The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1894-05-10

|
O'Clock knock on my door wakened
me for breakfast, and at first thought
the death watch must have found
hammer and changed his base of
| operations, but when I had my eyes
fully opened, answered the knock
and heard the caller patter along down
the hall to another door. AS l lay in
bed enjoying for moment or two the
pain of having to get up, l heard my
death watch again, this time in the wall
near my head, and l began to listen.
Tick, tick, it went, then several
ticks, but could not see any sign of
bug or insect.
"'Tick, tick, tick, tick it went
again, slower and faster, and faster
and slower, irregularly 1 thought at
| first, but in a momeut or two as / be-
came accustomed to it, discovered it
was not irregular.
"Then all at once I sat bolt upright
in bed, with my ears almost standing
straight from my head, and the next
minute had laid the side of my face
flat against the wall. I think my heart
| must have ticked ten times to that 9TH
er's ticking once as 1 pressed my ear
tight against the wall, and then l
almost yelled at my discovery, but
second thought came and kept still.
"'Tick, tick, tickety, tickety, tick,
tick, went the noise, and read the
telegraph signals.
Help, they said, help, for Gods
sake. 1 am the prisoner they are hold
ing for ransom and the landlord is in
league with the brigands.
"My wits came to me then, and TAX
ing hammer had in my small kit, I
licked back
"Keep up your courage. l am the
American telegraph operator and will
have you out of that as soon as can
get force here.
"'Then 1 dressed quickly, went to
my breakfast, which 1 ate as usual, for
/ was afraid to do anything to excite
suspicion, and went out to see what
kind of combination l could organ
ize to save my man. The town police
l believed, were in collusion with the
brigands, and could not go to them.
At the corner of the street l met the
landlord.
"'Ah, Mr.. American, he said, al
most in tears, we have heard nothing
of the poor, unfortunate gentleman,
but there have just arrived in the
town 100 government troops and they
will hunt the murderers down and do
Justice to the poor prisoner. There
comes the gentleman in command now,'
and looking as the landlord pointed,
l saw Mexican cavalry captain with
two aides walking.
"'They are going to stop at my
house, exclaimed the landlord cheer
fully, and 1 must go to prepare for
them.
"He hurried away and l waited for
A. AZ ooro r, n fa,v minutes I had
told my story and in very few more
minutes they had hurried backto their
company, and l was on the tavern
steps with the landlord when the whole
body came up. The landlord was all
bows and smiles, and the officers came
up smiling themselves. In two min
utes more they had seized him and
quietly, SO as to cause no alarm, we
took him to my room and l Itelegraphed
to the prisoner to know how to get
into his pen. He gave me directions
rs he best could and after difficult
search. as the landlord swore he knew
nothing and could tell nothing, we
found our man in little room with
heavy wall all about it and no sign OF
a window. 1t was pen built Tor such
purpose and was hiding place for
the landlords friends, the brlSands, as
we afterwards learned.
"To make long story short, con-
cluded the traveller, ''we got our man
out, and a more gratitied one you
never saw. Hetold me he had learned
telegraphy for pastime, and when he
was boxed up in there it occurred 10
him that possibly somebody mlSht De
beyond the wall who knew the signs
and that all the time he was not sleep
ing he had been repeating that mes
sage on each side of the room anu
had been doing SO ever since the hrs'
| dav of his capture, for the roDDers