Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1904-03-24
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! could have reached this without
| trouble, but | desired to employ Brous-
sard. that | might know where he was
and prevent treachcry. For that
double purpose | reached up and
| grasped the SILL commanding him to
catch me about the knees and lift so
| might see out. This he did. While in
| that position he made Il pretense of
| shifting his hold, and something inn
| PEELED me to glance downward at him.
\ He WAS stealthily drawing Il knife from
his bosom threw all my weight back
| upon him, casting the twain of US to-
| scther To the floor. Meantime he had
| the knife full drawn, in his left hand
held at my breast.
| ! graprled With him, holding his left
hand in my right, and With the free
nand clutchcd him by the throat. bury
ing my thumb deep in his wind pipe.
| Instinctvely he raised both hands to
protect his throat, and then We strug-
| eled 10 our feet He made futile eff
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, circlng it With an unyielding
collar of steel. Desperately as Gagged
rat might fight he squirmed and
lNiSttl IN my grasp. IO ITO sisali.
Iigerish now. as though held
rabid dog, | thrust him back against
the wall, and there rigidly held him
| fast In merciess silence / listened to
the precious breath gurgling from his
body: n reddish froth gathered at the
lips. l could feel his hot blood surge
and beat against my thumb under that
stood in clammy clusters upon his
forehead, his head thrown back, the
eyes turned towards the ceiling no
longer pleaded into mine. sickencd
almost at sight of the tongue swelling
black, which seemed to consume all
the fleeing color from lips and face.
| Oh. God, how he struggled. His hands
| closed over mine as bars of steel to
| tear them from his throat.
| Even in our mortal strife l marked
4 the eternal harmony of the scene.
| Truly death never had stage more
| fitting Whereon to play its last stern
| drama of dissolution Hemmed in by
| four massive wallis of granite, CHASTITY
grim and desolately gray, we wrestled
In It Sitting stiffness, while hell stood
umpire at the game. No sound of
| trumpet, no warlike cry, no strains of
martial music We're there to thrill the
nerves and taunt men on TO glory.
| We fought to the scrape and scratch
of shufiling feet, the labored gasp, the
| in silence and in fright.
He grew more quiet. his muscles
| stiifcned and relaXed-he was no long
er conscious. A few more convulsive
| auivers as a serpent might wilthe and
| jerk. then he hung, a limp dead
Thing, i'm my hands. My outstretched
arms seemed made as Il gibbet, feeling
20 Fatigue so lightly did they sustain
llin. Cords of brass could be no more
tensc than mine; his weight was as
nothing. Softly l eased MN down, and
| composed his limbs in decent order
| hpon the stones
Then rose, and gazed complacently
ht my work. Yes, it WAS we'll done, eX-
| tcilently done. I'm fact. The most eX-
| pert stsanger of the Choctows could
| have done no better. Those purpling
| lines about the throat. those darker
| spots where my thumbs had left their
signs. could not have been more intelli-
gently placed. L smiled my satisfac-
ton at the job, then-then--my own
overstrung nerves gave way, and
fell unconscious across the corpse of
my hands creation.
When | came to myself l was weep
Ing. weeping as Il child might weep.
| over the dead, distorted face of him
had loved. How long this lasted had
no means of knowing. lincompromis-
ing necessity forced me To action; for
badc me time to dream
The body being in my Way where it
ay-for proposed now to work in
earnest at the window moved it
t.nderly as possible across the floor
and stretched him out near the door
sill. Sprinsing up then 1 attacked the
bars AT the window. Hours and hours
l labored. iinpelled to greater effort by
the dread of spending another night in
that room of murder. l was patient,
too, patient with the cunning of 4
maniac.
The dagger made my chisel, my
| sword. wrapped in a cloth to muftle the
strokes, furnished me u maui Full
half the day was before me. This rough
paving stones below held out the hope
OF escape or death. How to reach the
street after the bars We're removed,
did not suffer myself to consider.
should go mad If | lay idle. l leaned
as far out of the window as the
grating woul'k.allow, and observed u
guard standing in plain view at the
corner III WAS Very evident the Pro-
vost of Paris had taken possession of
the house. and there was little use in
my trying to make Il way out the door.
1 bitterly resented the intrusion of
every passenger along the street, and
scanned With hatred the few who came.
For while they remained in hearing |
Was Obliged TO cease my chipping at
the masonry and 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 worked, had the gratitica-
ton of finding Il bar give way i'm my
hands. and found l could take it out.
Removing this bar 1t gave be a pow
erful leverage on the others, and by
eNerting all my strength, succeeded in
bending the two on either side to such
a degree i could force my body be-
tween
While thus engaged. my eyes We're
ever fixed anNiously upon the street,
in the hope that Jerome might pursue
would catch sight of him. The pass
ers-by We're few indeed, but somehow
it struck me that the same persons
passed several times, and in something
like regular order A patrol of Jel'-
ONES? My heart bounded at the
thought l watched more carefully;
yes. it 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 Nonder Was jerome.
was quite at a loss how to attract
his attention; feared to YELL lest that
give notice to the sentry. | took
spur from my heel and dropped it di-
rectly in front of him; knew he would
recognize it, for it was his own, loaned
to me for my NOR fashionable appear
ance. He head The jingle and glanced
around. His hat blew off as if by ac-
cident and fell near the spur. In stoop-
ing to pick il up, the spur also found it's
Way into his hand beneath the hat. He
was truly Il qulck-witted gentleman,
and | forgave him from my heart ali
hi a