Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1893-09-07

surprised ab seeing Dluhn, puo Wap ~
the habit OF appearing suddenly on the
one street that then constituted the
town, and disappearing as mysterlously
as she came.
The citizens who claimed to be above
superstition were very sure that "Dinah
was not herself, meaning thereby not
that she was some else, but that her
mind was affected. In those days every
one supposed to be out OF mental bal
ance was said to be mad but the word
has, fortunately, become much more
limited in its significance, and now 1t Is
applied only TO dogs and people who
lose their tempers.
But the majority of the people In and
about Sag Harbor were superstltious,
like the people Of every other little
town. and in this respect the world has
not changed much, and they were sure
that Dinah possessed supernatural pow
ers. Had she been white they would
have called her "a witch, and 1t might
have gone hard with her; but being
black, she was looked upon as q sort OF
weird pagan prlestess, gifted with q
wonderful power Of looking into the
future.
She derived no little income from
telling fortunes; as she knew every one,
and was q remarkably shrewd reader OF
human nature, her SUCCESS us a seeress
was not to be wondered at.
Untilla, so graceful, beautiful, and
consistent, was u favorte with every
one. In the cabins Of the fisherman, as
well as in the more pretentious dwell
ings OF the rich, she had q home, and
was always received as an honored
guest,
Like Dinah, whom, Of course, she In
no way resembled, her coming and 60
ing, though always matter Of interest,
was never one of surprise.
So, now, as they FASTENED, side by
side, to the town, they had no fear that
their coming would create q sensation.
There were two places where they
could get information about Lieutenant
Hedges and Valentine Dayton; one, and
the most certain, was Doctor Hedges
house, and the other was Squire Con-
dts. But Dinah did not like Doctor
Hedges; he had sneered at her skill as a
dispenser Of medicine, and she retorted
by saying that she never liked to under
take the cure OF case till 1t had
ballled her white brothers skill.
Squire Condlts was the nearer Of the
two houses, and seeing light burning
there when they had reached the gate,
it decided them to 60 In.
Before entering the house they heard
Squire Condir talking In loud, excited
tones, while his daughter Ellen and his
wife tried to soothe him with mildel
accents.
ITS an outrage, hlgh-handed out
Iage!" shouted the Squire. Think oil
1t, wife; think OF 1t, Ellen; this man
Fox, without any writ or order, but
with the high hand that we should ex-
pect to see only in pirate, dares to
send his subordlnates ashore, and to
seize the Governors po5t-rlder and
carry him prisoner on board their
ship"
But, father, said Ellen, did not Mr..
Frenauld say that this post-rider was an
impostor, and that he had the authority
TO arrest himH"
~Yes, Ellen, he did say SO; but the
fellow mistook power for authority
Martial law has not been declared In
this province, and so no man can be ar
rested without due process OF law, and
on complaint made by one or more
respectable citizens. The post-rlder
should have been brought before me
for examination and committed, II sus-
piclous, to await further examination
II her majesty's ships are to be trans
formed into prisons, and her officers
into lawless tyrants, then the sooner
they get out Of these waters the better
1t will"
The knocking Of Untilla at the door
stopped the squire In the midst Of a
speech that promised to be reasonable
II he continued.
Great was the surprise OF the squire
and his amlable family at seeing I'm
tilla and her dusky companion. They
were always made welcome, but Their
presence at this particular time caused
the sturdy host additional uneaslness.
Like all the very old people OF her
race, Dinah was inclined to be garrulous,
but tonight she fully appreciated the
Importance Of coming directly to the
point.
After getting the squire to examine
the room In which they were and the
rooms adjoining, and the outside OF the
house, to make sure that what she was
about to communicate could not be
overheard by ears for which 1t was moi
intended, she made them gather about
her, and then told Ralph Denham's
story, or rather, the story Of his extraor.
binary adventure.
During the narrative the squire now
and then stopped her to offer an objeo
tlon or to express incredulity; and a.
such times Untilla assured him of the
perfect accuracy of everything the ole
woman was saying.
Ralph Denham was as dear to thu
squire as If he were his own son; and /
can be said that Mrs. Condit and Ellel
felt towards him as II he did sustain
that relation to the family. Natural,
enough they could hardly credit Dinah
remarkable story, even though Untill
Endorsed 1t.
But when Dinah told where Ralpl
then was, and spoke OF his anxiety t
get in communication with his officers
ali the squlre's doubts vanished.
The widest excitement fills the town
and extends to the adjoining islands,
said Squire Condlt raising his hand
and feeling, as he let them fall heavll
by his side, that his exclamation dl
not exactly express what was on hi
mind.
It did not take him long to get coole
down, and on occasions the SOUR
could be as cool as an iceberg.
Something must be done, and that {
once; let US see what It shall be-"
This looked like an invitation for tn
others to take part In the oonsultatlC
that was then going on, but SQUIRE Cond