Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1890-10-18
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growing numbed and tired, and beginning to
thlnk that we were making asses of our.
selves. when | heard the rattle OF a chain,
anu Lelt Safriston give my arm a warning
touch; No doubt my late host had made
sure that his new door-fastenings were equal
10 stronger test than that to which i had
subjected the former ones; so we were wise
In not attempting to carry his castle by force.
ne door opened, and closed again. l saw
the feeble gllmmer Of a lantern moving to-
ward the clubhouse In which my horse had
been stabbed. i heard a slight fJistling I'm the
hedge, and, stretching out my arm, found
that CarristoD had left my side. In the abb
sence of any command from him I did not
follow, but resumed the old occupation
waiting.
In a few minutes the light of the lantern
reappeared; the bearer stood on the threshold
or the holse, whilst | wondered what Carris-
ION was doing. just as the door was opened
for the DOORS re-admlttance, a dark figure
sprung upon him l heard a fierce oath and
cry OF surprise; then the lantern flew out of
the mans hand, and he and his a~ssailant
tumbled struggling through the narrow door.
way,
"Iiurrahl the door Is won. a~nywayp,I
shouted, as, followed closely by the doctor, 1
Jumped over the hedge and rushed to the
scene of the fray.
Although Carriston's well-conceived attack
was so vigorous and unexpected that the man
went down under IL; although our leader
utilized the advantage he had gained In a
proper and lsudable manner, BY humping
that thick bullet head as violently as he could
against the flags on which II lay; | doubt IL,
after all, he could have done his work alone,
Inc countrylnan was a muscular brute and
GARRISON but a STRIPPING. However, our ar
rival speedily settled the question.
Bind hlmV painted Carriston; there Is q
ccrd in my pocket" He appeared to have
s WINS, quite vri.,I pTe .piH for cPntlngeneies:
foe; and Brand, to facilitate matters, knelt
on his shoulders, sat on his head, or did some
thing else useful, i drew out from the first
pocket ! tried a nice length of half-inch line,
and had the immense satisfaction OF trusting
up my scowling friend IN a most workman
like manner. He must have felt those turns
on his wrists for DAYS afterward. Yet when
we were at last at liberty to rise and leave
him lying helpless on the kitchen floor, / con-
slider exercised great self-denial in not be-
slowing q few kicks upon him, as he swore
at us in his broadest Vernacular In a way
which, under the circumstances, was no
doubt a great comfort TO him.
We scarcely noticed the mans wife whilst
we rendered her husband helpless. As we
entered she attempted 10 fly out, but Brand,
with a prOmptitude which | am glad to re-
cord, intercepted her, closed the door, turned
and pocketed the key. After that the wo-
man sat on the floor and rocked herself to
and fro.
For some moments, while recovering his
breath, Carriston stood, and positively glared
at his PROSTATE foe. At last he found words.
Where Is she? Where is the KEY. Won
hound?' he Numbered out, STOPPING over the
fellow, and shaking him with n violence
which did my heart good. As he received no
answers save the unrecordablc expressions
above mentioned, we unbuttoned the wTetch's
pockets, and searched those greasy receptaa
cles. Among the usual litter We did certain
ly lind a key. Carriston snatched at il, and
shouting Madeline! Madelinel | come p
rushed out of the room like a maniac, leaving
Brand and me to keep guard over our pris.
oners.
! hlled a pipe, lit it, and then came back to
my fallen foe.
II say, old chapl y / said, stirring him gent
" Will the toe Of my boot, "this will be a
lesson to you. Remember, | told you that
ciyllity costs nothing. lf you had given me
Christian bed accommodation instead of maxi
ing me wear out my poor bones on that in
fernal chair, you could have logged along in
your r~ascallty quite comfortably, so far as
Am concerned"
He was very ungrateful-so much so that
my desire TO kick him was intensified. /
should not like TO swear l lid not TO a slight
degree yield to the temptation.
Push a handkerchief in his mouth" cried
Brand, suddenly. "a lady is coming.n
With right good will l did as the doctor
suggested.
Just then Carriston returned. Idon't want
w dtot HOult uclHptSi,, Vet Il must saw lie ]
was accompanied by the most beautiful Great |
IRE my eyes have ever lighted upon. True,
she was pale as q lily-looked thin and deli
cate, and her face bore traces of anxiety and
suffering, but for all that she was beautiful |
Toe, beautiful for this world, 1 thought, as / |
looked at her. She was ~clinging in a half
frightened, half-confiding way TO Carriston,
and ~he-happy fellow regardless of our
presence, was showering down kisses on her
sweet pale face. Confound i'll grow quite
romantic as ! recall the sight Of those lovers.
A most curious young man, that CaTiston!
He came TO us, the lovely girl on his arm,
without showing a trace OF his recent excite
ment.
Let us go now" he said, as calmly as IL
ne had been taking a quiet evening drive.
Then he turned to me.
Dc you think, Mr.. Fenton, you could with
out much trouble get the dog-cart up to the
house?"
i said / would try to do so.
But what about these people2' asked
Brand.
Carriston gave them a contemptuous glance.
Leave them alone" he said. They are
but the tools of another-him / cannot touch.
Let US 60"
Yes, yes, But why not verify your sus-
picions while you camp
just like Brand! He's always wanting TO
verify everything.
In searching for the key we had found
some papers on our prisoner. Brand ex-
ahmed them, and handed to CarristOn an |
envelope which contained what looked like
banknotes.
Carriston glanced at il. The handwriting
Is, of course, disguised" he said, carelessly;
"but the postmark shows whence il came. Ii
Is as ! always told you. You agree with me
II am afraid / must" said Brand, humbly. |
but we must do something about this man,
he continued.
Eereupon Carriston turned to our prisoner. |
Listen. you villain" he said. II will let |
you go ~scotfree II you breathe no word OF !
this to your employer for the next fortnight.
II he learns from you what has happened be-
fore that time, l swear you shall 60 to penal
seryitlde; Which do you choose%
say which the fellow chose.
inca w.n On, anu recovered the horse
and cart i relighted the lamps, and with
some difficulty got the dOg-cart up TO the
house, CarristOn having exactly anticipated
the events OF the night The parcel he had
brought with him contained n bonnet and a !
thick, warm cloth cloak. His beautiful
friend was equipped with these; then leav-
ing the woman Of the house to unite her hus- |
band at her leisure and pleasure, away we
started; the doctor sitting by me; CarTiston
and the lady behind.
We just managed to catch the last train
from c.. Not feeling sure as to what
thought 1t better to go up to tow with my
friends, so, as we passed through Midcombe, |
i stopped, paid my bill, and gave instructions
for my luggage to be forwarded to me. BY
SIX O'Clock the next morning we were all in
London.
DR.. BRAND IN CONCLUSION.