Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1904-02-11

SldII lOI dIu lHSIlHCJlNely Win OUT
stretched hands to stay the descending
knife; and for the next few seconds
the picture SO formed remained on my
retina like a tabeau vivant, in which,
as if Times pendulum had suddenly
stopped, we see action frozen in mo-
ment's space into inaction, life caught
and fixed in an instant to still life.
Then, as the picture thus imprinted on
the retina lifted rigidly and edged
anglewise away until it swan and dis
solved out of ken in an upper corner
of the shed, | seemed to see the sue
ceeding and inclosing darkness writh-
ing around me like the coils of two
huge wrestling and INTERVIEWING black
snakes; | heard the scutile OF feet as
the two combatants swayed backward
and forward on the floor; there was a
cry, the Jhud of falling body; and
the next instant some one struck a
match.
The picture that presented itself was
exactly like that | have seen in melO-
dramas, when the curtain, which has
fallen upon some tragic situation, lifts
for moment to allow the spectators
another glimpse of the ghastly sight.
Number Two-his tie and collar torn
open and hanging loose-was leaning
back white-faced and painting against
the door looking almost stupidity at
gaping cut across the palm of his right
hand. The Others were bending over
Number Five. who lay on his back
upon the floor. his features twitching
and working horribly, while his nerve
less hands fumbled at the handle of
knife which was buried up to the hilt
in his throat
| have said that the whole scene re-
minded me of a curtain" from
transporting melodrama, and the
stageness of the situation was sus-
tanned by the subsequent Introduction
OF the inevitable comic relief"
The man who held the match was
bending over the body on the floor,
and the other conspirators had natu-
rally drawn as close to him as posi-
bic, in their eageTness to see what had
happened or to render help. Sudden
ly the man who was holding the match
dropped it with yell.
Damn your clumsy, dumping feet!"
he roared, as he stumped backward
and forward whistling with pain.
Here am | with an ingrowing nail
that has given me hell and Old Harry
for weeks, and you must needs go set
your hobnail hoof upon it."
Beg pardon I'm sure" answered
voice from the darkness.
Beg pardon be damned" came the
reply "A mans no right to bring feet
like those among gentlemen. They're
only fit to hire out, instead of steam
rollers, to crush stones on a country
road"
In the meantime another match had
been struck, and the man with the in
growing nail found another grievance.
BE damned if he amt standing on
the candle with 'em now," he grum-
bled. Here, move 'em, will you, if
you can do it without knocking any
body down. You'll kill some one be-
fore you've done, if we cont have a
light | feel like a black beetle on
kitchen floor, do when you're walk
ing about with those boots on"
as he hurt?" asked some one, when
tho candle had been rescued and re-
lit, and attention was once more turned
to the PROSTATE man upon the floor
"No, he amt hurt; he's only dead,
that's what he is" said the fellow with
the ingrowing nail, whose uumber on
the council | subsequently discovered
was Number Six. 1T would take a
pOWe. o hurting to trouble a man
who's wearing a necktie like that.
You might as well talk of hurting a
skewered chicken"
Gentlemen" said Number Two,
you are my witnesses that | struck
in self-defense. 1t was he who drew
steel on me, not | on him. Besides,
even if this hadn't happened, The necks
of none of us would have been safe ii
he had been allowed to leave this place
alive tonight. How he did it | don't
know, but there's no question but that
it was he who changed the ball that
| had prepared for Jubilee day. | saw
him with my own eyes sitting in the
building exactly opposite And what
would have been easier for l;lan who
knew our plans, and had the run of
the building opposite, than to play
tricks with the other end of tha festoon
upon which the ball was hung? No
doubt, after l had fixed the bomb and
gone away, he managed to laSso it in
some fashion and then haul /: up and
change it. II you remember invited
him to assist me in carrying out the
project, But he was too clever for
that. He knew that if anything went
wrong L should naturally suspect him
(and, in fact, | was inclined at first to
suspect Number Seven, who assisted
me) and so. after this fellow had ac-
quainted himself with my proposed
plan, he goes and installs himself in
the building that faced my headquar-
ters, so that he can spoil the game
without incurring suspicion. 1t was
very prettily planned, and, no doubt,
If we knew the truth the poor man
who went to his account over that at
tempt on Lord Cranthorpe was vic