The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-04-11
The Writing on The Wall
~ Ihomas c. iiarbaugh

a bachelor very TALL aud dark OF
feature lie had been abroad 10 years.
and as !, q young physician. had but
lately settled in the adjoining town
J had never seen him. had heard.
however. that he had visited many
countries, civilized and savage and
had concluded that he was tired of
roughng It and glad for a chance to
settle down beneath the roof Of his
fathers
His old acquaintance did not see
much of him after he came home. He
nodded 70 his former friends or
passed them by without so much as
a how. Not long after his coming
home we learned that he was counting
Annie Kimball, the prettiest girl Of
the nelghborhood. already engaged, as
We believed, to Steve Morgan. young
man Of steady habits, but without a
1.-THE of the wealth possessed by Brant
Durivage.
old Kimball, Annie's father. was
dissipated, and, just then. financially
embarrassed and the truth is that he
sold his child to Brant Durlyage, fore
ing her TO break her engagement with
young Morgan, who denounced the
bargain in bitter language whenever
he could find anybody to listen to him.
At times he swore that he would get
even" with the man who had come be-
tween him and Annie
III
along quietly If Durivage heard of
Morgan's hot words and threats. he
said nothing. He seemed perfectly
contented with the conquest he had
won, the wedding day had been set,
and Annie had become resigned to the
fate from which there seemed no es-
cape
Steve Morgan had given up his
trade, but not his daily habit of ours
ing Brant Durivage. He had lost
flesh, and his eyes had wolfsh,
yengeful look. In common with 9th
ers, fully expected a tragedy of some
kind, and went so far as to share my
opinion win the constable. who nod
ded approyingly
The tragedy came. bat not in the
manner expected. At ten o'clock on
the night before the day set apart for
the wedding a man whom | knew to
be Brant Duriyages factotum, threw
open my Office door. and rushing in
startled me with the intelligence that
his master had just been shot.
Thinking Immediately of Steve
Morgan, l promised to repair to the
house at once, and in short time [
crossed the threshold for the first
time l was conducted to an upper
room, where found the darl1-faced
man lying unconscious on a bed, hay
ing been. carried to his chamber by a
servant who, standing by me. said
lat Duriyage had ben shot through
the open window of the library, which
was on the ground floor
81 pulled this out of the wound,
continued the man. taking an arrow
Ifrom the table, but I'm afraid there s
Ia bit Of it left He's shot under the
left shoulder and and from behind; a
bad wound I'm thinking" And the
Aservant shook his head.
/ fell at once to examining my pa.
ltient, and discovered that while the
barb had not gone deep enough t.
touch q vital organ, the wound was
dangerous, especially il Tie shaft had
been poisoned l found also that the
Servant was right about piece of the
sarraw head remaining N the hurt, f0l
removed it with my forceps and LAID
it alongside the weapon on the table.
Meantime the people attached tt
khe estate were looking for the person
who had attempted Durivage's life
lrhe town constaMe had been sum
noned and the town itself was al
Ready in an uproar. / remained witt
fDurivage until l could leave him e
he care Of a nurse, and with ar
row and the detached head, | wen
back to my Office. was clear to MI
hat The shaft had come from sons
Instant land had seen many savag
Weapons in collections, but never on
Ike it. The shaft proper was a ligh
eeQ, very SlIdiSHC anu nSelu' w
nd had been cut off transVersely an
ia other notched in order to receiv
be bow string. Next came piece @
zone nearly three inches in length
#ne end of it had been passed int
ne split, or open end of the shaft
hiIe tho other end Of the bone wa
inped short piece Of reed, Owe
hich. in turn, q strong wrapping 9
testine had been placed. All thi
brmed a socket for the true head c
arrow. the bone merely giving tn
aft nroper weight. saw this muc