The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1906-10-11

Come. Enough to take me to Lon
don. Then l will wait"
"You will wait, my friend! 1t II
true. You will wait, and you will wait
long. You come to me and you think
shall be afraid. That amuses me.
Well, you shall stretch your legs"
"Prends garde!" said the other.
"Prends garde! l may be dangerous"
Dangerous? Go! Canaiile! Co."
The listeners to this extraordinary
dialogue heard crunching sound as
IL man had swung round upon his
heel, and almost at the same moment
there rose on the night air an appall-
ing shrek, and the sound Of heavy
fall followed. Then came the sound OF
three or four blows, each accompanied
by husky painting expulsion of the
breath.
The tragic conclusion of the drama
befell with such an astonishing and
unexpected swiftness that Truscott
had no time to cry out before the
thing was done, but now he raised his
voice in a stentoran call Of Murder!
Help here! Help" Almost at his
first cry voices sounded in answer,
and the noise of racing feet came from
either end Of the lane. Truscott, cry
ing to his wife, Run home dear" and
racing as II for dear life toward the
gate at the foot of the grounds, CROPPED
in his waistcoat pocket for police
whistle he commonly carried there
and sounded shrill peal again and
again. The moon was high above the
treetops by this time, and the May
night was nigh as clear as day.
There was a mans body lying in the
road with the face staring up at the
sky and the hands cast abroad. There
was no sign about the body, neither
breath nor pulse. The village was but
little place, and in few moments
nearly all the inhabitants were on the
scene-private residents, Inrson, doc
tor, coachmen, gardeners, laborers.
with a small crowd of frightened
women budding behind them.
The doctors verdict was given after
moments examination. "All over
here!"
Sane men unshipped a gate, lifted
the body on to it. and bore it to the
local inn. The figure was that Of a
wellnurtured, bulky man of middle
age. He was well dressed he carried
gold watch and wore several finger
rings which looked as if they might be
of value There was a pocket-book
containing a small wad of banknotes,
which from their condition appeared
to have been handled on the race
course. There were a few loose gold
and silver coins in the trousers peck
ct, but there was no scrap of writing
by which the stranger might have
been identified.
Truscott, who had been the first to
raise the alarm, came under the exam
ination of the local constable. He had
hear voices of two men quarreling.
They spoke in French, language he
read Familiarity but did not easily I'M
derstand when spoken rapidly. One
man had demanded Of the other, with
menaces, money enough to carry him
back to London. The other refused
contemptuously, and the deed fol-
lowed.
Men with dogs and carrying Ian
terms with which to exploit the OBJ
scurer shadows, spread themselves in
all directions, halloaing to each other
The whole country was alive. The
neighboring police were warned by
telephone. The railway people were
advised, and kept a keen lookout. The
search went on for half the night, but
nothing came Of it. The searchers
returned by twos and threes, and. ling
cred in groups to talk the thing over.
There was no possibility of the escape
of the assailant. That was a point
upon which everybody was agreed.
But the Sunday went by, and the Mon
day and the Tuesday, and there was
no news. The inquest was held in
due course on the body Of a man I'M
known, and a verdict of wilful MUIR
der was returned against some per-
son unknown, and there the matter
ended in q blank darkness which was
never pierced.
a.