Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1904-03-26

1 could have reached this without
trouble, but I desired to employ Brous-
sard, hat I might know where he was
and prevent treachery. For h a
double purpose I reached up and
grasped the sill. commanding him TO
catch me about the knees and lift so l
might see out. This he did. While In
that position he made a p~retense or
shifting his hold, and something I'M
PEELED me To glance downward at him.
He vas stealthiiy drawing a knife from
his bosom. 1 threw all my weight back
upon him, casting the twain or us To-
gether to the floor. Meantime he mad
the knife full drawn, n his left hand
held at my breast.
l grappled with him, holding his left
hand in my right, and with n free
hand clutched him by the throat, bury-
ing my thumb deep In his wind pipe.
Instinctively he raised both hands TO
protect his throat, n then we strug-
gled to our feet. He made futile Ell
forts to strike me with the knife, but
his strength deserted him with his
wind. The blade dropped gathering on
the floor. My other hand closed about
his neck. circling 1t with an unyielding
collar Of steel. Desperately as a Gagged
rat might tight he squirmed and
twisted in my grasp. To no avail.
TigeTish now, as though l held a
rabid dog, l thrust him back against
the wall, and there rigidly held him
fast. InJmerciless silence l listened 10
the precious breath gurgling from MS
body: a reddish froth gathered at the
lips. l could feel his hot blood surge
and beat against my thumb under that
deadly pressure. The cold sweat
stood I n clammy clusters upon his
forehead; his head thrown back, the
eyes turned towards the ceiling no
longer pleaded into mine. l sickened
almost at sight of the tongue swelling
black, which seemed to consume all
the fleeing color from lips and race.
oh, God, how he struggled! His hands
closed over mine as bars or steel 10
tear them from his throat.
Even in our mortal strife 1 marked
the eternal harmony OF the scene.
Truly death never had stage more
ftting wherein to play Its last stern
drama OF dissolution. Hemmed In by
four massive walls Of granite, CHASTITY
g-im and desolately a we wrestled
in q stihing stiffness, while hell stood
umpire at the game. No sound or
trumpet, no warlike cry, no strains Of
martial music were there to thrill the
nerves and taunt men on to glory.
We fought to the scrape and scratch
OF shutting feet, the labored gasp, the
rattle in the throat, while echo hushed
in silence and in fright.
He grew more quiet, his muscles
stifened and relaXed-he was no long
@. conscious. A few more conyulslVe
uuivers, as n serpent might writhe and
Jerk, then he hung, a limp dead
thing, In my hands. My outstretched
arms seemed made as q gibbet, feeling
no fatigue, so lightly did they sustain
him. Cords of brass could be no more
tense than mine; his weight was as
nothing. Softly I eased MN down, and
composed his limbs in decent order
upon the stones.
Then l rose, and gazed complacently
at my work. Yes, It was we'll done, ex-
ccllently done, in fact. The most eX-
pert stranger of the Choctows could
have done no better. Those purpllng
lines about the throat, those darker
spots where my thumbs had left their
signs, could not ave been more intelli-
gently placed. l smiled my satisfac-
ton at the job, then-then-my own
ovcrstrung nerves gave way, and l
fell unconscious across n corpse OF
my hands creation.
When | came to myself ! was weep
ing, weeping as a child might weep,
over the dead, distorted face OF him l
had loved. How long this lasted had
no means of knowing. Uncompromis-
ing necessity forced me to action; for
bade me time to dream.
The body being in my way where 1t
ay-for / proposed now to work in
earnest at the window moved 1t
tenderly as possible across the floor
and stretched him out near the door
sill. Springing up then l attacked the
bars at the window. Hours and hours
| labored, impelled to greater effort by
the dread Of spending another night in
that room of murder. | was patient
too, patient with the cunning OF a
maniac.
The dagger made my chisel; my
sword, wrapped in a cloth to muffie the
strokes, furnished me a maui. Full
half the day was before me. The rough
paving stones below held out the hope
of escape or death. How to reach the
street after the bars were removed, l
did not suffer myself to consider. /
should go mad if l lay idle. / leaned
as far out Of the n d as the
grating would allow, and observed a
guard standing in plain view at the
corner. 1t was very evident the Pro-
vost of Paris had taken possession Of
the house, and there was little use In
my trying to make a way out the door.
bitterly resented the intrusion Of
every passenger along the street, and
scanned with hatred the few who came.
For while they remained In hearing l
was obliged to cease my chipping at
the masonry II leaden cement which
held my freedom. l bided my time, and
long before the shadow OF the house
across the way had climbed to the win
dow where L worked, had the gratiica-
ton Of finding a bar give way in my
hands, and found l could take 1t out.
Removing this bar, 1t gave be a pow
crful leverage on the others, and by
exerting all my strength, succeeded in
bending the two on either side to such
q degree l could force my body be-
tween.
While thus engaged, my eyes were
ever fixed a~nXiously upon the street,
in the hope that Jerome might pursue
his plan Of watching the house, and 1
would catch sight of him. The pass
ers-by were few indeed, u somehow
it struck me that the same persons
passed several times, and in something
like regular order. A patrol Of Jer-
ONES? My heart bounded at The
thought. l watched more carefully;
yes. II was true. / counted five differ
ent persons; some walked fast, some
walked slow, but all looked about them
and inspected the house with more
than an ordinary place. And, no.. l
was not mistaken, that simple-looking
countryman yonder was Jerome.
| was quite at a loss how TO attract
his attention; l feared to yell, lest that
give notice TO the sentry. l o o a
spur from my heel and dropped 1t di-
rectly In front of him; i knew he would
recognize it, for il was his own loaned
TO me for my more fashionable appear
ance. He head the jingle and glanced
around. His hat blew off as If by ac-
cident and fell rear the spur. In stoop-
ing to pick 1t up, the spur also found it's
way into his hand beneath the hat. He
was truly a quick-witted gentleman,
and l forgave him from my heart all
his chaff in the matter Of teaching me
1t took him not a great
while to comprehend, and taking note
of the situation OF my window, he
sauntered off. Thence forward only
three men passed by the house, at much