The Red Cloud chief., 1894-02-23

"When ! had him fairly inside my
cab my heart jumped so with joy that
] feared lest Mt this last moment my
aneurism might go wrong. ! drove
along slowly, weighing in my W mind
what IL was best TO do. might take
him right out into the country, and
there in some deserted lane have my
last interview with him. had almost
decided upon this, when he solved the
problem for me. The craze for drink
had seized him again, and he ordered
me TO pull up outside a gin palace. lie
went In, leaving word that ! should
wait for him. There he remained un-
til closipg-timc, and when he came out
he was so far gone that I knew the
game was in my W hands.
Don't imagine that I intended to
kill him in cold blood. 1t would only
have been rigid justice IL I had done
no, but could not bring myself to do
IL. I had long determined that he
should have n show for his life IL he
chose to take advantage of 1t. Among
the many billets which | have filed In
America during my wandering life, !
was once n %janitor and swcep-out of
the laboratory at York college. One
day the professor was lccturing on
poisons, and he showed his students
some alkaloid, as he called 1t, which
he had extracted from some South
American arrow poison, and which
was so powerful that the least grain
meant instant death. / spotted the
bottle in which this preparation wa
kept, and when they were all gone l
helped myself to n little Of il. ! was a
fairly good dispenser, 40 ] worked this
alkaloid into small, soluble pills, and
each pill ! put in u box with a similar
pill made without poison. i deter
mined at the time that, when I had my
chance, my gentlemen should each
have n draw out of one of these boxes,
while ! ate the pill that remained. II
would be quite as deadly, and n good
deal less noisy than firing across a
handkerchief. From that day had
always my pill-boxes about with me,
and the time had now come when /
was to use them.
1T was nearer one than twelve, and
a wild, bleak night, blowing hard and
raining in torrents. Dismal as 1t was
outside, ! was glad within-so glad
that I could have shouted out from
pure ex~ultation. II any Of you gentle
men have ever pinned for a thing and
longed for IL during twenty long years,
and then suddenly found it within
your reach, you would understand my
feelings. / lit n cigar and pulled ut II
TO steady my nerves, but my hands
were trembling and my temples throb.
bling with excitement. As l drove, 1
could see old John Ferrier and sweet
Lucy looking ut me ont of the dark.
ness and smiling ut me, just as plain as
] see you all in this All the way
they were ahead of me, one on each
side'of the horse, until l pulled up a,
the house in the Brixton road.
"Thero was not q soul to be seen, MOI
a sound to be heard except the drip
ping of the rain. When ! looked in al
the window l found Drebber all hud.
died together in n drunken sleep.
shook him by the arm. It's time to go
out / said.
"'An right, cabby,' said he.
II suppose he thought we had come
to the hotel that he had mentioned, fol
he got out without another word ant
followed me down the garden. ] hat
to walk beside him tokccp him steady
for he was still u little top-heavy
When we came to the door l opened 4
and led him into the front room.