And she is so cold!"
She was not dead. The long anc
frightful mental strain through which
she had passed brought on brain-fever
and for some days we despaired Of hel
life; but she came through it bravely
and ere the summe waned, 1 had. the
satisfaction of installing both mother
and son in a seaside cottage. far enough
away from her Berkshire home.
Crawford, poor fellow, only lived :
few months, for a dangerous fall in the
asylum grounds put a merciful termina.
ton to his confinement. During those
few months, 1 visited him occasionally,
and he always spoke most tenderly Of
his wife. whom he imagined to be dead.
When he died, l went to break the
news to his young widow; and while
staying in her pretty Devonshire cot.
tage, I solved much that had puzzled
ME. Her terror at my first introduction
to her had been occasioned by the fact
that she had at once recognized me as
Lenaox the mad doctor. l had been
pointed out to her in the park the sea-
son before. She dreaded Arthur's in.