Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-03-21

now It did not pass INTO gentle tremOr
and fade away; instead, it grew stronger
and stronger until every rafter took Up
the motion and the whole house trembled
az though with an ague. Greater grew the
shaking until the building rocked, the bed
slid away from the wall, the table shifted,
the glass and bottle on it rang togther, and
the pitcher danced so violently that the
water within it splashed from it's top. A
square of plaster from the ceiling fell to
the floor with crash, filling the room with
dust; but through all Scammell never
WINGED, showing wonderment, nor bore a
less threatening attitude.
In the course of the seconds through
which this endured he held me as he proba-
bly, would have done had the roof fallen
about our ears, so determined was he to
take me. / knew the nature of the tur-
MOL at once, for when in the Indies with
my father l had experienced it. 1t was
not caused by the earth shaking from the
rolling of heavy thunder, for just then the
voice of the storm was confined to the roar
of terrific downpour Of rain. 1t was an
earthquake rare phenomenon in this lat
itude, and it's rarity, it's severity, and its re-
suits before my eyes, trihing as were these,
woke me from my trance and again gave
full play to my wits.
Fascinated and partly stunned as l had
been by the fiendish face of my enemy and
the full significance of the evil fortune into
which 1 had suddenly fallen, like him, /
sat through the commotion. Every unim-
portant detail about him, from the broken
pearl button on his shirt front down to the
grains of powder in the pistol pan and the
fine edge of the flint in the lock, found
force of attraction TO the eye only known
to those who fall into sudden hopelessness
or deep depression.
But with the dancing of the tableware a
quick idea shot through my brain, and
showed me last desperate chance to ex-
tricate myself from the coil about me.
Natural phenomenon in the shape of a
breeze had saved me from the knife of the
negro, and now twas an earthquake that
might open a way for my deliverance by
splashing water from pitcher.
Strainlng my nerves to conceal the new
hope that had sprung to life, began to act
Never had / felt my muscles knit firmer or
been less in need of stimulant than when,
sinking back as if at last overcome by the
combined shock of his words and Che con-
vulson of nature, which had now passed,
l said slowly and as though dazed:
Il am but a prisoner of war, sir. was
forced for my own safety to come to New
York. am no-spy-I will go-but-you-
let me drink. l feel lax and-dizzy"
You have none of the Indian in you,
you pale-livered sneak!' he answered.
Drink, then, and gather your spunk and
legs for action. Beat me with the fiat of
your sword! Fore God! But wait till I
can shift my eye from you! Drink, and then
move before we have another quake, and the
walls about us-'twill be your last DRAM"
With apparent effort I raised myself,
reached for the bottle, and poured out
stiff measure of liquor, which | drank off;
then taking the pitcher, I made rs though to
fill the glass, but as / tipped it, with sud-
den movement / whirled full half gallon
| of water over the pistol, drenching the
printing and making the weapon useless
With this action 1 sprang to my feet.
Scammell was quick, but not quick
enough. The water had but reached the
powder when / heard the snap of the de
scending hammer, and saw his first mo-
ton to gain his legs; but, following up the
drowning of the fre-pan, / lifted the heavy
| table and overturned it On him, pushing
him backward, where to the floor went man,
furniture, and crockery with terrific crash.
AT that moment there came vivid fash Of
| lightning, and hard upon it an appalling
peal of thunder. Though almost blinded
ard deafened by the bolt, ] sprang round
| the overturned table, and seizing the first
| thing coming to hand, which proved to be
the wafer jug still unbroken, grasped the
struggling tory by the throat and with all
my force brought down the heavy earthen-
ware on his uncovered head.
| The pitcher few to fragments leaving
but the handle in my grasp, while Scammell
| became limp and collapsed
This action took place during the interval
at which the thunder was the loudest, and
was probably the reason that caused the
noise of the fall of the table to be unnoticed
! by those below. But, as though it had been
| insufficient, another violent CONFUSION fol-
| lowed, which came and went with the
suddenness of the explosion of a park of
artillery.
| l had but gotten to standing position
when conclusion rocked the house to its
foundation. 1t sprang not from the earth
below this time, but from the air above,
the vibrations of which dashed the hang
ing glass from the wall and caused the win
| dow panes to fly in pieces into the room 1t
was not Of the nature of an earthquake.
still less like thunder near or affair; much
it resembled the blowing up of magazine
| though not until afterward did | come to
know this as the solution Of the matter.
The fash that had lighted my attack on
Scammell had struck powder ship just
from England as she lay at anchor off Wall
street, and no vestige OF it or those aboard
was ever discovered. This combination of
intense heat, violent storm, earthquake.
and explosion actually occurred in New
York city, Sunday, August 9, ITS
The vicious nature Of the shock was IN
like the gradual coming and going of the
earthquake, and that it had occas:oned
more alarm ! soon knew by the shouts that
came from beneath my window. Rushing
to ii, through the shattered panes beheld
men running from the opposite houses
while in the yard below was the SQUAD of
soldiers, which had pressed from the tavern
in a panic when it seemed that the build
ing would fall
My safety still demanded immediate ac
ton, for should curiosity or distrust impel
the guard to come upstairs. would be un-
done. That move would drive me to bav.
and either obligc me to finally surrender or
die like rat I'M hole
But l had determined a course of pro.
cedure by the time ] had finished getting
into my clothing. Hastily setting the table
upright, ] stopped over the body of Scam
nell. l expected to find him dead, and was
surprised to discover that he was still of
this world, the thickness of his curly hair
and u possible crack in the Jug having
saved him from a crushed skull. He was
completely stunned. however, and with
little ado dragged him into the closet and
| shut the door