Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-03-30

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Horner and Smith had started at the
mention of the Crossroads, but they
subdued their calculations. while Mr..
Barrett looked as If he had known it.
of course. The room was still, save
for the dim voice and the soft tran
scribings of the stylographic pen.
Il left Judge Briscoe's and went west
on The pike to a big tree 1t rained,
and | stepped under the tree for shell
ter. There was a man on the other
side Of the fence-Bob Skillet. He
was carrying his gown and hood
suppose ii was that-on his arm. Then
| saw two others a little farther east
in the middle of the road. l think
they had followed me from the Bris-
Goes or near there. They had their
foolish regalia on, as all the others
had. There was plenty of lightning
ply standing. there in the rain looking
at me through the eyeholes in their
masks. | knew there were others
p~lenty-but thought they were COM
ing from behind me-the west.
II wanted to get home the court
house yard was good enough for me-
SO / started east toward town. I pass
ed the two gentlemen. and one fell
down as l went by him, but the other
fired a shot as a signal, and l got his
hood off his face for Ii. l stopped
long enougil, and it was Force John
son. | know him well. Then / ran,
and they followed. A little ahead Of
me l saw six or eight of them spread
across the road. I knew I'd have a
time getting, through, so I jumped the
fence to cu,. across the fields. l lit in
a swarm of them. 1t had rained them
just where l jumped. l set my back
to the fence. but one OF the fellows in
the road leaned over and smashed my
head in, rather-with the butt of a
gun, I believe. I came out from the
fence, and they made Il little circle
around me. No said anything. l
saw they had ropes and saplings, and
/ didn't want that exactly. so | went
III " Nictu. j EON al EOoo many ulSh
Off before it was over. and | can swear
to quite a number besides those told
you"
He named the men slowly and care
fully. Then he went on: II think they
gave up the notion of whipping. We
all got into a bunch, and they couldn't
get clear to shoot without hitting some
Of their own, and there was a lot OF
gougine AMI kicking. One fellow near
ly got my left eye, and l tried to tear
him apart, and he screamed a good
deal. Once OF twice ] thought might
get away, but somebody hammered me
over the head and face again, and | got
dizzy. and then they all jumped away
from me suddenly, and Bob Skillet
stepped UP and-and shot me. He
waited for q furry Of lightning, and l
was slow tumbling down. Some one
else fired a shotgun, l think, l can't be
sure, about the same time from the
side. l tried to get up, but ! couldn't,
and then they got together for q Col
%sultation. The man / had hurt-I didn't
recognize him-came and looked at me.
He was nursing himself all oyer and
groaned. and l laughed, / think; at any
rate my arm was lying stretched out
ON the grass, and he stamped his heel
into my hand, and af.er a little of that
l quit feeling.
I'm not quite clear about what hap
pened afterward. They went away
not far, l think. There's an old shed, a
cattle shelter, near there, and l think
the storm drove them under it to wait
for a slack. 1t seemed a long time.
Sometimes / was conscious, sometimes
I wasn't. l thought l might be
drowned, but l suppose the rain was
good for ne. Then / remember being in
motion, being dragged and carried a
long way. They carried me up a steep,
short slope and set me down near the
top. / knew that was the railroad em-
bankment and thought they meant to
lay me across the track, but 1t didn't
occur to them-they are not familiar
with melolrama-and a long time after
that I fell. and heard a great banging
and rafting under me and all about
me, and it came to mt that they had
disposed Of me by hosting me into an
empty freight car. The odd part Of it
was that the car wasn't empty, for
there were two men already in it, and
l knew them by what they said to me-.
"They were the two shell men that !
cheated Hartley Bowlder, and they
weren't vindictive. They even seemed
to be trying to help me u little, though
perhaps they Were only stealing my
clothes, and maybe they thought for
them to do anything unpleasant would
be superfluous. l could see that they
thought ! was done for and that they
had been hiding in the car when | was
put there. l asked them to try to call
the trainInen for me, but they wouldn't
listen or else l couldn't make myself IN
derstood. That's all. The rest is a blur.
I haven. known anything more until
those surgeons were here. Please tell
how long ago 1t happened. ! shall
not die, l think. There are a good many
things ! want to know about" He
moved restlessly, and the nurse soothed
him.
Meredith rose and left the room with
q noiseless step. He went out to the
stars again and looked to them to check
tho ctcr,p ne r. a oa and lnrrou fhat h,,f-