Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-10-25

uuutl WI ShdNI' L tludpN, tuOuBu;
ir will be safer with you than me,
aid leave me free TO work.
He put his hand on JOe's shoul-
! der as we reached the street. Take
care Of her. heard him say in a
low tone, and this night shall
make better place for you
He laid his hand on my arm one
instant. Il will cone as soon as l
can leave; Pm almost determined
to go now ald see yOa safe home
frSt.'
Joe will be ample protecuOn,'
answered hurriedly, and $50 parted;
but through all he excitement,
worry and care, | was nOt dis
couraged. That thoughtful care
eDcompaSSed me to make even
trouble lighter. The street was
full of rushing, hnriYiDg human
beings. 1t was hard for Joe to
force a passage for his truck, but
we reached the house IN safety
with our store.
Joe placed the box in the hall.
~ biz fire is the very time to look
ont for thieves miss, but don't be
scarey, I'll keep a sharp lookout l
Vas not scarey. l knew Mr.
GaSkeil would c)me to the house
as soon as the fire stopped his
work.
| dreaded to hear WAggie'S lamen-
tau0ns. knew any loss to Jack
or me would be more TO her than
her own loss, so tOrebOre to wake
her and made coffee myself Oh the
gas range. l could not move with
out the money. 1t haunted me II |
laid it down. Finally raised th"
lid Of the piano aad laid 1t sofJly
on the Strings.
Then l crawled upOn the sofa in
the corner of the library. | did not
meau 10 close my eyes, but l was
very, very tired, | suppose, ana
the next | knew my eyes were
opened very wide indeed staling "a 8
Il great tall dark man, who stool
at the front OF the sofa. I heard ,
JOe's voice. though muflied and | I
saw hun with his face cut and ,
bleeding being dragged iutO the {
hail. Iglsped and closed NY eyes. |
Yes, that is jaSt what | did
Eleanor La 'reuce, Who have al
ways had theories on the subject OF {
couQuering burglars 5y Outwittlng |
them and showing no ishtl ) le'l
make us no trouble her heart is
in hrr throat alIeldy,' the tall man /
said, looking toward two Others !
VINO held Joe Grmly bound in the
doorway.
DON'T You dare touch hair o
her head Joe ccIel, struggling to
tree himself.
BE Quler, unless you want to b {
5raIued; d;we'Ve told YOU we shouldn't ,
harm the woman. Tell us where
yol put the money or it will Oo
worse for yOu,' said the tall man 4;
again. | saw he was the leader =
L meyer brought no money JOe
answered; 'only books in the hall I
where showed YOU n
More words and the click of a n
pistol. All this time | had seemed =
frozen to the sofa, but | had ,
bIeathed a prayer and for answer
d sense Of protection had come over
me, aud | realized that Mr.. Gaskell .
might even now be on the way TO !
aid me. | never thought OF his 4
exposure to danger III coming. l
fit he WAS equal to emergencies.
If l could only gain time-.and like
a flash my Old resolutions came
over me, and a fear that | had tx
posed poor Joe TO this awful danger r
aud was re pOnsible Tor his life. ,
With that thought [ was Eleanor
Lawrence, spinster, and in my
sound mind IN a moment.
IrOse from that couch suddenly, q
and | said: Lave that young MN ,
alone, he is telling you the truth f
he brought no money
And stood by the library tablr I
aud did not SO much as lay a finer
on 1t tor support. The man guard
lag me would not nave been any
more aStoulshe1 if corpse had
spoken, | believe. II, junpe two
feet at least, aud tue other two fe
lows, Of course, looking rough 10
l1ws. both grinued broadly as the, !,
looked at him.
easy to deal with, plrd. chr
said one of them, cOarsely. :
Can't you hanl the lady a chair,
Jimp said the other,
'Quit your foOliug,' answered the
dark man, curty. Wen briug
the lady to ter ns without any