The state capital., 1891-08-08

My horse started .ato a gallop of his
own accord, and it wa not until / had
ridden half mile to the northward
| that tightened the rein.
| thought was acting the towards
| part thus to leave my companion in the
hands of murderers, but the second
! thought convinced me that / should do
better to keep on. While | was free
they would not dare to kill him. for.
they must have known that | should
| give the alarm, and then the crime
would be detected If / should return,
they might capture and kill us both
without fear of detection.'
Again | gave my horse the rein, and
he galloped on. l know not how far |
had ridden, when thought detected
stream of water directly ahead; but no
movement of mine was necessary, for,
with a sudden jerk, my horse stopped,
and / was thrown far over his head.
remember the sensation of falling, but
| that was all.
When / came to myself it was day
light, and the warm sun was looking
brightly upon me. | moved heavily to
a sitting posture, and found my horse
at short distance from me, cropping
the long grass / felt stiff and my
head ached; but ere long | arose to my
feet and looked about me. The stream
which had caused my disaster had
dwindled to mere tiny brook; but the
marks of its flood were left, and
coulds see that it had been quite for
midable.
But one thing surprised me. Not
more than half "a mile ahead [ saw
quite a town, a large fourishing viii
lage. 1t was some time before [ could
collect my scattered senses; bat when
l did so, | became convinced that the
place before me was Decatur! My
horse must have left the true road al
most Immediately after the darkness
set in, and here | was nearly twenty
miles out of my way to the westward!
But 1 forgot all this-I forgot the
pain in my head and limbs-in my
thoughts of what had occurred during
The night; and | resolved to seek i'm
mediate aid to arrest G inmates OF
that horrible abode | had left, and to
set free my unfortunate companion.
easily caught my horse, and, though /
gained the saddle with difficulty, yet,
when once there, 1 rode with case.
When I reached the town, which
proved, as / had thought, to be Deca-
tur, one of the first objects that met
my gaze was lawyers sign. l drove
up to the door of the office and dis
mounted While / was hitching my
horse, a wagon drove up in which was
a gentleman and lady. The gentleman
was an elderly person, and one whose
countenance was such as to command
instant and universal respect. He en-.
tered the office directly behind me. He
smiled and shook hands with the law
yer, and then turned to desk, and be-
gan to overhaul q bundle of papers
which he had just taken from his pocl1.
ct.
My muddy garments gave me any
thing but a comely appearance, but as
soon as I was assured that | addressed
the lawyer" l proceeded to unfold
my fearful tale The attorney started
and tremblcd as [ commenced, and the
gentleman who was Overhauling the
papers stopped from his work and
looked at me. | went on. and de-
scribed every particul ar; my hair
bristled as | told of the terrible cries
of the poor victim | had left behind,
and I assured my hearers that it was
the hostler who had sprung out as |
rode off.
A strange, TN accountable expression
passed over the lawyers face. He
gazed at me a moment in silence, and
then clapping his hands upon his sides
he sank back into his ch air and burst
into long, loud, uproarious laugh.
was thunderstruck. The old gentleman
dropped his papers and actually sank
upon the floor, and wild burst of mer-
riment shook his frame.
''Ha, ha, ha! Why, my de ar friend"
uttered the lawyer, as soon as he could
you were-ha, ha!-you have been
-. O! oho-o-o-o-ha, ha!-he-e-e-e"
| sank into seat, utterly overcome,
and at length I got at the truth. The
/ old gentleman before me was none
| other than the celebrated DR.. Gabriel
| Landresser. He and his wife had left
| home on the day before on a visit, and
| the storm had prevented their return.
His dwelling was private hospital,
where he had a number of poor ma
! MACS in course of curative treatment,
and with those maniacs | had stopped
| His hostler was the only really sane
person he had left in charge of the
buildings, and I afterwards learned
! that this hostler had been much averse
| to my remaining at the house, and
| hence his gruff manner towards me.
| The man who had led me from my
! chamber was poor fellow who had
entertained the idea that some one was
seeking to murder him, and his strange
monomania had a variety of phases,
according to the circumstances about
him. He had evidently intended to have
escaped from the doctors house with
me, but the timely appearance of the
hostler prevented him.
| Landresser insisted that | should re-
| turn with him to his house and remain
there until had recovered from the eff
! fects of my fail, and | consented. The
last I heard from the lawyer was just
| as mounted my horse, and that was
another wild peal of laughter
/ | remained with the doctor three
days, and during that time I enjoyed
his company much. Once l saw my
companion of the nights adventure,
and he did not fail to whisper earnestly
in my ear that I should be murdered if
remained in the house. The woman
whom | had seen was an inoffensive
creature, who had suffered from relig-
| ious excitement.
At length / set out once more on my
mission, which I performed entirely to
the satisfaction of all concerned; but