Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-05-27
The Hand of Ice
TRANSCRIBED BY FLORENCE WARDEN,
Author OF The House the
oy the Shore "A Prince of Darkness"
Copyrighted. lsoA By Florence w.rdea.,

WOulu CAuS6 d new vlUdHLY 10 HOW DdCk
through tbs system. can't remem-
Der tho words be used, but they were
borrowed chiefly from Psrcelsus, I
think, and ho tried to prove TO me that
his elixi1, administered when the exist
ing vital forces were ot their lowest
ebb, would not only impart new and
artificial vitality much stronger than
the natural ono. but would prevent the
natural decay Of the body. il not for
ever. at least for a considerable period.
There were other ingredients in this
elixir, but they were harmless and of
less consequence.
Although, as say, did not quite
believe him to be in earnest, I recog-
nized that his mind was tottering, and
proposed the voyage out here to give
his mind the needed rest. Unfortu-
nately, he brought his precious notes
with him, and, still more unfortunate
ly, he became interested in you, Blair,
| and conceived the notion that you were
q promising subject for his awful ex-
pertinent"
why didn't you tell me, warn me?"
burst out.
Because didn't know of it till he
had made his first attack upon you,
with the purpose. as believe, of re-
ducing you to the last gasp by strangu-
| lation, and then administering the
dose which would most certainly have
done for you altogether. Even when it
was done, I only knew it by inference;
for, with the cunning of the insane,
he left the stateroom while was
asleep, and when rushed out on hear
ing shot, he managed to elude me,
and found, on my return, that he was
sitting up in his berth, as if half
awake. But when I discovered him to
have been shot and slightly wounded,
he confessed on being taxed by me,
and then he argued the matter out with
me-"
II heard him! overheard him and
you talking!" Iput in hreathlessly.
"He tried to make me SEQ with his
own eyes, and begged me to let him
save you, as he called it, while tried to
| persuade him of his mad folly"
"You ought to have put me on my
guard" said !.
But Dick shook his head
"Hs oatwittad me again." said be,
"by pretending to let me convince him.
And began to hope he was cured. But
the anxiety felt about him and about
you. too. klnir. nearly threw me into o
fever"
"Why, then. that accounts for your
melancholy. your sour looks" cried I
aghast-
Dick nodded.
'.Then he prescribed medicine for
| you, which luckily changed before
you tried it, and discovered to be this
deadly elixir itself I wanted to get
him away from you, and at Cape Town
1 succeeded. l was alarmed by the
way he kept talking about you and the
possibility of curing you. Then when
you were off breathed again. But he
presently grew restless and started up
country without me, and had to fol-
low in pursuit"
"Oh!" cried I, In amazement.
HE avoided me. l had to make a
sort of confidant Of your servant, Tom,
Then you know what happened, and
how found you and brought you here
and shut you up"
Surely it was time to have told me
then!"
II believe the knowledge would have
killed you outright" said Dick. ~
thought it better to nurse you up and
to send you back to Cape Town with
the Atkinsons. Then would have
taken my poor old uncle back with
me and have him put into proper care
and tried to restore him to his old self.
But fear all care would have been
thrown away. Ishould have had more
hope ii he hadn't been so perfectly sane
ON all points but that one"
shuddered, hardly able yet to real
ize the truth of the strange story. But,
looking back under the influence of
this new light, now began to remem-
Der little things which I had not no
ticed before which confirmed Dicks
story. And in few minutes just gave
him my hand without any words, but
with q look which told him, think,
that was COZ scious' how much owed
to his steadfast devotion.
AS for old Atkinson, when he got
over his first stupefaction he fairly
cried Like a woman. And 1t cost us very
little trouble when we all got back to
Cape Town, after reverenly burying
the poor old man, whose heart was as
noble and pure as his, mind was dis
eased, to persuade the father that he
could not find q better husband for his
lovely daughter than the manwho had
proved good nephew and a devoted
friend.
AS for Jennie, she could not look at
Dick Mulion without tears in her eyes.
He had never told her his secret, but.
with woman's imagination, she had
latterly guessed something, and she
was the only one of US who eceived the
intelligence he had to give without sur
prise.
Young Mullion felt some compunc-
ton about accepting the money which
came to him 1T his uncle's death, but we
argued his scrup,es away, since DR..
Mullion's insanity had certainly notex-
tended to the conduct Of his own IT.
fairs.
came back to England in the same
boat with them, and, though I don't
know that they We're particularly fond
Of me, the events which had happened
in Africa had so brought us together
that l was allowed to be Diols'S best
man n the we 6IipC