The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1894-06-15
and there is the window. y


his visitors sprang to their feet an
ceat a hurried retreat. The old farme
followed them to the door.
Let me know when you hav
settled which it is to be-" he sal
sardonically.
''You shall smart for this!' Stranger
son cried. white with rage. ''Yo1
have .defed the prophet and the coun
Gil of four. You shall rue it to the en-,
of your days"
1.-The hand of the Lord shall b.
heavy upon you," cried young Dreb
Der: HE will arise and smite your
''Then I'll start the smiting," ex
claimed Ferrier furiously, and would
have rushed upstairs for his gun hat
not Lucy seized him by the arm and
restrained him. Before he coulC
escape from her, the clatter of horses
hoofs told him that they were beyond
his reach.
| The young canting rascals!' he eX'
claimed, wiping the perspiration from
his forehead. Il would sooner see you
in your grave, my girl, than the wife OF
either of Them
''And so should 1, father" she an
swered. with spirit; but jefferson
will soon be here"
"Yes. 1t will not be long before he
comes. The sooner the better, for we
do not know what their next move
may be-
1t was, indeed, high time that some
one capable of giving advice and help
should come to the aid of the sturdy
old farmer and his adopted daughter
In the whole history of the settlement
there had never been such case of
rank disobedience to the authority Of
the elders. If minor errors were pun
ished SO sternly, what would be the
fate of this arch rebel? Terrier knew
that his wealth and position would be
of no avail to him. Others as we'll
known and as rich as himself had been
spirited away before now. and their
goods given over to the church. He
was brave man, but he trembled at
the vague, shadowy terrors which
hung over him. Any known Danger he
could face with a firm lip. but this sus-
pense was unnerving. He concealed
his fears from his daughter, however,
and affected to make light of the whole
matter, though she, with the keen eye
of love, saw plainly that he was i'll at
ease
He expected that he would receive
some message or remonstrance from
Young as to his conduct, and he was
not mistaken, though it came in
an unlOOked-for manner. Upon rising
next morning he found, to his sur
prise, a small square of paper pinned
on to the coverlet of his bed, just over
his chest. On it was printed in bold,
letters:
''TwENTY-NINE DAYS ARE GIVEN YOU
FOR AMENDMENT, AND Then
The dash was more fear-inspiring
than any threat could have been. |
How this warning came into his room
puzzled John Ferrier sorely, for his
slept in an clubhouse, and the |
doors and windows had all been Sc |
cured. He crumpled the paper up and
said nothing to his daughter, but the
struck a chill into his heart. |
The Twenty-Five days were evidently |
he balance of the month which Young |
lad promised. What strength or cour-
lge could avail against an enemy
lrmed with such mysterious powers?
The hand which fastened that pin
night have struck him to the heart,
md he could never have known who
lad slain him.
hol ho
ng. They had sat down to their
breakfast when Lucy, with a cry of
pointed upward. In the CEN
er of the ceiling was scrawled, with
'urned stick, apparently, the number
s. To his daughter it was unin-
eligible, and he did not enlighten
er. That night he sat up with his
un and kept watch and ward. He
aw and heard nothing, and yet in the
forming a great % had been painted
pom the outside of his door.
Thus day followed day; and as sure
S morning came he found that his un-
cen enemies had kept their register,
nd had marked up in some conspicu-
US position how many days were still ;
III W OuL VI lilc luOuOh VI SEdCc |
the fatal numbers appeared
pom the walls, sometimes upon the '
oors; occasionally they were on small
lacards stuck upon the garden-gate f:
r the ratings. With all his vigilance
ohm Terrier could not discover whence l
lese daily warnings proceeded. A
orror, which was almost supersti-
GUS, came upon him at the sight of
hem. He became haggard and rest
SIS, and his eyes had the troubled
,ok of some haunted creature. He
ad but one hope in life now, and that
as for the arrival of the young hunter p,
ON Nevada. u
Twenty had changed to fifteen, and
fteen to ten; but there was no news
the absentee. One by one the num-
ers dwindled down. and still there !
anne no sign of him. Whenever a
clattered down the road or a
river shouted at his team, the old S
lrmer hurried to the gate, thinking
nat help had arrived at last. At last, I
hen he saw five give way to four and q