The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1899-10-27
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thing else follows i'm natural sequence
He alone knew that Perkins, not you,
would be left that fatal night; he was
in possession of your cipher: he took
advantage of your love for Mrs. Bur-
lington to render you a service which he
thought half your fortune would
scarcely repay; he, with devilish clever
ness, played upon the feelings of nerv-
ous woman and bounded her to your
arms; he made capital out of your shat
tered nerves; he"
Enough" said Gerard, hoarsely; 81
am satisfied. My God! how cruelty
that fiend has used me! And" his voice
failed-"and .my little Mark is in his
bloody hands! Come! not a second is
to be lost"
He flung his clothes upon his lanky
person, and sputtered out his fears.
Dcmetrius, he felt assured, would hast
en- to the island, hold Mark as hostage,
and make what terms he pleased. | saw
the force of this reasoning. As he said,
not a moment was to be wasted.
"Ntr. Gerard" said |. you must stay
here. Let me act for you. | shall take
Jap with me, and you can rely upon my
Demetrius to the gallows. You are
not"
"Hugo," he rejoined. impressively,
''you think | am n coward, not fit for
such desperate adventure as this will
prove. My lad, fate plays queer tricks
with us. That night at Red Gulch
paralyzed my nerves. This nights work
has undone the mischief. I'm ready,
by Jupiter to encounter that monster
single-handed. And, Hugo, / mstrust
that hot head of yours. My child's life
is at stake. Demetrius is desperate.
If it comes to choosing between Marks
life and the capture of the Greek, how
could hesitate? You might precipitate
more bloodshed. God knows there has
been enough. Come"
A few minutes later we were on our
way, Gerard walking with feverish
strides ahead. The nurse was left with
Burlington.
"Je-roosalem!" whispered Jap to me,
"ye'll let me have one crack at the son of
a gun, Mr. Livingston, won't We, now?"
81 want more than one myself, Jap.
But I'll try and remember YOU"
had formulated in my own mind
plan which dared not share with Mark
Gerard, Left to himself, | foresaw Ulat
he would sacrifice justice TO his love for
the boy-that the Greek would go scot
free, to enjoy his ll-gotten gains. And
such n thought was eXasperating.
Taking advantage, therefore, of my
patrons long strides, dropped to the
rear and submitted my scheme to the
worthy Jap. He was good enough to
approve il nightly. and eagerly
proffered his assistance.
'If we don't corral the cuss, Mr.. Liv-
ingston. swear Tll-lll never be able
ter kiss Danish Mary agan-and enj'y
it,
told him to be of good cheer and to
carry out my instructions to the letter.
Before we crossed the low sand-dunes
which lay between the marshes tnd the
sea, Jap eXtinguished the lantern, and
we held a brief council of war. It was
decided TO treat with the enemy under
friendly cover of the fog, the whitest
and largest Of flags of truce.
SIT would be wise" said |, "to advance
In open order The hut is provided with
uIkt-bOIt AluNN-E Alls anu a NIlul Et VI
swan-shot might excite panic"
'I'll take the center" said Gerard,
"and do the talking"
"I'll take the left" said Jap, IAN do
the cussin'."
"And III take the right" said I, "and
keep my mouth shut"
The fog was now so thick that an OBJ
ject dozen yards away could not be
seen at all.
'"rhe first thing TO determine is
whether the Greek is here" observed
Gerard. Are you ready? Then
march,
Our ccmmander-in-chef halted at the
identical spot where had stood few
hours before, and heard him sigh
heavily as he realized that the boat was
on the wrong side of the channel. The
Greek had returned.
"Demetrius," ne yelled, shrilly,
"come out"
az am here" was the instant reply.
I waited for no more. but ran noise
lessly for some fifty yards to the right.
It was bitterly cold, but stripped off
coat, waistcoat and boots. Then, hold
1HB my gun III my WV manu. 1 phHiS''
through the tules and entered the icy
water. The channel was deep, and, at
the place had selected, broad. A swim
was inevitable
When I reached the island removed
my dripping underclothes and stole for
ward, naked as an Indian. ] feared
that the swish of wet cloth might be-
tray my approach, and, besides, the
clinging garments might impede the
free use of my limbs. Demetrius must
be taken, If possible, alive, and l de-
cided to leave the gun within reach and
TO trust TO my muscles and knife
which thrust between my teeth
What passed between master and man
while / was executing these maneuvers
I learned subsequently. Demetrus, as
we had expected, submitted a cut-and-