Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1900-04-04
CHAPTER VII.

The anonymous letters, or rather
scrawls, which Philip found by the
side OF his unconscious wife as he
stopped to raise her up read as follows:
Preacher-Better pack up and leave. Milton is
DOT big enough to hold you alive. Take warning
in time.
Preachers Wife-As long as you stay in Milton
there is danger Of two funerals. Dynamite kills
women as well as men.
Philip sat by the study lounge hold
ing these scrawls in his hand as his
Wife recovered from her fainting fit
after he had applied restoratives. His
heart was filed with horror ut the
thought Of the complete cowardice
which could threaten the life of an in
nOcent woman. There was with it Il
feeling Of intense contempt of such
childish, dime novel methods Of in
timidatt0n as that Of sticking a knife
into the study desk. If it had not
90 been for its effect on his wife, Philip
would have laughed at the whole
thing. AS it was. he was surprised
and alarmed that she had tainted, a
thing he had never known her to do,
and as soon as she was able to speak
he listened anxiously to her story.
1T must have been an hour after
you had gone. Philip, that thought
heard nois0 up stairs, anu thinking
perhaps you had left one Of your Win
dows down at the top and the curtain
was Tapping. l went right up, and the
minute I stepped into the room l had
the feeling that some one was there"
Didn't you ca:SS up light?"
mo. The lamp was burning at the
end Of the upper hall, and SO l never
thought Of needing more. Well. as l
moved over toward the window, still
feeling that strange, unaccountable
knowledge of some one there, Il man
stepped out from behind your desk,
walked right up to me and held out
those letters in one hand, while with
the other he threw the light from a
small bulls eye or burglars lantern
upon them"
Philip listened in amazement.
Sarah, you must have dreamed all
that. 1t isn't likely that any man
would do such thing"
phillip, l did not dream. was ter
ribly wide awake and so scared that
/ couldn't even scream. My tongue
seemed to be entirely useless. But !
felt compelled to read what was writ
ten, and the man held the papers there
until the words seemed to burn my
eyes. He then walked over to the
desk and with one blow drove the
knife down into the wood, and then l
tainted away, and that Is all l can re-
member"
"And what became Of the manY'
asked Philip, still inclined to think
that his wife had in some way fallen
asleep and dreamed at least part Of
this strange scene, perhaps before she
went up to the study and discovered
the letters. Il don't know; maybe he
Is in the house yet. Philip, am al
most dead for fear-not for myself, but
for your life
II never had any fear Of anonymous
letters or OF threats" replied Philip,
contemptuously eying the knife, which
was still sticking in the desk. "Evi-
IDENTIFY the saloon men think / am
a child to be frightened with these
bugaboos, which have figured in every
sensational story since the time Of
Captain Kidd"
'"Then you think this is the work of
the saloon men,"
"Who else can it be: We have no
other enemies Of this sort in Milton"
"But they will kill you. Oh, Philip,
cannot bear the thought Of living
here in this way! Let US leave this
dreadful place."
"Little woman" said Philip, while he
bravely drove away any slight anxiety
he may have had for himself, don't
you think it would be cowardly to run
away so soon?"
wouldn't it be better to run away
so soon than to be Killed? Is there any
bravery in staying in a place where
you are likely to be murdered by some
coward?"
II don't think shall be-" said Philip
confidently. "And don't want you
to be afraid. They will not dare to
harm YOU"
"'No, Philip exclaimed his wife ca
gerly; ''you must not be mistaken. l
did not faint away tonight because !
was afraid for myself. Surely l have
no fear there. 1t was the thought of
the peril In which you stand daily as
you go out among these men, and as
you 60 back and forth to your meet
1ngs in the dark. am growing nerv.
Gus and anxious ever since the shoot
ing, and when l was startled by the
man here tonight was so weak that
tainted. But l am sure that they do
not care to harm me; you are the OBJ
ject Of their hatred. II they strike any
one it Will be you. That is the reason
I want to leave this place Say you
will, Philip. Surely there are other
churches where you could, preach as
you want to and still not be in such
constant danger" s.s s..~ =. a'
It required all Of Philips wisdom and
love and consciousness Of his immedi-
ate duty to answer his Wife's appeal
and say no to it. It was one Of the Sc,
verest struggles he ever had. There
was to be taken into the account not
only his own safety, but that Of his
wife as well. For, think what he
would, he could not shake OF the feel
ing that a man SO coWardly as to re-
sort to the assassination Of a man
would not be overparticular even II 1t
should chance to be q woman. Philip
was man enough to be entirely unshak-
en- by anonymous threats. a thou
sand q day would not have unnerved
him In the least. He would have