The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-11-09


for ever Sw, so he thought Why
couldn't the brute have got himself de-
Gently caught on the opposite bank, or
shot in the water?
"It's worse than Edwin brood, !"
said Bailey.
Over the river, too, things had be-
come an absolute blank. All seven
men had gone down stream again,
probably to get the boat and follow
across. Bailey listened and waited
There was silence. surely it's not
over like this said Bailey.
Five minutes passed-ten minutes
Then tug with two barges went up
stream The attitudes of the men
upon these were the attitudes of those
who see nothing remarkable in earth,
water or sky. Clearly the whole af-
fair had passed out of sight of the
river. Probably the hunt had gone
into the beech woods behind the
| house.
"Confound it, said Bailey. ITO be
continued again. and no chance this
time of the sequel But this is hard
on a sick man.
He heard a step on the staircase be-
hind him, and looking round saw the
door open. Mrs. Green came in and
sat down. painting. She still had her
bonnet on. her purse in her hand and
her little brown basket upon her arm.
'Oh. there she said, and left Bailey
to imagine the rest.
Have a little whisky and water.
Mrs. Green, and tell me about it," said
Bailey.
Slipping little. the lady began to
recover her powers of explanation.
One of those black creatures at the
Fitzgibbon's had gone mad. and was
running about with a big knife. stab
bling people He had killed a groom,
and stabbed the under-butler, and al
most cut the arm off a boating gentle
man.
"Kunning amuck with krees." said
Bailey. II though. that was it
And he was hiding in the wood
when she came through it from the
town.
What, Did he run after you?"
asked Bailey. with certain touch of
glee in his voice.
NO. that was the horrible part of
it." Mrs. Green explained. She had
been right through the woods and had
never known he was there. 1t was
only when she met young Mr.. Fitz-
gibbon carrying his gun in the shrub
berry that she heard anything about it.
Apparently, what upset Mrs. Green
was the lost opportunity for emotion.
She was determined, however, to make
the most of what was left her.
ITO think he was there all the
time she said. over and over again
Bailey endured this patiently enough
for perhaps ten minutes. At last he
thought it advisable to assert himself.
Its twenty past one. Mrs. Green, he
said. Don't you think il time you got
me something to eat?'
This brought Mrs. Green suddenly
to her knees.
'-Oh. Lord. sir!'' she said. ''Oh.
don't go making me go out of this room
sir. till know he's caught. He might
have got into the house, sir. He
might be creeping. creeping. with
that knife of his, along the passage
this very"
She broke off suddenly and glared
over him at the window. Her lower
jaw dropped. Bailey turned his head
sharply.
For the space of half second things
seemed just as they were. There was
the tree. the balcony, the shin
| ing river, the distant church tower.
Then he noticed that the acacia
was displaced about foot to the
right. and that it was quivering. and
the leaves were rustling. The tree was
shaken violently, and heavy painting
was audible.
In another moment 4 hairy brown
hand appeared and clutched the bal
cony ratings, and in another the face
of the Malay was peering through
these at the man on the couch. His
expression was an unpleasant grin, by
reason of the lrees he held between
his teeth, and he was bleeding from an
ugly wound in his cheek. Bailey's first
impulse was to spring from the couch.
but his legs reminded him that this
was impossible.
By means of the balcony and tree
the man slowly raised himself until he
was visible to Mrs. Green. With a
choking cry she made for the door and
fumbled with the handle.
Bailey thought swiftly and clutched
| a medicine bottle in either hand. One
he flung, and it smashed against the
acacia. Silently and deliberately, and
keeping his bright eyes fixed on Bailey,
the Malay clambered into the balcony.
Bailey, still clutching his second bot
tie, but with a sickening, sinking feel
| ing about his heart, watched first one
leg come over the railing and then the
other.
1t is Bailey's impression that the
Malay took about an hour TO get his
second leg over the rail The period
that elapsed before the sitting posi-
ton was changed to a standing one
seemed enormous-days, weeks, pos
sibly a year or So Yet Bailey has no
clear memory of anything going on in
his mind during that vast period, ex-
cept a vague wonder at his inability to
throw the second medicine bottle
Suddenly the Malay glanced over his
shoulder. There was the crack of a
rife He flung up his arms and came
crashing down upon the couch. Mrs.
Green began a dismal shrek that
seemed likely to last until doomsday.
1t flashed across Bailey that he had
TO grapple with wounded man, and
then he saw the great hole behind the
Malay's ear. He stared at the motion
less body lying painfully across his
legs and rapidly staining and soaking
the spotless bandages. Then he