St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-08-25
made him wanderer upon the face of

made him wanderer upon the face of
the earth, were now bitterly regretted.
So he sat and mOped and brOoded, and
neglected game and traps until fort
night had passed. At the end of that
time, moved by some inward determina-
ton, he gathered up his few effects, set
his cabin on fire and in the light of its
flames started for the nearest settle
ment. He did not resemble the Mercer
OF two weeks previous. His eyesSwere
sunken and blOOd-sllOt, andhe trembled
in every. limb. He was stopped and
bent like an old man, and had scarcely
nerve enough to hold his gun in place
or tirezit. His journey took him some
thing over three weeks, and when he
entered the little fur-trading town he
seemed more like mad man in ppear-
ance, than sane being. To professors
of pschycology he would have offered
all excellent opportunity for the. study
of effects of memory and imagination.
when fully aroused, upon the body and
mind. He kept the object of. his visit
reasonably quiet until the morning
after his arrival. On learning then that
some six weeks or two months prior to
his coming middle-aged man and
young girl, accompanied by a. male
servant and two guides had passed
through the place Ell route for the ro-
mantle Devils Lake region, he diyulged
by degrees what he had found in =
THAT AWFUL SEARCH - 81
at his traps. The hunters and town
loafers gathered about and listened with
mouths agape to his story. When he
had finished there was no one who
doubted but that the strangers had been
murdered-presumably by their guides
but why they had been SO mutilated
and what had been done with the bod
les no one could say. Mercer asked for
some clue as to their identity, but they
had halted so short time no one could
give it. In those days people did not
ask questions of one another. 1t was
not good policy to do so. Some one in
the group of men who had listened to
MERGERS tale vOuchsafed the infOrnna-
ton that he had heard the man say
something to the girl about Massacht-
sets, and the latter had replied
''Mother will never come West"
1t was inferred from this that the cOu-
pie were father and daughter. The
postmaster, who was standing by, sud-
denly scratched his head, ripped out an
oath and ran to his cubby-hOle of den.
From this he soon emerged bearing in
his hand a trayel-stained letter. By
common courtesy the crowd let Mercer
read the superscriptiOn first. He stag
gered back to the wall of cabin, hold
ing his hand to his heart when he read:
''Joseph Chester, ESQ.,"
The on-lookerS stared and wondered.
MERCER GASPED FOR BREATH,
and some one solicitously handed
flask to him. He drank its contents at
one draught, then hoarsely exclaimed:
boys, Joseph Chester twenty wears
ago married the woman | loved. When
did this letter arrived"
1.-TWO days after the old gent and girl
were here" replied the postmaster.
4 That was sufficient for Mercer. He
knew then whose hand and head lay
on the ground beside his burnt cabin,
and whose arm was beside them. A
band had been thrown across the gulf
of years that separated him from the
past His reason tOttered in the bal
ance. With a wild laugh he dashed
out of the town and across the plain.
Although pursued he was not overtaken
until days later, when his dead bod
was found lying in the ashes Of aburned
cabin. The shock had been too great
for the recluse. He had blown out is
brains, The bodies of Joseph Chester
and daughter, sans their severed mem
bers, were given up by the river Goose =
the following spring. h. L. q.