The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1900-02-08


err with the common people, told the
story Of his night vigils with the Christ
he adored.
1t was at this particular time that a
special event occurred which put Its
mark on Philips work in Milton and
became part of its web and wool, a
hard thing to tell, but necessary to re-
late as best one may.
He came home late one evening from
church meeting, letting himself into
the parsonage with his night key, and,
not seeing his wife in the sitting room,
where she was in the habit of reading
and sewing, he walked on into the
small sewing room, where she some
times sat at special work, thinking to
find her there. She was not there, and
Philip opened the kitchen door and In
quired of the servant, who sat there
reading, where his wife was.
81 think she went up stairs a little
while ago" was the reply.
Philip went at once up stairs into his
study and to his alarm found that his
wife had tainted. She lay on the floor
in front of his desk. AS Philip stopped
to raise her he noticed two pieces Of
paper, one Of them addressed to "The
Preacher" and the other to 1.-The
Preachers Wife," They were anony-
nous scrawis, threatening the lives Of
the minister and his wife. On his desk,
driven deep into the wood, was large
knife. Then said Philip with prayer,
"Verily an enemy hath done this"
CHAPTER VII.
The anonymous lStters, 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
not 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 well as men.
Philip sat by the study lounge hold
ing these scrawls in his hand as hi"
wife recovered from her fainting fit
after he had applied restOratives. His
heart was filed with horror at the
thought of the complete cowardice
which could threaten the life of an in
nocent woman. There was with it a
feeling of intense contempt of such
childish, dime novel methods of in
timidation as that of sticking knife
into the study desk. If it had not
been for it's 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.
at mIst have been an hour after
you had gone, Philip, that l thought
heard noise up stairs, and, 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 / stepped into the room had
the feeling that some one was there"
Didn't you carry 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, 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"
philip, did not dream. | was ter
ribly wide awake and so scared that
l couldn't even scream. My tongue
seemed to be entirely useless. But l
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
tainted away, and that is all | 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"
Il never had any fear of anonymous
letters or of threats" replied Philip,
cDntemptuously 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" ..a ~
"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,
1 cannot bear the thought of living
here in this way! Let us leave this
dreadful place." r
Little woman" said Philip, while he
bravely drove away any slight anxiety
he may have had for himself, don't
you think 1t would be cowardly to run
away so soon?"
Wouldn't 1t 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
cowardT'
II don't think / shall be-" said Philip
confidently. "And | don't want you
to be afraid. They will not dare to
harm you"
mo, Philips" exclaimed his wife ca
gerly; 'you must not be mistaken.
did not faint away tonight because
was afraid for myself. Surely | have
no fear there. 1t was the thought of