Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1904-01-15
ruApTER XII.-(Coutinued.)

A. En AAA NSontiuuCAJ
u was about midnight, and the moo
!. tho east was strong enough to show
III tbe paths through the forest.
T. was at this time that the strange
ID wonderful scene was occurring in
s.ont Of the old mill, and during which
Nara Warner fell into the power of her
.S.t;me foe, the man most hateful to
Wv on earth-the mad-house doctor.
As he left the house the Captain cast
.overal glances over his shoulder in or
~, 10 make sure that he was not fol-
,'wed. The very fact of his doing this
,ould seem to indicate that he was
honnd upon some errand that would not
hear inspection.
Once among the trees he made his way
,,pidly to a point where the shadows lay
donsest. and there upon the ground lay
the form of a man. silent and motion
les. 1t was the mysterious foreigner.
The Captain had proven too much for
oven the keen detective, and his manner
At convincing the man-hunter of the mis-
take he had made had been a forcible one.
In the struggle, and before Captain
Grant had struck q favorable spot with
his knife. the detective. whom he held
under his knee. having knocked him fat
with a sudden and terrible blow, caught
two Of the fingers of his gloved hand be-
tween his teeth, and almost bit them off
at a point below the end joint.
The murdered man lay just where he
had fallen, and realizing this, the Cap7
tain vanished among the trees. returning
in less than ten minutes, leading a horse
already equipped, which he had secreted
in the forest to have ready in case of an
emergency, for he was one of those men
who always make sure Of a way to re-
treat before proceeding any depth into
their schemes.
Presently he was mounted upon the
horse with the body Of the foreign de-
tective in front of him. and held in such
a manner that it looked like a comrade
asleep, with his head hanging Upon his
breast.
He kept in the dsnsest portion Of the
forest, for he did not care to be seen by
any one, though the chances Of such an
event at this hour would have been poor
enough even upon the public highway, for
the negroes were of too superstitious a
nature to think of wandering about the
country when ghosts and COLLINS were
supposed to be abroad.
Because of his taking such a round
about way, instead Of going direct, he
was a much longer time in reaching the
old mill than Roger had been when carry
ing Carol there, earlier in the night.
Strange how his mind should have also
turned to this quarter as a place of hid
ing. Surely there must have been some
thing more than change in it all.
When he found himself in the immedi-
ate neighborhood of the haunted mill,
Captain Grant brought his horse to a sud-
den halt, and placed his dead charge up
on the ground. Then, securing his horse,
he raised the limp form Of the murdered
detective in his arms, and, by the exer,
ton of tremendous strength, bore it on.
de disappeared inside the old mill,
There was q large chimney at n side
OF the mill, and. for some purpose or
other, a hole had been made in this. The
bricks lying upon the floor close by.
1t required a herculean strength ia
raise the dead detective to this opening,
but as he was not a man Of over a hun
dred and thirty pounds in weight. the
Captain succeeded in accomplishing it,
As he let 90 his hold he heard the body
fall with a thump to the floor. Then all
was quiet.
He made no change, not even touch
ing one Of the bricks upon the floor, for
though it had at first been his intention
to brick up the orifice in the chimney, up
on second thought he realized it was
wiser to leave things just as they were
Tor fear of exciting suspicious.
As, he turned to leave he either saw,
or fancied he did, the head of a nan out
lined in one Of the windows against the
light background.
The idea gave him such a start that he
fell over a piece of old machinery Thai
lay rusting upon the floor. This was the
racket that had reached the ears OF
Carol and the widow.
As soon as he could recover he ded
hastily from the mill, turning once to
look back, and then plunging in among
the trees like a hunted stag.
Had there been a witness to the horrid
burial? He shuddered at the thought,
found it impossible to decide whether
1t had been real or a specter Of his i'm
agination.