Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1897-03-27
Gil xxx.

AS q lawyer IsandaIs guest understood
that a narrative OF events can only produce
the night effec,. az one condition-lt must be-
gin at the beginning. Having related al.
mat had been said and done during his visit
to the cottage, iDcE:ding his first efforts in
the character OF all angler under kitty's
supervision, he stopped to MI his glass again,
ADJ then astonished Randall by describing
the plan he had devised for escaping from
the spies BY crossing the lake In the fog.
What did the ladies say 10 ito Randall
inquired. who spoke frst?7
Mrs. Presty, OF course! She objected to
risk Ter life on the water la a fog. Mrs. Lin
ley showed q resolution for which | was not
prepared. She thought OF Kitty. saw the
value OF my suggestion. and went away a.
once to consult with tie landlady. I'm the
meantime | sent for the gardener aud told
him what was thinking of. He was one OF
those told Englishmen who possess ~.
sources which don't express themselves out
wdrdly. Judging BY his face you would
have said he was subsiding into slumbrr nm.
DER the lniilctiOn Of a sermon. instead Of list.
ehlhg to a lawyer proposing Il stlatagen.
hen had done the mar. showed the metal
lie was made OF. In plain English he pat
tiTee questions which gave NE the highest
opinion OF his Intelligence. How much Ing.
gage, sir: AS little a. they can c~unyenientiy
take with them | said. How many per
sonS% The two ladies. the child. and my
self Can you row. sir?' in any water
you like, Mr.. Gardener, fresh or salt Think
OF asking me. an athletic Englishman, il |
could row. In an Hour more we were ready
10 embark and the blessed log was thicker
than ever. Mrs. Presty yielded under pro-
test; Kitty was wild with delight: her moth
er was quiet and resigned. But one circum-
stance occurred that | didn't quite under
Stand-the presence of a stranger on the pici
with a gun i'm his hand
You don't mean one of the Spies"'
Nothing OF the sort: | mean AN idea of
the gardeners. He had been a sailor in hi
time-and that's a trade which teaches a man
az he's good for anything 10 think and act
ou his thought az one and the same moment.
He had taken a peep at the blackguards IN
front of the house, and had recognized the
shorter OF the two a a native of the place,
perfectly well aware that one of the iiXture>
attached 10 the cottage was a b%oathOusc.
That chap is not such a fool as he looks
SAYS the gardener. III he mentions the boat.
house the other fellow from London may
have his suspicious. | thought | would post
NY son on the pier-that quiet young man
there with tine gun-to keep a lookout. II
lie sees another boat There are half a dozen
on this sine of the lake putting of after Us,
he has orders 10 fire, on the chance of hear.
Ing him. A little notion Ot mine. sir. 10 pre-
vent our being surprised in the fog. dc you
sse aay objection to it?' Objection! In the
days when diplomacy was something more
than a solemn p%retense. what a member az
congress that gardener would have made
Well, We shipped our oars, and away we
went. Not quite haphaZard-for we had 4
compass with H.. Oar course was as straight
as We could 20. Ia a village on the y oSite
side OF the lake. called Brightfold. Nothing
happened for the first quarter OF an hour
and then, by the living lingo teXcuSe my
yulgaIity), we heard the gum
''Wbat did YOU do?'
"Went on rowing, and held a council. THIS
time | came out rs Tie clever one of IN.
party. The men were following us in the
dark they would have 10 guess at the iii.
rection we had taken, and they would most
likely assume (n such weather a we hadD
that we should choose the shortest way across
the lake. AT NY suggestion we changed on;
fOutsr. anu llANC lHl ~ idist Wv u. lAL-tltl
ND on the shore, callet Iawley. We landed,
and waited for events, and made no discoy-
cry Of another boat behind ". The fools
had Justified my confidence in ~them-they
had zone to Brghtfold. There was hall an
hour to spare before the next train came To
Tawley: and the fog was beginning 10 lift
ON that side OF the lake. We looked al the
shops, and | made a purchase in tile town"
..Stop a minute said Rsnda!. is Bright
fold OH the railway
"No.f
is there an electric telegraph at the
place.
"Yes."
"That was awkward. wasn't il? The first
thing those men would do would be 10 tele-
graph to Tawley."
Not a doubt of il. How would they de-
scribe rs, do you think?'
Randall answered: "A middle-aged gentle
maIi-tw0 ladies, one of them elderiy-and a
little girl. Quite enough 10 identify You at
Tawiey il tie station-master understood the
message"
'.Shall | tell you what the station-;naSter
discovered, with the message in his hand'
No elderly lady, no mt,tdic-ased gentleman;
nothing more remarkable than one lady
aud q little boy"
Randal's face frightened. You parted
company, of course" he said; land you dis
guised Kitty! How did you manage ityg
didn't l say just now that we looked at
the shops, and that l made a purchase in the
town? A boys ready-made suit-not at all
a bad 6t for Kitty! Mrs.. LinIey put on the
suit and tucked up the chiid's hair undo a
straw hat In an empty ysrd-no idlers about
in that bad weather. We said good-by and
parted with grievous misgivings on my side,
which proved thank God TO have been quite
needless. Kitty and her mother went 10 the
station, and Mrs. Presty aid hired a car
rage and drove away to the head Of the lake
to catch the train to London. DO you know,
Randall, l have altered my opinion OF Mrs.
Presty."
Randall smiled. "You. too, have found
something In thai old woman" he said,
which doesn't appear on the surface"
The occasion seems to bring that some
thing out" the lawyer remarked. When l
proposed the separation, and mentioned my
reasons l expected TO find some difficulty IN
p~ersuading Mrs. Presty to give up the all
yenturous journey with her daughter and
her grandclild. ! reminded her that she had
friends In London who would receive he.
and got snubbed for taking the liberty. 4
know that as well AS you do. Come along
I'm ready to go with YOU 1t isn't agree
able To my feelings To " il, but l expected
90 hear her say that she would consent 10
any sacrifice for the sake OF her dear darigh-
ter. No such claptrap as that passed her lips.
She owned the true motive with q superiori-
ty 10 cant which won my sincercst respect
I'll do anything. she said, TO bafie Herbert
Linley and the spies he has set to watch us
l cxsl't tell you how glad 1 was that she had
her reward ON that same day. We were too
late at the station, and We had 10 vail fof
the next train. And what do you think hap
penedf The two scoundrels followed us in
stead OF following Mrs. Linieyl They had
inquired, no doubt, at the livery stable
where w hired the carriage-had recognized
the description OF us-and had taken the
long journey 10 London for nothing. Mrs
Presty and 1 shook hands at tho terminus
the best friends that ever travelled together,
with ths bet Of motives. Amer that I think