The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-03-10

and the fourteenth passed away and
John Leslie and his son had not arrived.
The wife and mother became nervous.
She walked down the road for more
than q mile hoping that she might catch
a glimpse of her husband and sou. She
walked back to this house, but not able
to remain she walked down the road
again. The afternoon of the 18th of jan
uary, 1898, was one of those dark, clam
my afternoons which is often experienc.
ed in our southern climate. It was for
the season warm, and while it was not
raining the trees were dripping and ev.
erything presented foggy appearance
which produced a depressing sensation.
Dark began to come before the sun was
down.
Mrs. Leslie began to arrange her do
mestic affairs for the night. She had
just finished preparing supper for her
two little ones, when an individual, who
resided in the settlement, but four or
five miles distant, walked in, and after
the usual salutations inquired if Mr..
Leslie bad returned from Charleston.
This man, whose name was Hugh Sly,
was the only person Mrs. Leslie had seen
for week, and although she had scarcely
any acquaintance with him, she was glad
to meet some one to whom she might
reveal the distressing anxiety of mind in
which she was or account of the long
absence of her husband. Such being
the case, she made known to Sly her
fears that her husband and son were
murdered, adding that she was app5e-
hensive that the murderers would come
and kill her and the children. The rea.
son she had for coming to this conclusion
was that the murderers of her husband
would forcs him to reveal whether or
not he had any money except that on bis
person. In state OF partial insanity,
she declared that she knew her husband
had been forced to tell that he had in his
house near thousand dollars. For
several days she had eat nothing, and
for several nights she had slept none.
She was afraid TO leave home with her
children, and yet she felt convinced that
she and the children would be murdered
before morning if they remained in the
house. 1t was the money that the out
laws wanted, she said, but to conceal the
fact of their taking it they would kill
her.
Hugh Sly made an effort, apparently
in good faith, to Danish her fears, by
giving number of causes which might
have detained MIR. Leslie. Failing to
satisfy Mrs. Leslie as to the cause of her
husbands detention, Sly proposed that
he would place his dog in the room in
which the money was, declaring that no
man could enter the room so long as the
dog was in it. The dog was a huge
creature of the mastiff family, and said
by Sly, his master, to be perfectly obedi-
ent to any command given him. The
proposition was accepted and the dog
brought into the room, fed, and bed
provided for him just beneath the win
dow in the end of the room. This done,
Sly with degree Of formality instructed
the dog, whose name was Bull, to obey
every command of that woman, pointing
to Mrs. Leslie. This done Sly bid Mrs.
Leslie good evening and left with the
promiae to come back in the morning for
his dog.
So acon as Sly departed Mrs. Leslie
barred the doors and put her children to
bed. They were soon unconscious in
sleep. Not so mith the mother. She
began to think over the strange provi-
dence which brought Sly to her home
that af,ernuon--of the strange act of
Sly's dog up in the room. She
began to think of Sly himself. All that
she knew of Hugh Sly was that some
two years ago be had come to the neigh
borhood from, he said, Virginia. he
was gentlemanly in his manners, wore
good clothes, boarded with Henry Foot,
was frequently out Of the community for
q month at time, no one knew where
or for what. These facts, together with
two others, that he had no visible en-
ployment and was always accompanied
by his dog, Bull, IVES all Mrs. Leslie
knew about Hugh Sly.
Mrs. Leslie sat by the fire until after
midnight, when she lay down in the bed
with her children, but not to sleep. After
she had been in bed lees than al hour,
she thought she heard q noise at the
window of the room in which WAS the
dog. The wind was blowing, and she
concluded that the poise she heard was
a limb of tree striking against the
house. Again, however, she heard the
same noise, but certainly at the window
shutter. After few moments there was
8 loud crash, followed by q shot-she
YVES the failing to the ground of
the shutter. She was sure the window
had been opened, but she was afraid to
speak, she was afraid TO move. 1t was
but few moments until she heard some
one climbing into the window. She be-
gan to think, will the dog suffer any
ono to enter ?" Soon she heard the foot
of some one touch the floor, the dog be
gan to growl, and aome one in subdued
and soothing voice began to call him by
his name, but tue dog continued to
growl. 1t was not long until she heard
the other foot of the intruder strike the
floor With shrek, which startled the
children, Mrs. Leslie screamed
out, "Take him, Bull" All she after
ward heard was one fierce bark of the