Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-11-08

of that dread spectacle lay In the fact
| that above the half-open mouth how
cred cloud of pale, luminous vapor,
/ that streamed continuously upwards,
and broke and quivered and foated
away with the slight disturbance of air
caused by our presence at the window.
/ was about to utter an exclamation OF
horror when DIR. Melfort laid his hand
upon my lips.
''Silence!" he whispered In my ear.
ing no sound, on our giving no warn
ing of the discovery we have made.
We are in the house of Murder!"
! THAT strange light
''Is symptom that the dead man
has been poisoned with phosphorus-a
drug common in crime, because so
easily obtained from ordinary matches.
Back to our room! We must get away
from here as quickly as possible.
We stole back to our allotted cham
Der. The storm was rising again.
One of the sudden gusts of wind had
blown out our candle, and we looked
in each others faces by the pale CLEANS
of the lightning.
After brief pause, to make certain
that all was quiet in the house, we
clambered down one of the rough
hewn pillars of the porch, and, making
our way to the shed, we unfastened the
horse and waited till long roll OF
thunder came to cover the noise of the
wheels. Then we started, turning our
horses head, not toward Claynor, but
in the direction of New Nineveh,
trusting to the animals instinct to find
his way home through the woods. AS
we plunged into the forest, a shout in
the distance, followed by rifle-shot,
was audible.
They have found out that we are
gone," muttered the doctor between
his teeth. Now. Paul, for drive for
lifer'
He whipped up the horse as he
spoke, and we dashed along at break
neck speed. The road lay down hill,
and if we were pursued. we were soon
out of reach of the parsuers. We saw
and heard nothing further of the broth
ers. In fact, the tempest, which had
broken forth again in redoubled fury,
was enough to check the progress of
any oneuwho had striven to follow us.
Amid the continuous blaze of the light
ming, the violent gusts of wind and the
binding rain, we made our way, thank
full when, at last, we emerged from the
forest. AS we did so, q red light shone
on our path, reflected from the lurid
clouds overhead-the light of a dis
tant confagration.
1t was not till we were comfortably
established in the best room of the ho-
tel at New Ninevah, our wet clothes
exchanged for dry garments, and wine
and cigars on the table before us, that
DR.. Melfort told me one of the causes
of his sudden flight. In the brief al
tercation between the brothers. held
outside the kitchen while we were fin
ishing our supper, he had heard Lud-
wig essaying to pacify the other by a
promise that we should never quit the
premises alive
When we were nearing New York,
on the early express train the follow
ing day, my friend, without a word,
passed to me the paper he had just
purchased, pointing as he did so to a
follows: Terrible Catastrophe-A
House Struck by Lightning and Con-
sumed-A Whole Family Perish in the
Flames. During the great thunder
storm of Thursday night the house of
Mr.. Jacob Gruber, on the road between
New Nineveh and Claynor, in Rupreoht
County, New York State, was struck
Four persons, namely, Mr.. Gruber, his
wife, and Johann and Ludwig Schultz
(the two sons of Mrs. Gruber by for
mer marriage), inhabited the house at
the time, and all lost their lives in the
flames. The building was constructed
of wood, and must have burned with
great rapidity, thus entirely cutting off
the escape of the inmates. 1t is probable
that the brothers Schultz, who were well
known in the neighborhood as hard
drinkers, were intoxicated when the
fire broke out, and so were unable
either to take measures to extinguish
it or make their escape. Be this as it
may, the remains of four human
bodies were found amongst the ruins,
thus proving conclusively that the
whole family had shared the fate of
their home
Thrice, therefore, in the space of
a single day had sudden death-by
railroad disaster, by lightning, and
by midnight observation-disclosures close
to our path and had passed us by. And
on Sunday morning, when, with bowed
head. / listened to the petitions of
the Litany, my heart responded
with an unwonted thrill to those
well-known but newly-impressive
words: From sudden death, good
Lord, deliver us.'-FranE Leslie IS
Newspaper.