The Red Cloud chief., 1896-12-11

my hands to tear the thing or; In an
instant they were cnvolopcd in the
thick curtains. and though the fell
low hal not sufficient strength To tic
them down to my side, he ut least
batllcd my attempts to FREQ my head.
| drcw my fcct from the ground.
hoping that my weight would drag
my head from the towel: ! only sue.
cccdCd in drawing the knot tighter,
and hait strangiiug myself
As | cold not release my head. !
got my arns down. and tried to seize
the rascal's feet. but he kept them
beyond nv reach; yet | got
thing 10y the attempt. for. in cropping
about. | laid my hand upon tho
knife which he had thrus, in the bed,
to have free use of his hands, the
better to overcome the resistance of
my arms. | should have had no hcsi-
tatiOu in hum.stringing the rascal IL
| could have got al his legs, but |
could not do that, | determined. il
possible. to keep the knife out of his
way
felt. 10y tho horn handle, that IL
was the one that Van llocck had
given me, and knowing the trick Of
the blade. | shut it up, and slipped
it into my pocket.
Now" thought |. ''if only thcws
and Shows are concerned. we wilt
see who can get the best Of it." And.
with rcdoublcd efforts. | struggled
to tear down the b|cd-curtains that
hampcrcd my movements; and. mad
dcncd by the difficulty Of respiration,
| threw such force into my efforts.
that the polo upon which they hung
crunchcd under the rings. and finally
came rafting down about us. Would
that the lamp had been near to be-
smashed by the fall! The noise was
too slight To be heard at u distance.
Nv left hand being free, ] felt
again for the knot of the towel that
bound me TO the posi-. A bony
hand graspcd my wrist. and
dragged II over my shoulder,
and the next moment | felt some.
thing pressed under my nose, and &
liquid trickling through my nous
tachc on to my lips. IL had u swcc'
taste. and II strong smell Of apples
that mounted ut One to my brain.
seemed to be no longer touching tn,
ground, but whirling round an.
round through space; my arm,
dropped by my side.
| knew that ! was powcrlcss, yet
retained q certain kind of conscious
ness. was sensible that the dill
,n1ty ,G lt,ntIin,r M lnpyA,. trAt,11,,
me. ! knew that the man was bind
ing my arms to the post. aud | re
mcmbcrcd thinking, in the amused
manner of II half-intoXicatcd person
what u fool he must be to bind m
when ! could no longer make resist
ice ] was perfectly consciou
when he began to tie my feet to tn
post below, for | had then suf,lcien,
~ overcome the effect of the opiat
10 think Of resistance. ! tried {
struggle and to scream but to n
purpose; my will had lost all powc
over M muscle. And this tcrribl
impotc9ct reminded me Of Va
llocck', half.uttered smile:
"Cranped in u coffin, and tn
clods fnlling-falllng"
What astoaished me was the SUI
prising facility with which the ma
execute his work in the darkncs
that thea prevailed. He seemed (
: have N dit1iculty at all in iindin
) the cads Of the sheets with which h
bound me, and knotting them S,
curcly. And when | was sufel
%pinioncd, he %unbuckled the strap tina
, bound the Great llesper to my wris'
! without having to seek for I'll
|, tongue Of the strap, as | mysc
might have had 10 DO.
well, that's gone" | said to IN,
, self, land now he has the damon,
: he will go too
But he had not yet finished. An,
I, after u brief interval, during whic
d. he might have been buckling IL
Great llesper upon his W wrist,
; heard a sound that | knew only Il
|, well.
= Click!
, IL was the spring that locked u
, long blaIc of my clasp knife whom
l. was opened.
- F.. ,..