Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-08-14

nc tosseu Tic uppilCtilIol 10 HIS CuleI
of staff, the leave was granted. The
summer opened gloriously. Squadron
and battery drills went on each morn
Ing in splendid shape on the broad,
level flats adjacent to the stream, and
shooting, fishing and picnic parties
We're of frequent occurrence In the
hills. Cat entertained prominent
western statesmen and railway ofli-
Gals once or twice in June and was not
always happy In so doing, for more
than once or twice they touched on
dangerous ground, and IL there was a
topic on which Cat" was touchy now
It was that of Eric Langdon-Langdon,
whom he had practically kicked out Of
Kansas City only to see him become
hero in Nebraska.
In one sense the year had done its
best for Langdon. He had become the
idol of n large class of the population,
but that, unless a man have political
aspirations, Is not of intrinsic or prac-
teal value and, furthermore, is rarely
of long duration. The populace needs
new sensations. Shot through the leg
In the dash to the rescue of the train.
he had finally tainted from loss of
blood while rescued and rescuers were
embracing. and shouting and was
found unconscious and well nigh dead
lying in ravine full quarter of n
mile up the track, beyond the train, to
which point he seemed to have fol-
lowed, fighting, as though to assure
himself the Indians contemplated no
return attack. Frontier surgery is eS-
pert In gunshot wounds, it having lit
tie else to deal with, and rude appli-
ances kept body and sou! together un-
til the coming of. experts with the troop
train from Omaha.
Later, while the soldiery went on to
round up the renegade Indians, Lang.
don was taken back to Brentwood and
nursed and coddled for long weeks.
The regulars came in time for n stiff
winter fight with the Sioux, but the
ranch and railway people would hear
of only one hero, Eric Langdon. The
new manager Of the Big Horn called to
see MIN ana thank MN III the name VI
the road. The road was full Of
scheme to have him legislated back
into the army, and bill to that effect
was actually introduced. Langdon said
1t was time wasted, but Nebraska SEN
ntors and representatives We're conf
dent. 1t was Mt least good thing to
push along, as it would keep him from
turning up rs possible congressional
candidate himself. Sitting about the
campfires on long winter evenings and
reading the local papers, there was no
end of chaff and fun among the regu-
lars over that possibility. The train
and station hands all along the Big
Horn and Seattle, both, seemed to have
forgotten their grievance Of the year
gone by and would shout for Lang
dol ut the faintest mention of his
naLle. Two papers, "disgruntled," to
use their own English, with their rep
resentatiyc and to bother him proba-
bly, as much as to boom Iangdon openly
advocated placing Erie in nomination,
whereat Rodney May and Woodrow
chucllled with joy as Claiming drawl-
ed out an inquiry of Nathan, Flow
would it do to have Langdon on the
house military committee, for in
stanceg" whereat Nathan scowled, but
said naught that was audible.
There was n man, not in the army,
who took the possibility more serious
ly, and that was Langdon's friend and
bencfactor, Cresswell, who, us had
been said, had aspirations of his own.
There is little doubt that had an cleo
ton been possible that winter and the
ex-officer Il candidate Langdon would
have stood quite chance. But by the
time he was lobblipg about on crutch-
es, in March, the furore had subsidized.
his heart over the assault of which he
had been the victim. 1t was not the
physical suffering, but the indignity,
that ranked, and he had not ceased
his efforts through detectives to ferret
out the guilty parties, but with little
luck. Certain men once prominent
among the railway hands had left the
state, but no one knew just why Or
whittier.
Langdon, on the contrary, had 8p-
parently lived down his wrath. Eight
ing mad" as the conductor declared 70
Lieutenant Hunt he certainly was un-
til the peril that menaced the settlers
and involved the trainload of helpless
people dwarfed all personal considera-
tion and turned his powers to their ac-
count. His story of the abduction was
very brief and straight. Returning
from the armory, he had let himself In
ut the front door Of the office, closed it
after him and almost instantly felt
himself grappled by powerful arms.
Gruff voices warned him that sound
meant death when sound was impossl-
bic, for a huge, coarse hand was over
his mouth, to be replaced in an instant
by a chloroformed sponge and slken
handkerchief. When consciousness re-
turned, he was in n wagon, blindfold-
ed, bound and gagged, then was hoist
ed into an empty freight car and trun-
died miles away through the night.
His gag was removed rs soon as the
train went on, and he was given water,
was assured that no harm was intend
ed-"the boys" thought he'd better
take n little trip up the country while
business was dull in Brentwood, and
they made him comfortable with blan-
kets and pillows despite the jolting Of
the clumsy car. AT dawn he was TAX
en- from the train and driven miles
across country in another wagon to q
ranch where people treated him with
every care and kindness, but he was
kept under lock and key until the night
Of the 30th, when there We're sounds
of weeping and dismay in an adjoln-
ing room, and he learned that there
was terrible raid by the Sioux up
the road" And then, fast as horses
could bring them, came three railway
men = not his abductors, for two Of
these We're men he had known in the
Brentwood yards, and the voices We're
different. They told him of the dread
full deeds at Rosebud and the plight Of
the train; told him the troops were
coming, that the strike was done and
that all matters connected with it and
damages of every kind were to be set
tied 1otnp Tho su,oefinp 1vos, ,yn,,l5 Ia