Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1897-02-18

/ looked up at him. His eyes were
fixed upon the board with Il terrible
stare. and there appeared to he no es-
clpc frcm the awful ordeal of being
forced 10 stake my life on n game Of
chess.
without consulting me. he selected
the white pieces and moved first. He
played what chcss-playcrs call an ir-
regular opening. but there was nothing
very remarkable or fantastic about it.
| tried To keep cool, but as | lifted the
pieces my hand trembled ard my head
felt on fire
/ soon discovered that my opponent
knew perfectly well what he vas do
ing, and that whatever the particular
form his madness might take, it did
not prevent him from playing an en-
treInely skillful game. He quickly en-
forced an exchange of pieces To his
own advantage, AMI secu ed II vigorous
attack upon my king. The position,
no doubt was a simple one to defend,
but my feelings had been wrought up
to such a state of excitement that /
seemed incapable of a~nalyzing the
most ordinary combinations.
Suddenly | was startled by my OPP
poGent almost kissing between his
teeth:
Mate in six moves"
Good heavens! This, then, was the
man of whom my host had been talk
ing. A cold shiver ran through me.
The terrible words: "Mate in six
moves sounded in my ears like a
death-knell.
What did they mean" / asked my
self. did the demented wretch see
his way clear to force n mate in six
moves, in spite of anything | could do?
or was he only uttering III expression
he was in the habit of using, which had
no significance for the game we were
engaged in?"
l tried to calm myself. in order to
examine the position on the board. so
far ms ! could make out, ii was impoSsi-
BILE to force n mate in six moves, and
except that my opponent had some adj
vantage in the ami of attack.
positions seemed to me about equal.
After uttering the ominous words:
"Alate in six moves my opponent
leaned back in his chair and INDUCED
in n series of horrible chuckles which
seemed To make my blood run cold.
Then. assuming his former position, he
slowly lifted his queen.
One" he cried. as he brought the
piece down. with Il bang which shook
the table.
BY making this move he offered me
a piece, which | promptly took, think
ing he had made a blunder which
would give me the game.
Two said my opponent. without a
moments hesitation, rs he replaced
II of my knights with his own. while
/, thinking ii to be a piece in my favor.
accepted the challenge, and took his
knight Off the board.
'"Three!" he cried, with n white queen
giving check To my king.
Great beads of perspiration now
began to break upon my forehead. |
had lost the game, and unless someone
cane to my rescue, ] thought | should
most assurcdly be killed. | pretended
10 he studying the position, but my
head was busy trying to concoct some
scheme for my escape from this terri
BILE dilemma. Seeing, however, that
my opponent was getting excited. I
moved my king to the only available
square.
'Four-check!" he almCst shouted. as
he moved his queen n square back.
Ny position Was now desperate. /
could only prolong the game by inter.
posing my rock, and as | reluctantly
pushed the piece Toward / saw, with
horror, my opponent pick mp the pistol.
"Five-check,' and away went my
rock.
NJ king had now only one move, to
he followed by a Checkmate. Never
shall | forget what my feelings We're
at that moment, and now that the time
for action had come, / felt powerless to
move hand or foot. My head seemed
to reel, and almost mechanically l
made my last move.
"Six-mate!' he literally shrieked.
and | saw him raise the revolver on a
level with my head. I~rstinctively
closed my eyes and the next instant
there was n loud report, and | fell TO
the floor unconscious.
How do you feel Low? You had n
narrow escape"
opened my eyes, and saw DR.. Choir
ley bending over me.
rs that you, doctor?" / murmured.
Am ] really alive? | thought | WIS
dead.'
''You are not only alive, but unin-
jUred," vas the comforting reply: and
then my host told me that mt the very
moment the mailman raised the reyolv-
or to fire at me, he had noiselessly en-
tered the room and was just in time
to knock the would-be assassin's arm
in an upward direction. so that the
weapon went off without doing more
harm than a little damage to the wall.
mad simply been overcome and had
fallen down in a dead faint. owing to
the mental strain | had undergone.
My opponent had been Immediately
o~yerpOwered by the keepers, who Were
waiting in readiness.
1t seems that. after bidding me good
night, the doctor had had occasion to
open the sliding door arrangement.
which. when closed. effectually shut off
the house from the ssylum. BY some
means my mad opponent had slipped
through u~nobserved, and made his way
to the study. His absence had been
discovered, and the doctor and his as
sistants had instituted a quiet and
careful search, until ut length. hearing
a noise in the study, they made ali
haste there. and arrived just in tins. L
believe. to save my life.
When l said goodbye to the doctor
next day, / made up my mind that II