The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-03-11

taper above his head and looked down
on the bed it's Pickering, feeble rays
revealed a sight thaa fairly froze the
blood in his veins.
Lying in pools of clothed blood,
their arms around each other, were
the forms of a man and woman rigid
in death.
BY the light Of another match
Hickman discovered several small
holes or openings in the wall on a dead
line with the bed. He later saw that
these holes ran all around the room at
regular intervals, and at opee OWNED
the purpose for which they were used.
Though appalled, at the situation,
Hickman resolved to escape the death
for which be seemed doomed, if it
could be done by any possible ingenuity
or bravery. Feeling that nothing more
could be gained by an investigation of
the apartment, he sat down in a corner
to quietly await developments.
Shortly after midnight he saw
through the portfolios on the other
side of the reflections from the
rays of a ] lantern, and knew that his
wou}d-bc murderers were approaching.
The bext minute the muzzle of q gun
was slid cautiously through one Of the
holes just above the bed, and the
t%hundcrous discharge that followed
was almost enough to awaken the dead
lying there in the corner opposite.
| Another and another followed, each
| fred from a different point, until every
portion of the room had been swept by
the leaden hail. But the prisoner
/ was on the alert, and by lying fat on
| his back close up in the fireplace he
remained uainjured. During the fir
ing, he uttered no cry or sound, but
Immediately after it stopped crawled
softly to the door, feeling sure that
the fsnds on the outside would enter
to get his money as soon as they thought
their diabo}ieaI work completed.
He was not mistaken in that. Pres
emily he heard a noise, which indicated
that the door was being unlocked.
Arising from his PROSTATE position he
stood erect and prepared oE a desperate
struggle with his foes.
I Slowly the door opened ard swung
inward. As it did so, Hickman step
ped behind it, and saw Allen enter
with d gin in his hands, his wife fol-
lowing WISH a lantern to guide their
footsteps. rs they passed the portals
of the door, the quiek-witted and des,
perately determined prisoner kicked
the lantern from the woman's hand,
throwing the room into total darkness.
and, springing out of the room, slam
med the door to, and quickly locked it
with the murderous man and his wife
on the inside.
Hickman knew at once what to DO.
Stealthily securing his horse from the
stable, he mounted the animal and
rode at breakneck speedto the nearest
settlement three miles away. In two
hours he was back at the road house
with a dozen men behind him.
The day had hardly dawned and the
guests of the inn were still sleeping,
when they were awakened by the
curses of a man and the screams of a
woman. BY the time they had jumped
into sheir clothes and reached the
scene, Allen and his wife were dang
ling from ropes swung On the limb of
a big oak in Size back yard, and when
the sun came upa few hours later it
shone upon their distorted faces and
long since lifeless forms still swinging
from the limb.
To this day that tree is pointed out
to visitors as being n Of the most
interesting features Of the country,
which is rich in blood curdling legends.
Beneath the floor of the stone house
where Hickman had been ent7apped
were found the decomposed and mutt
lated remains of six men and two Wo-
men, not counting the bodies OF the
man and woman discovered on the
bed by Hickman, and which Allen ev-
identity had not had time to put away:
Aside from these bodies a pile of
bones was discovered in a cellar be-
meath one corner Of the house, indi-
| eating that more than a dozen people
had been murdered in the apartment
some time between the years OF 1910
and 1850, thus accounting for the
large number Of persons who had
mysteriously disappeared In that Sec
tion during those years.