Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1901-11-28

The word rang out in an ear-piercing
| Shrek, and the man started up in bed,
| struggling fercely with some unseen
! thing. The startled nurses came rum
ming to the bed, where the tall man had
his arms about the sufferer and vas
striving to lay hirn down. The horri-
bic thing he had seen, whatever 1t was,
had gone from him; he lay breathing
heavily and quite passive. The man
who held him got away from the bed,
and stood nervously wiping his face.
out of which all the color seemed to
have fled. He made a hurried excuse,
n got out OF the place and into the
cold night air. The rain a ceased
and the wind had dropped q little; some
stirring life, in the shape of carts and
wagons was in the streets
He walked a long way in one set d.
r~ection, and mechanically, as a man
might walk in a dream; stopped sud
denly, as If under the influence of a new
resolution; turned about in his tracks
and went in an opposite direction.
"No-not .here-not where any man
knows you, and can clap a hand upon
you and cry, That man is Gilbert Rick
erby!" Hide yourself-slink and creep
III q" IL hdA d1S as gSu ANL
done so long. Tonight Gilbert Kicker
by comes back to the world; yet to-
night, a broken, unknown thing they
call Gilbert Rickerby lies dying in a
strange place, and shrieks 'Murder!' in
my face! God of mercy-keep me sane
till / see this thing in its true light, and
know who I am and what 1 am and
where / ami"
He was in no mood for sleep, or even
rest; he buttoned his coal about him
anil went striding away, not caring
whittier, with his thoughts hurrying on
in maddening confusion. AS the dawn
was breaking he found himself coming
nearer to st. Johns Wood again; and
so turned into Regents Park and sat
down or a eat there to think. 1t was
very peaceful there, and the only things
that were stirring were the birds, flut-
tering about the trees and the grass.
Gradually some of the peacefulness of
the scene stole over him, n he became
calmer and better prepared for sober
thought.
Nov, let me think, let me piece this
thing together, and see what 1t spells.
L. Gilbert Rickerby, unfortunate wand
ering son OF old Joi as Rickerby, after
years OF lodging abe ut the earth, come
back to the place where i was born. i
am expected; / have a purpose to full
fil, and, hard though that purpose is,
/ have made up my mind to fulfil It,
and to do what is right-to undo some
of the wrong of old, unhappy years.
and to do one clean, sweet thing at
least. At the last moment / determine
II play a trick, to gain some Knowledge
of the man I've never seen before /
really see him. ! send my trusted SER
want and friend, James Holden, into
the house wlterin I was born and at the
hour a.. which I was expected. So Tar,
good; now what follows?'
lie stared straight before HIM for a
mir.ute or two with q puzzled face,
then went on again, speaking to him
self, always In the same low tone:
'This follows: That James Holden
enters the house, armed with my card,
TO prove Ills bona-fides. Within a few
minutes a man PUSHES out, pursued by
another. I chase the first he meets
with an accident in the street, and now
he lies dying in The hospital, crying
my name, calling out warnings to me
in his 6elirium, and shrieiung Muir
der! What foul, black business is at
the bottom OF all this-and where is
Jemes Holden?"
All that day Gilbert Rickerby wan
| dered about-forming a dozen schemes
in his head, AMI as rapidly abandoning
each one In turn. Now he would go TO
the house In st. Johns Wood, make
himself known, and boldly ask for mis-
| servant; but the plan had to be cast
asde, because he told himself that he
I had yet TO understand the mystery OF
| the man who hal carried the card and
| coupled the name of Gilbert Rickerby
With murder. Again, he determined to
70 TO the hospital bu gave UP that
idea, also, because he feared TO be
| questioned-pcrhaps even to be associ-
ated with the man who cried his name
so persistently. Beset with doubts AMI
fears he went, when night was coming
on, not to the lodging which he had
occupied before, but to a quiet little ho-
tel in g street off the Strand, registered
uEder the first name h 1t occurred to
him, and sent n note by a messenger,
addressed to James Holden. at the
rooms they had occupied in Camden
Town-rooms they had taken In pursu-
arce of Gilbert Rickerby's plan OF hid
Ing until the schemes he Lad on hand
were worked out.
The messenger returned with his note
n with a line In pencil, scrawled on
the back by the landlord. to the effect
tina Holden had not teen home all
night, and that nothing had been seen
OF him.
The matter was growing exciting;
Gilbert Rickerby determined to set
about, In his own peculiar fashion, to
solve the mystery. But that mystery
thickened considerably when next day
there appeared in all the morning pa
pers the following advertisement:
R1Oo REWARD-A gentleman named
Gilbert Rickerby has my3teriously dis
appeared. He failed to keep an APP
pointment made by himself two DAYS
taago. He is imploi ed by the advertiser
to communicate at once with his
friends. Any one supplying informa-
ton concerning the missing gentleman
shan receive the above reward. Apply.
Mr.. Nugent Leathwood. Rickerby's
Folly, St Johns Wood. London.
1T don't understand II" muttored