Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1901-08-07

Schoolmates TO catch me, throw me
down and pile on top of me. l was
severely hurt, but my physical in
juries were insignificant compared
with the humiliation. And as / lay.
ground into the earth under that
wriggling mass of boys the hot blood
surged through my head, carrying
with it sense of courage. and bit
ter hatred which | had never guessed
l was capable of possessing.
"When they piled OF of me and let
me rise, Iimping and nearly smoth-
cred while they ran away laughing, ]
picked up big jagged stone and fol-
lowed them. l remember it was
some hours before | succeeded in get
, ting squarely in front of the big
Peter Werner, who had led the as
sault, and who had by this time for
gotten it. l let drive my stone with
all the force | possessed, and L re-
member well the wild JOY which pos
sessed my soul when ! saw the blood
squirt frcm his head. and beheld him
lying unconscious on the ground. In
the days that followed while he lin
gered between life and death, | never
could be brought to see wherein
had done wrong. although after the
excitement had passed away, and my
baShfulness had reasserted itself.
realized the terrific force of my pas
J sion.
Only two or three times after that
was it aroused. but those few tiINes
! served to demonstrate more clearly
/ my utter inability TO restrain mysel'
! when injustice or abuse set loose tbs
( torrents of my temper. / went OF
! through boyhood and youth with my
sensitive. reserved and lonely nature
! had few pleasures and no compa II.
! ions after my mother died.
! The one bright ray that came into
my life. was Alice Wilson. As boy
l worshiped her. AS youth l made
bIIilded her into air castles which car
only come TO persons who live the
/ lonely and companionless life that
: led. After / was well along into
, young manhood. and had made some
thing of success in my vocation
after contact with the world haG
brushed the gloss off my dreams and
! had blunted somewhat the edge oil
my shrinking sensitiveness. l plucked
up courage to propose to her. She
refused me, but it was with tender
ness and with evident distress. She
told me that she had never dreamed
, that | admired her. and was fun a
pity and regret. She was engaged tC
Philip Sherry, she told me, and love
him with all her heart.
"She married him, and l crawle6
back into myself again. and went or
in my lonely life. Philip Sherry was
a rake and cur. He broke her heart
dissipated what little fortune she hac
and became involved in notorious
scandal so badly that he was dragged
! into court, in a divorce case brought
by another man against his wife.
II happened to be in the Metropoli
tan hotel one day, where l had beer
| summoned to figure on some change:
| to be made in remodeling it. and I be
came the accidental and unseen wit
ness of an interview between SHERRY
and his wife. 1t was in the publ,
parlor. but they thought themselve!
quite alone. She was pleading will
him to leave the country and say,
their children from further disgrace
surely to be entailed by his presenc,
at the forthcoming suit. She wa
| dry-eyed and calm, but / pray Goo
| will never let me see a face int
which is written a broken heart s,
| wildly as was in hers. He was some
what in liquor, brutal and sneerine
She did not talk angrily. but yer.
/ plainly. He became insolent. insult
| ing and abusive. He said things tina
filed me with horror that they SHOULD
be spoken to any woman, but mos
of all TO her.
'And then. governor" and L wake,
directly in front of the governor, an
looked him squarely in the eye, n
struck her. Yes, as 1od is my judge
he struck her. and reeled out of tn
room. With that blow I started for
ward from where I had stood trans
fixed during the brief interview. A
she saw me she flushed deeply, and a
she caught the expression on m
face. cried out as | turned to leav
the room:
"'Mr. Drummond. be careful; OF
be careful
''It was late that night when
found him. He was in the hote
lobby, laughing and joking with
party of friends. / struck him dow
with his own cane. The blow wa
mortal. meant it TO be. l was gla
of it when saw him dying there o
the floor. j have been glad of it eve
since. ] am glad of it now. | wOul
do it again this minute if all the fire
of hell roared in front of me an
awaited me. And if behind me wer
all the joys | ever hoped for"
The governor sat for some mir
utes with those retrospective eve
turned inward, and | wondered if h
had heard me. Then he arose. pu
out his hand for mine, placed his otf
er hand on my shoulder and said:
And ] would pardon you with tn
same conditions facing me. You wi
he free man before night"
Lord SaIisbury's soldier SON.
Lord Cecil, Lord Salisbury's soldie
4 l. L L