Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1897-05-20
@~THE OTHER BOX.~@
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something like fifteen feet.
All preliminarieS having been ar
ranged. the boy brought in the fatal
box and deposited it in the center of the
rOOm in such a manner that the lid
should open sideways. Here again his
vious that the box must be opened
when al except the principals were
outside the door. Luckily, the box had
Il sliding lid, and the Junior Subaltern
was able to arrange it so that. by at
taching a piece of string, any one
standing outside the door would he able
to slide back the lid and so release the
presumed occupant of the box.
During all these arrangements the
five conspirators had felt very serious.
They began to realize that it was
rather "A grim joke they were having.
/ and it is probable that the two men
/ who weren't behind the scenes. who
each doubted whether he might be
alive in the morning, were less nervous.
But then they were still very angry,
and hadn't had time yet to think out
all the details.
AT last all the arrangements had
been settled with due exactness. The
Junior Subaltern had been an uncon-
scionable time at work. 1t is probable
that he was getting very sick of his
hoax, and would have been glad enough
to show it up if anyone had given him
the lead. After all, he knew that there
was an ugly side to the farce and as
his first boyish enthusiasm died away
he wanted to throw the thing up. But
no one helped him out of it. and for
very shame he could scarcely give him
self away. Besides, the two principals
wouldn't have thanked him.
Nothing more remained to be done.
There was solemn enough leave-taking
on all sides as the five youngsters filed
out of the room and locked the door.
leaving the two men in their corners
and the box in the center of the room.
For IA moment or two the five stood in
silence out in the passage, the Junior
Subaltern holding the end of the string
and shaking like an aspen leaf with
suppressed excitement. Then he gave
1t sharp tug, and they could hear the
DoN-lid sliding back until it dropped to
the floor with a slight smack.
1t was Il hushed and rather con-
science-stricken band that dispersed to
the various rooms in quarters. and the
hours of that night hung heavily. 1t is
a fact that the five youngsters did not
average an hour of sleep between them.
This was proved by the nlnrrity with
which they all turned out at the first
break of dawn, and assembled, shiver-
ing and wn-looking and haggard
ready to go and release their voluntary
prisoners.
They were, in fact, so disturbed that
they took no notice of the Senior Can
tain. who, for some reason best known
to hlmSelf, had turned out. too. and fol-
lowed them as they trod softly along TO
the door of the disused room. He was
still unnoticcd as they reached IT, and
there made marked halt: and his
curiosity to see their little game pre-
vented him from announcing himself.
They stood for Il moment in breathless
silence showing strange, sudden dis
inclination to stir.
Then. as was the ease the night he
fore, the Junior Subaltern took the
lead. There was faint murmur as no
turned the key in the lock and stepped
| boldly into the room the rest following
in crowd. The Senior CAPTAIN stood
for moment outside. wondering and
trying to make out what it all meant.
But sudden, stifled cry caused him TO
step quickly after them.
lie was man who had been in sew
eral actions. He had seen men killed
under all sorts of ghastly circum-
stances. He had commanded burial
parties sent out Otter the Afghan wo-
men had been at their devilish work.
and had seen sights that hardened as
he was, had made him feel sick and
full of horror. But those scenes were
IN no way comparable with what met
his eyes as he entered the room behind
| his juniors.
The two men were no longer propped
up in the position in which they had
been left Their swollen. distorted
bodies We're huddled on the floor In at
titudes that showed the awful manner
in which they had met their doom. But
the figures, almost grotesQue in the
contortions which had attended the
last death agony, We're rs nothing. In
each case the face was upturned.
livid. with dlstended cheeks and crack
ell skin, with fiecks of blood oozing
from mouth and nose, and with eyes
widely open and a fear and horror in
them past all description. 1t was not
~ much the physical agony as the ex.
preston of terror in the fixed faces that