Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1890-01-31
He raised the latch; he pulled; he tugged
at the door.
CHATTER VI.


country men:
what does this mean, you hounds?
Which of you has been cOnspiring with
one Of those men in the parlor to do muir
der? Speak, or I'll brain some of you'll"
It's not we, Measter Ryder. We
knows nOthin' of 1t, one OF the terrified
fellows whined. and all joined IN the dis
claimer.
The landlord stopped and put his eye
to the keyhOle. With the aid of a candle
he could plainly see the key in the wards
Of the lock, inserted from the outside.
open the window, there!" ne cried.
Two windows lighted the tap-room in
day time, looking from the front of the
house. For some reason unknown the
builder Of the inn had made none to the
seaward. The two referred to were made
with heavy sash and the small diamond
panes common at that time, and heavily
shattered from without. The shutters
were always closed at night.
One of the cOuntrymen at each window
now tUgged and lifted, but neither could
raise the sash.
Let me try, said the impatient Ryder.
But his efforts could avail no more than
those of the others.
The windows had no fastenings; the
hasping of the solid shutters inside was
sufficient protection.
The landlord now made a close in
| spection with the light, and soon dis
| covered the difficulty. Between the up
per and lower sashes on each side a
small hardwood wedge had been inserted
and driven in so tightly that only the
butt could be seen.
The discovery almost unnamed the
landlord. He dropped the poker, and
beads of perspiratiOn stood out on his
forehead
"Merciful God, protect us!" he groan-
ed. 20, my wife and babes! Are we all
to be murdered together, like rats in a
trap?"
The terrors Of his imagination gave
him new energy. He dashed at the door
leading from the tap to the dining-roOm
and the living rooms Of the house.
And that door was also locked-the key
was gone!
Ryder seized the poker again. He
paused one instant to listen. Save the
noise made by the heavy breathing of the
terrified rustics as they covered together
in the corner there was no sound. In the
parlor, everywhere in the house, outside,
so far as could be heard, there was no
cry, no alarm, no noise. With that ON
inOus fall in the next room silence had
come.
But it was silence more alarming than
an cutlery for help could have been. The
unknown, the mysterious, is ever more
appalling than that which is plainly seen
and understood, however horrible it may
be.
What can it mean?" Ryder asked.
Its the French has come over, bIub-
bered one of the men.
It's the highwaymen, said another,
with chattering teeth.
Keep up your hearts, boys, cried the
landlord. by the bones Of Marlborough,
I'll soon knOwi"
He began dealing heavy blows upon
one of the windows with the poker.
Panes and sash were shivered together,
and there was soon a clear aperture
through which a man could pass. I'm
fastening the hasps which confined the
shutters, he tried to push them open.
They would not yield. He threw his
whole weight against them. Useless
useless! They were fastened from with
out.
The fortitude of Dick Ryder was al
most Vanquished by this browning proof
of a deliberate and well-executed design
to contine himself and the others to the
house while violence was being done in
the parlOr He raised his voice in a
mighty shout.
"Help-hO-help!
An answering voice instantly replied
from the outside.
What's wrong, Master RYDER"
1t was the voice of the hOstler He and
the boy, attending to the lame horse in
the stable, had remained ignorant of all
the excitement and terror that prevailed
inside the house, and had just reached
the door on their return when they heard
! the landlords shout.
as that you, Tobias?"
1T be, sir.
What's the matter outsider"
Il dOan' know any matter. Here's 7
and the boy. We've bedded and fed the
horse, and rubbed on the liniment,
and"
1.-THE devil take the horse! Haven't
there been men about the house, out
side?"
Not as I seen.
Can you get the door open?"
Easy. Here be the key"
The hostIer unlocked the door from the
outside, and opened it. Mr. Ryder
seized the lantern from his hands and
rushed out. An inspection of his win
! dOws from without showed him that the
! shutters were fastened with stout wooden
! bars set into the ground and jammed
| down against them.
The landlord was a good husband and
/ father, and his first care was to SATISFY
himself of the safety of his little flock.
! He found the outer door leading into his
/ family apartments unfastened, and his
| wife sitting by her table with her needle
! work, the children having been put to
! bed. In answer to her husbands ques-
! tiOns, she told him that she had heard no
! unusual noise, and that nobody had dis
! turbed her. Having given her some
alarm by his manner and questions, Mr..
! Ryder did not hesitate to invent a little
! lie to soothe her. He assured her that
/ there was no trouble except from the
| capers of man in the tap-room who had
/ taken too much ale, and he said that he
would lock up and join her in half an
! hour
He hurried back to the tap. The idIers
had summoned courage enough to come
out. and were examining the device by
which the shutters had been fastened
Toby" said the landlord. @the devil
has been to pay about here tonight, even
if you haven't seen nor heard him.
You've got some pluck; get a weapon
anything to fight with, at a pinch-and
! come round the house with me.
The hostIer was man Of few words,
/ and almost too stolid to be afraid While
his master went inside to get the poker,
Toby proceeded to the stable, presently
! raannaarino with thraa-Einad niLahforz-