Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-09-24
CONTINUED from page Eve !

Continued from page five.l
cumb That enemy is sleeplessness
When daylight found the desperate, be
had not closed an eye all night. His
nerve was gone and perhaps for the first
time in his life be felt thrill Of fear
The emptiness Of the prairie, which
should have encouraged him. struck q
chill Of loneliness into him, and he
longed for the sight Of a man, even
though he might have to fight him
when he approached. He must have a
comrade, he said to himself, if he could
find any human being in straits as ter.
rible as his own; some one who would
keep watch and watch with him through
the night. But the comrade must either
be ignorant of the weight Of money that
hung over the desperado' head or there
must be price on his own. An limo.
cent man would not see the use Of keep
ing such strict watch. A guilty man, OH
learning the circumstances of the case,
would sell Sans life to purchase his
own freedom. Fifty thousand dollars
in the desperado's mind would do any
thing, and yet he himself Of all the 60,
000 900 people in the land was the only
one who could not earn it. A comrade,
then, innocent or guilty. was impossi-
BILE, and yet was absolutely necessary if
the wanderer was to have sleep.
The horse was in distress through
lack of water, and Sam himself was
both hungry and thirsty. His next halt
ssx.. 10. .pk Lx. 80 4
perhaps his safety during the first night
was due to the fact that his pursuers
would naturally have looked for him
near some water course and not on the
open prairie.
Ten days later Mike Davlin was
awakened at 3 in the morning to find
standing by his bed gaunt, haggard
living skeleton, holding candle in one
hand and pointing cooked revolver at
Mikes head with the other.
"Get up" said the apparition hoarse-
ly, land get me something to eat and
drink--drink first-and be quick about
it. Make no noise. Is there anybody
else in the house?"
NO." said Mike, shivering. "You
wait here, Sam, and I'll bring you
something. thought you were among
the Indians, or in Mexico, or in the Bad
Lands long ago. {"
"I'm in Bad Lands enough here. I'll
go with you. I'm not going to let you
out of sight, and no tricks, mind, or you
know what will happen"
Surely you trust me, SAM whined
Mike, getting up.
~ don't trust any living man. Who
fired that shot at me when was leav-
ing?"
$50 help me-" protested Mike, 81
dunno. | wasn't in the bar at the time.
/ can prove | wasn't. Yer not looking
we'll, Sam.
Course you for slow dawdler. You'd
not look well either if you had no sleep
for a week and was starved into the bar
gain. Get move on you.
Sam ate like wild beast what was
set before him, and although he took a
stiff glass of whisky and water at the
beginning ne now drank sparingly. He
laid the revolver ON the table at his ell
bow and made Mike sit opposite him.
When the ravenous meal was finished,
he pushed the plate from him and look
ed across at Davlin.
"When l said | didn't trust you,
Mike, was a liar. l do, and I'll prove
it, When it's your interest to befriend
a man, you'll do it every time"
II will that" said Mike, not quite
cOmprehending what the other had said.
"Now listen to me- Mike, and be sure
you do exactly as l tell you. Go to
where the bank manager lives and
rouse him up as reused you. He'll not
be afraid when he sees it's you. Tell
him you've got me over in the saloon
md that I've come to rob the bank of
that id $50, 600 Say that I'm des-
perate and can't be taken short of a
dozen lives, and there is no lie in that,
as you know. Tell him you've fallen in
with my plans and that Well go over
there and hold him up. Tell him the
only chance of catching me is by
trick. He's to open the door of the place
where the money is, and you re to shove
me in and lock me up. But when he
opens the door | II send bullet through
him, and you and me will divide the
money. Nobody will suspect you, for
nobody'll know you were there but the
bank man, and he'll be dead. But if you
make one move except as tell you the
first bullet goes through you. See?'
Mikes eyes opened wider and wider
as the scheme was disclosed. Lord,
what head you have, Sam" he said.
"Why didn't you think of that before?
The bank manager is in Austin"
"What the devil is he doing there?"
''He took the money with him to put
it in the Austin bank. He left the day
after you did, for he said the only chance
you had was to get that money. You
might have done this the night you left,
but not since.
"That's straight, is itY' said Sam sus-
piciously.
cts Gods truth I'm speaking, as
serted Mike earnestly. "You can find
that out for yourself in the morning.
Nobody'll modest you. You're just dead