Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1898-05-27


Dut Of the scuttle through the barrel
and tumbled down on the roof half
smothered with sand. l told her to
hold tight and do the prayin' for both
Of US and l thought ! could get her
through safe. don't know how l ev'
ar got out on that rope with her on my
back, for that wasn't the way my pro-
tession done business, but / got there,
and as l shot out with the woman
clinging TO me the people In
the street below set up such a
yell as l never heard before and
come near losing my balance, for !
knew, and they didn't, why this feature
that wasn't on the bills was being
showed.
The crowd yelled about twice, and
then all OF a sudden got so still | could
hear the little womans heart beat.
Anyway, l thought l could, but maybe
It was my own. / knew when they
done that the crowd had seen the man
on the roof with the hatchet and rec
ognized him, for all the people in the
town knew the kind of a fellow he was.
At the same time the crowd got still
something came to me telling me to
nerve myself, for the crazy man would
cut the rope and drop me and my load
In the street to be crushed into ashape-
less mass, and came near letting go
and dropping before l was dropped.
couldn't see what was going on behind
me, and all the little woman knew she
was whispering to me to go ahead, be
cause we were safe II only kept my
path. l didn't know whether she
thought about the man with the hatch
ct or not Likely she did. Il wasn't
her to mention it, though, under them
circumstances.
while l was thinking about him
cutting the rope l was getting along it
toward the safe end as fast as could,
the little woman hanging on till she
nearly choked me, but It didn't hurt.
and | was standing II beautiful It's
funny how a man will find pleasure in
life when there's so much In sight that
ain't, and nearly forgot the man with
| the hatchet thinking about the little
woman's arms holding onto my neck
as the only hope for her life But it was
only for a second; then l felt a jar on
the rope and l ehoked and braced my
self, for l was sure that the crazy man
was beginning to cut. and knew that
/ three or four licks would be enough l
/ waited for the second jar, but It didn't
come, and in its place come a spring
/ to the rope, as if weight had been
taken off of it, followed by swishing
sound and duh thud on the sidewalk
! fifty feet below US. At the same time
the crowd sent up groan as if every
person in it was hurt didn't know
for sure what had happened, but
guessed that the crazy man, like most
any crazy person or a mad dog, only
had room in his mind for one thing at a
time and when that was there there
wasn't space for any more. He wanted
to kill his wife, and the only way he
knew how to do it was with the hatch
ct by cutting her to pieces. 1t did not
strike him that he could kill her By
cutting the rope and letting her drop
to the ground. That was too much for
him He knew an easier way, and, as
she was out there on the rope not forty
feet from him, he would go out there
and kill her Crazy people have such
a crazy way Of doing things, don't
they? He did, and when he took his
second step out on the rope he went
over and down to his death. That's
what had made the rope spring back.
guess the little woman must have felt
that something awful had happened.
though she never said a word because
when I at last stepped safe on to the
roof and the crowd yelled hundred
times louder than they did before they
knew what they were yelling about,
the little woman let go her hold around
my neck and dropped at my feet In a
dead faint; and didn't blame her,
either; 1t was time for somebody to
faint, and If she hadn't a done it !
would, sure pop. Her doing 1t gave me
something else to think about, and ]
got her downstairs as quick as could
where the women took charge of her
and soon brought her out all right.
~ guess that's all there is to II, d
smiled the signor, picking up his bal
ancing pole and pointed to date line
and some initials on II. "Thls is tbs
one that steadied US over, and the lit
tie woman had them put on there when
she become the blushing bride Of Sig.
nor Salviatoria,' and the Signor bowed
with a sweep that would have entranc-
ed an audience of millions.