Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1895-04-04


powers? The hand which fastened that
pin might have struck him TO the heart,
and he could never have known who
Lad slain him.
Still more shaken was he next morn
ing They had sat down to their break
fast when 10y, with CRY Of surprise,
pointed upward. In the csnter Of the
ceiling was scrawIed. with bnrned
stick apparently, the number IS. To his
daughter it '-ss unintslligiblo. and ho
did not eDlizhteD her. That night he
sat up with his gun and kept watch and
ward He saw and he heard nothing.
and yet in tho morning a great 81 had
been painted upon the outside Of his
door,
Thus day followed day. and as sure ns
morning came he found that bis unseen
enemies had kept their register and had
marked up in some conspicuous position
how many days were still left to him
out Of the mouth of grace Sometimes
the fatal numbers appeared upon tho
walls, sometimes upon ths floors; ooca-
sionally they were Oh small plaoards
stuck upon tho garden gate or the rail-
ings With all his vigilance John Fer
rier could not discover whence these
daily warnings proceeded. A horror
which was almost superstitious came
upon him at the sight Of them. He be-
came taggard and restless, and his eyes
had the troubled look Of some haunted
creature. He had but one hope i'll life
now, and that was for the arrival of the
young huuter from Nevada.
Twenty had changed to Is, and 10 to
10, but there was 10 news Of the absen-
tee One by one the numbers dwindled,
and still there came no sign of him.
Whenever horseman clattered down
the road or driver shouted at his team,
the old farmer hurried to the gate
thinking that help had arrived at last.
At last, when he saw give way TO 4,
and that again to 8, he lost heart and
abandoned all hope of escape Single
handed, and with his limited khowl-
| edge of the mountains which surrounded
the settlement, ho knew that he was
powerless. The more frequented roads
were strictly watched and guarded, and
none could pass along them without ar
order from the council. Turn which
way he would, there appeared to be nj
avoiding the blow which hung oyer
him. Yet tho old man never wavered IL
his resolution to part with life itself
before he consented to what he regarded
as his daughters dishonor.
Ho was sitting alone one evening pom
dering deeply over his troubles and
searching vainly for some way out of
them. That morning had shown the
figure Q upon the wall Of his house, and
the next day would be tho last of the
allotted time. What was to happen then?
| AL llmanner Of vague and terrible fancies
filled his imagination. Ana his daugh
was gone? Was there nc oscapo from the
| invisible network which was drawn all
round them! He sank his head upon the
table and sobbed at the thought of his
own impotence.
What was that? In the silence be
heard a gentle scratching sound--low,
but very distinct, in the quiet Of the
night 1t came from the door of the
house. Ferrier crept into the hail and
listened intently. There was pauso for
few moments, and then the low, in
sidious sound was repeated. Some one
was evidently tapping very gently upon
one of the panels Of the door. Was it
some midnight assassin who had come
to carry out the murderous order of the
secret tribunal? Or was it some agent
who was marking up that the last day
of grace had arrived? John Ferrier felt
that instant death would be better than
the suspense which took his nerves and
chilled his heart. Springing forward,
he drew the bolt and threw the door
open.
Outside all was calm and quiet The
night was fine, and the stars were
twinkling brightly overhead. The little
front garden lay before the farmer $
eyes, bounded by the fence and gate, but
neither there nor on tho road was any
human being to be seen. With sigh of
relief Ferrier looked to right and to left.
until happening to glance straight down
| at his own feet he saw to his astonish
ment man lying fat upon his face
upon the ground, with arms and legs all
a-sprawl.
So unnerved was he at the sight that
he leaned up against the wall with his
hand to his thorat to stif1e his inclina-
tion to call out. His first thought was
that the PROSTATE figure was that of
some wounded or dying man, but as he
watched it he saw it writhe along the
ground and into the hall with the ra.
pidity and noiselessness Of serpent
| Once within the house the man sprang
to his feet, closed the door and revealed
to the astonished farmer this fierce face
and resolute expression Of Jefferson
Hope
Good Godp' gasped John Ferrier.
How you scared mel Whatever made
you come in like that"
| "Give me food, the other said hoarse-
ly. II have had no time for bite or sup
for eight and forty hours. " He flung
himself upon the cold meat and bread
which were still lying upon the table
from his hosts supper and devoured II
voraciously Does Lucy bear up well?'
he asked when he had satisfied his hun.
ger,
i "Yes, She does not know the dan.
ger" her father answered.
THAT is we'll The house is watched
on every side, That is why ] crawled
my way up to it, They may be darneo
sharp, but they're not quite SHARP
enough to catch a Washoe hunter, 4"
John Ferrier felt different man now
that he realized that he had a devoted
ally. He seized the young mans leath
| cry hand and wrllnp it cordially