Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-06-05
THE NIGHT FELL LIKE A THREAT OF
COMING TERROR.

that was on him and he quickly dried
himself on a towel. The sight of the
food gave him touch of nausea; he
started to drink the coffee, but rem a.;
bered that coffee at night made 81
restless, and he wanted to sleep. He
went to the window which commanded
the widest view of the buildings round
the prison. A negro on bony horse
was lighting the gas along the avenue,
hillside, it lost itself in the clouds. Tw<l
churches were within sight, and they
were being lighted. The choirs were
going to meet to practice for the serv-
ice on the morrow. The nearest bell
was rung. The night fell like a threat
| of coming terror.
| He had another vision of the dead
man. This time sgd lay covered with
a white sheet in the sittin groom Of
his own home. Round the walls of
the room sat the neighbors discuss
ing his many manly virtues and his
untimely end. He saw a white-haired
mother, and old man Hart, from whom
sgd had inherited his intrepid, turbu-
lent spirit.
Some men," shuddered our hero,
could justify themselves in such
case as this, but l shall never be able
to forget. My ideal man--the Master
of the Wordsworth have found way
to avoid what I did. If only had Of
fered no resistance. sgd Hart would
have been alive, and land Evelyn"
There his agony overwhelmed him
and he threw himself on his bed again
and pressed his hands over his eyes.
The strains of an organ swelled up
from the nearer church and stole into
his room; voices began to sing. The
singers broke down and merry laugh
ter-the laughter of free, hopeful peo-
ple-rolled after the fleeing strains of
music.
Suddenly there was a sound of key
beng. pushed into the lock and the big
door swung open. The voice of the
| jailer cried:
wake up thar, Mr.. Fanshaw. I've
fetched yore brother up to see you'll
Dave came in with a candle which
the jailer had given him, and he steAd
with it in his hand, awkwardly shift,
ing his big feet in their new shoes, till
the jailer had locked the door and
had gone.
II come on, Rom" he said, s.as soon
as I could after I got home, and Miss
Hasbrooke had drove up the second
time to tell me what you'd said. She
lowed she had took you to the sher-
ifs house. She was a-cryin' as if 'er
heart nd break-she could hardly talk. (
She begged me to come on an offered
me money to buy anything that might
be needed"
81 hope you didn't take it, Dave"
burst from the prisoners lips.
mo, l didn't take it; somehow
didn't think you would want help from
a woman-you are not that sort.
what do people think about it,
Dave?" Ronald took the candle from.
the poor fellows quivering hand and
placed it on little shelf on the wall.
"Sympathy's always with the dead,
at first" answered Dave. 81 never
have herd as many good things said
about George Washington as I have
about Sgd Hart in the last three
hours"
Ronald sighed despondently.
4. II presume that they blame me?"
"Some few lowed that you ort not
a-bucled agin i'm that night at the
swamp"
"But the boy was innocent" said
our hero.
THAT'S fact, Ron; but mountain
folks don't reason that way; they only
remember how mad you made i'm
when you turned his cake to dough.
They don't admit that you was right,
kase they don't want to know how
nigh they come to murder that night.
4 The niger that did the deed has long
II GConfinuef3 or, Para st2l