Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-15
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I speed to the Stetson house to say xhat Maj.
| Pfggott was sinking fast and might not live
| till dawn. Stetsou, senior, had been at the
| hospital earlier in the day, anxious and as
| siduous. as became a near and affection
ate relative, and the doctors then looked
very grave, yet babe him hope. Stetson.
! junior, had been sent that morning ito
| spend few days with friends at farm"
| some dozen miles removed from the scenes
of recent turmoil and violence. where. add
| ed the fond parent, 1t seemed impossible
| for him to regain his accustomed strength.
The family physician CDR. Gilhooley Of the
| Flats had urged this step, though the son
| loudly and dutifully declared his intention
| Of standing by his father in all his troubles.
!, In view of later developments, however,
| these seemed but mock heroics. The mes
| senger found only servant at home, and
| one who knew not. she satd what had be-
come of Mr.. Stetson. He never left word
where he was going. The messenger had
| been told to bring Mr.. StetsOn back with
| him. The patient had been muttering In
his semi-delirious state. and had said some
things neither nurse nor doctor could quite
understand.
The messenger came back without his
man, only to be sent forth second time
with injunctions to find him without fail.
The doctor In charge also notified the dis
| trict attorney and certain officials at the
county Jail. 1t was suggested that possibly
| they should bring Capt. Fame to the suffer-
ers bedside. Thrice the sinking man had
spoken that young officers name The
the least hope of return to consciousness or
reason-whether the physicians considered
an ante-mortem statement possible-and be-
| fore the sheriff could be summoned again
an ante-mortem statement Of any deScrip-
ton became an in1possibility. Practically
alone. among strangers, the spirit OF the
friendless officer had taken Its flight. With
out having regained consciousness, Major
Piggott had passed away AS 1.-The Sena-
tor" doomed forth the hour Of twelve. Rom
aid Fame. separated in turn from his own
kith and kin. stood behind the bars ac-
cused of, if not yet officially arraigned for,
willful murder
But at twelve o'clock. though the streets
and saloons had been secured for Stetson,
the quest had been all in vain. 1t was
twelve and after-Iong after-when boat
slipped forth from shore to try the island.
The night was dark and cold. The wind
was moaning among the stark branches
overhead and whipping the foam from the
crest of the racing waves. In the shelter
Of the rocky cliffs there was but little sea.
Ten rods out from land, however. the boat
began to toss, and its owner. the German
boatman, to implore the others to turn
back. Stetson wouldn't be coming back
with them in such water If he was there,
said he, and Stetsons best boat was no
bigger nor stancher than this. But his
mate at the oar and the tillerman both
said Row on" That tilerman was the
envied of his craft before the dawning of
another day. He was the correspondent OF
a Chicago journal that was seldom left In
the race for news. He had volunteered for
this expedition with double object in
view.
Drenched with spray and well-nigh
swamped, they managed to make the boat
house on the northeast. the lee shore, OF the
island, and there. surely enough, was Stet-
sons little dinghy. in which he must have
sculled over early in the evening before the
rising of the gale. All about 1.-The Roost
was darkness Leaving the shivering boat
man at the shore the other two stumbled
up the winding pathway until they reached
ha x-ir1f zyUi inf
CROPPED their way to the black buildings be-
yond They were wet to the skin. chilled
to the marrow. and in no mood to miace
matters. Given Chicago news-gaiherer
who had been a college all-round athlete.
and a Groveton sophomore with zest for
advertising and the combination is not easy
to battle. No answer being vouchsafed to
vigorous battering on the door, accompanied
with Stentorian halls the journalist found
a f1ve-pound rock and declared his intention
of heaving it through window. This
brought somebody to the door of the de-
serted bar room and the Teutonic challenge,
"Wer dap
Call Stetson at once and say I've i'm
portant news for him.. said the leader
Open that door first and let US in. We're
frozen!"
"It's old Dummy. the Dutehman" bS9te
in the sophomore. disgustedly. They say
Stetson won't let him learn English, SOS to
keep him from blabbing. l believe he can
understand perfectly
Skip back and bring up that boatmaa.
He can interpret. Then there won't be any
excuse" and the journalist swore savagely
between his chattering teeth as the student
disappeared in the thick darkness He was
gone some minutes. 1t was hard work lug
ging that benumbed and dispirited Teuton
up the rocks. The promise of possible
schnapps at 1.-THE Reost'' failed to stimulate
Traeumer said he knew better Ste.so1
never left liquor on the island after the
close of the season for fear old Schwartz
II cat r1rvr1 Gr1. tI,4
place. He had fired it once last winter, and
his big Dutch wife was all that saved it,
But the sophomore pointed out that Stetson
was there, and where Stetson abode. even
temporarily. there was sure to be whisky.
They found the journalist nearly frozen,
and entirely exasperated. The custodian
had been deaf to either threat or olaadsh-
ment, and "StetSon NIGHT HER was all he
would say. 1t might be all that ne could
say. but the journalist didn't believe II.
Then Traeumer took a hand, and shouted
their ultimatum in furious low German. ard
still the sturdy guardian refused to unbar.
StetSon was not there. had not been there,
he declared. and he was forbidden, under
pain of losing his job. to admit any one 10
Joined in. and jabbered shrill protest AID
all the time the waves were beating loud en-
the stony beach. the wind was whistiing
through the swapping branches and scrae IN
| ing through knotholes in the rams1acKle
outbuildings. and every now and then as
sailing their ears with low. unearthly mos n
ings as OF dumb brute In agony. Or was
that the wind? There was something so
horribly uncanny about the sound, and
there was more sound of snappng-and the
situation was getting unbearable.
open, or I'll smash the doorr' shouted
the journalist. for the last time heaying
aioft rock as big as his head. Open or
I'll smash!' translated Traeumer, and then
something smashed Of its own accord
around the corner-around on the lee side
of 1.-The ROost"-and. cropping thither to re-
connoiter the sophomore found himself
choking and coughing in smoke dense as
| the darkness. pouring in volumes from a
cracked cellar window and driven by heat
like that of furnace. and the sopho-
more's voice went up in a yell that split
through the night like the warning shrek
of the siren: by -. it's all afire. and
from the depths within. the moaning OF
I some half-strangled sufferer changed to a
choking sitting cry: Help! Help! For
| - sake. helpr'
And then the journalist held his hand no
longer. Crash went the rock through zane
and screen, shivering the glazed panel TO
| fragments. and giving instant way for the
wind. Split and smash went another win