The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1888-05-11

AS l could not release rey head, I got
my arms down, and tried to seize tho
rascals feet, but he kept them beyond
my reach; yet l got something by the
attempt, for, in cropping abous. I laid my
hand upon the knife which he ',si thrust
in the bed, to have nee use of his hands,
the BETTER to overcome the resistance of
I my arms. l should have had no sesita-
ton IN ham-stringing the rasca1if lSsould
nave got at his legs, hut as l could NIT do
that, l determined, IL possible, to fssaaSp
the knife out Of his way.
1 felt, by the horn handle, that it was
the one Van hoeck had given me; and,
knowing the trick of the blade, l shut it
up, n slipped it into my pocket.
Now" thought l, "if only thews and
can get the best OF It,"
And With redoubasd efforts, struggled
to tear down the t~HdEcurtains that ham
pered Thy movements. and, maddened BY
the difficulty of respiration, I threw such
force into my efforts, that the t.sctta upon
which they hung csunched under the
rings, and finally came rafting down
about us. Would that the lamp had
been near, to be smashed by the fall!
The noise was too slight to be heard at q
distance. 49,.
My left hand being sa free. I feit again
FOR the knot Of tbs Gt"el that bound me
to the pesss.. a bony hand graspcd my
~fist, and dragged it over my shoulder,
and the next moment I felt something
pressed under my 1,osc. and :. liquid
trickline i,agoeeh ~ M,iistache on to nv
li;a@ n%ad a sweet taste, and a strong
Smell of apples, that mounted at once to
my BRAN. l seemed to be no longer
touching the ground, but whirling round
and round through space; nay arms drop
ped by my silc
| knew that / was pcwerless, yet t To;
tanned a certain kindof CONSCIOUSNESS. J
was sensible that the iinicultyot Breath
ing no longer troubled no. ! knew that
the man Mas binding my arms to tile
post, aid remember thinking, in tile
unused manner of a half-intoxicated per
son, what a fool he must be to bind me
when | could no longer make resistance.
l was perfectly conscious when he began
to Tie my feet to the post below, for 1 had
then sufficiently overcome the effect of
the opiate to think of resistance. l tried
TO struggle and to scream, but to no pur-
pose; my will had lost all power over my
muscle. And this terrible impotency re.
minded he OF Van Hoeck's half-uttercd
slmlle: "Crampcd in Il coffin, and the
clods falling-falling"
What astonished me was the surprising
facility with which the mar executed his
work in the darkness that then prevailed.
He seemed to have no difficulty at all in
finding the ends of the sheets with which
he bound me, and knotting them secure
ly., And when l was safely %pinioned, he
unbuckled the strap that bound the Great
Hesper to my wrist, without having tc
seek for the tongue of the strap, as l my.
self might have had to do.
"Well, that's gone" l said to myself
"and, now he has the diamond, he vii
go too"
But he had not yet finished. And af
ter Il brief interval, during which he
might have been buckling the Great Hes
per upon his own wrist, | heard q sounc
that l knew only too well.
Click.
1t was the spring that locked the long
blade of my clasp-knife when it wa
opened.