Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1897-06-10

speaking Dutch. Great heavens! What
have you done to him. Look, look.
What a state he is in.'
Frank had risen to his feet. daZed by
that red frenzy; he had to lean on the
table.
Il have given him what he deserved
II have thrashcd him, and will do ii
again"
He was on the point of falling on the
foe once more, with that devilish grin
on his face and that brutal thirst still
choking him.
Frank. 40. Frank cried E.rs;a, cling
ing To him with both hands. For
Gods sake, he satisfied! Look at him.
Oh. look at him.
Well, then, let him get up" Frank
snarled. He may get up. Get up.
wretch, at once; get up"
He gave him a kick-and a second
and a third-to make him rise. But
Van Maerer. did o move.
Great God. only look at him." said
Eva. kneeling down by the body.
'.I0ok-doE't you seey" She turned TO
Frank, and he as IL awaking from his
dream of blood. did see now, and saw
with horror. There Ii lay; the legs and
ar rs ~convulsed and writhing; the body
b~reatdlass still in the loose, light-hued
summe- suit; and the face a mask OF
blue. and green and violet, stained
with purpliSh black. which ooZed from
ears and nose and mouth, clammy and
dark. drop by drop, on the carpet. One
eye was a ~shapeless mass, half pulp
and jelly; the other stared out of the
oval socket like n large, dull, melan-
chcly opal. The throat looked as
though it had a very broad purple
band around it. And as they stood
gazing at the features, it seemed that
they were swelling to a sickening, I'M
recognizable deformity.
Out of doors the storm of rain had
not ceased. There they stood, staring
at the horror that lay bleeding and mo-
tionless on the ground before them; a
leaden silence within, and without the
failing torrent, an endless. endless
plash.
Eva. kneeling by Berries side, and
shuddering with terror, had felt his
heart, and listened with her a
against the breathless trunk-cl0se to
the dreadful thing, to make sure-and
she had got up again Quaking, had
very softly stepped back from it, her
eyes still directed on 1t, and now stood
clinging against Frank, as II she
would become one with him in her ag-
ony of fear.
Frank" she gasped. God have
mercy. Frank! He is dead! Let us
go-let us go; let us fy.'
us he dead?" asked Westhoye, duly.
His mind was beginning to wake-a
Paint Iaw YIN lilo n,y.tlv davbr>aak He
released himself from her grasp; knelt
down, listened, felt, thought vaguely
of fetching a doctor, of remedies; and
then he added. huskily-certain, in
deed, of what he said, but quite uncer-
tain of what he should do:
''Yes, he is dead-he is dead. What
can ="
Eva still hung on to him, imploring
him to fly, to escape. But his mind
was gradually getting clearer, day
light shining in on his bewilderment;
he freed himself from her embrace,
and tried to go; his hand was already
on the door handle.
Frank, Frank" she shrieked, for
she saw that he meant TO abandon her.
"Hush!" he whispered, with a finger
on his lips. "Stay here; stay and
Wdtcu. Il Will COtLt DdCh.
And he went. She would have fol
lowed him, have chung to him in an
agony Of terror. but he had already
shut the door behind him, and her
trembling knees could scarcely carry
her. She sat down by the body, shiv-
ering miserably. There it was-the
swollen. bruised and purple face, sad
and sickening, in the diffused after
noon light. which anne in Obliquely
through the curtain of rain. Every
breath stuck in her throat; she was
dying for air, and longed to open the
window, being closer TO that than the
door.
But she dared not; for outside,
through the dim. square panes, she
saw the tragical sky covered with driv-
ing, sl~ate-colored pile of cloud, and
the rain falling in a perfect deluge.
and the sea dark and ominous as an
imminent threat, the raging foam
cleaning through n shroud of pouring
water.
"Molde, Molde,' she exclaimed, icy
cold with terrible remembrance. 1T
Is the sky of Molde. the ford of Mol
de. nat was where | first felt II. oh,
God. Help, help."
And she fell. senseless, on the floor.
PART ".
Since that day of terror two years
had elapsed, years of silent endurance