Wallowa chieftain. [volume] (Joseph, Union County, Or.) 1884-1909, 1902-01-23

heart that he was capable of holding
the reins.
Even Dorothy's lover hardly under
stood her. She had strange ideas OF
soul communion" that made the mat
ter-of-fact young man gasp; and she
had an uncanny knack Of demonstrate
ing the proof Of her beliefs by reading
his unspoken thoughts with an accu-
racy that. to less healthy, wholesome
young fellow. might have been embar-
RAISING. But withal she was so wom-
anly and tender, and her fancies so
pretty, that gradually he grew used to
them, and found himself often linger-
| ing over them and almost wishing they
| could be true.
! To one of these fancies he had readily
| yielded each evening both sat wher-
ever they might be in silence for a lit
! tie time and let their thoughts go out
/ freely to each other. Soul talks" ;"
/ Dorothy called them; and whatever
/ they We're. the result was that his love
/ for the girl grew more tender. and he
knew that in some subtle manner he
was coming to understand her better
and better each day. These times had
been ineXpressibly dear TO him of late.
They were his moments of absolute
rest from the worry of the strike, and
he always felt his brain refreshed, and
afterward was better able to cope with
his growing difficulties.
Tba ri,1Sa of -ha u-ac 10,
feverish. and night after night Shot
well had slept at the office fearing
some kind of an attack on the premises.
By the end of the week worry and lack
of sleep had told heavily upon him, and
as he sat smoking in the mysterious
shadows he determined that this must
be his last night alone; he would get a
watchman to aid him. His thoughts
grew vague and mixed; his pipe fell to
the floor and made him jump then his
eyes closed for a moment. opened slug,
gishly. dropped again and lie was fast
asleep.
With a start and fearful sense OF
oppression he awoke, struggling vii ,ly
in his chair-tried to cry out. and real
lied that he was tied down. A clotE
was wound tightly over his mouth
while the room was filed with subtle
sickly odor of chloroform. He heard 3
sneering laugh behind his chair. and
We'll, yer took purity good nap that
time. didn't yerT There was an an
swering growl from anoeher throat
a,J +Lo +u-O man ,.a mo roup1 q, f,c,,
both muftied in heavy coats. and pieces
of cloth covering the upper half of theil
. faces. One of them carried a small
black box somewhat gingerly to the
. desk and sat it down in front of Shot
= well. He turned a little brass key il
it and hidden machinery began to tick
! tack. tick-tack. like a clock. He twist
t ed the box around and Shotwell saw {
J small dial. with the hands pointing t.
} 9 80 o'clock. One of the men attached
one end of string to a lever on tn,
box. and with the greatest precautior
tied the other end to Arthur's left wrist
Now. see here. Mr.. Shotwell. you've go
: just forty-six minutes, and then tha
: thing goes off. and God have mercy OIL
your soul. If ye should want the thin;
TO go quicker just struggle hard. and 4
: We manage to pull either of then
strings well, guess it'll oblige ye."
Now, Bill. we've got no time t,
z waste. Here's the keys; you go for th'
safe and I'll fix the desk"
! Inside Of fifteen minutes ShotwelTt
e guests had gone, leaving little trace o
( their visit except faint odor of chloro
form, and that Strengthening blacl
. box, with its montonous tck-tack, tick
r tack.
: The whole thing had happened 81
] suddenly. and his brain was so heav,
r with the drug, that the men were gon,
before he fully realized the horror o
his position. AS it dawned on him h,
0 could not believe it was true; it wa
D some terrible nightmare. He strove t,
2 shake himself, but the tightening OF thr
s strings on his wrists and half jar il
{ the tones of that ceaseless tick-tacl
0 brought him back to his senses witt
V chill Of horror He glared terror
: stricken at the little clock that wa