Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1906-12-28

you bread ana water three times a
day. mud at night you shall have a
mattress to rest n Three days hence
I shall appear again. There Is no hur-
~ about this thing. After my next
appearance the price Of yow liberty
VIII be added to at the rate Of f1OO per
day. You can afford to pay, and / can
afford to wait"
It was 2 o'clock IN the afternoon
when the Hon. Charles Bingham was
left alone In the garnet room. He did
not waste his energies by crying out
or tramplng round. He did not look up
at the skylight except at long intervals.
The American was no fool. He had
taken his precautions before bringing
q prisoner 70 the house. At O O'Clock
the man Thomas came in. One look
at him was sufficient to prove that be
was loyal to his master. He had a
frank and honest face, but he also had
a keen eye and was stoutly built. He
brought bread and water. He was re-
spectful In his demeanor.
Sorry for your poor fare, your hon
or" he observed, but It only depends
on you to get better. The evening pa
pers may help you on a bit. III bring
IN the mattress later. Also a candle"
"a faithful servant Is a Jewel OF rare
value" replied the captive as he ate
and drank and seemed very much at
home.
Later on the mattress and a light
were brought in, but not another word
was spoken. The Hon. Charles was
not a man who jumped at conclu-
sions. That 5000 could be paid with
out feeling the loss, but he wanted to
think things over a bit. Was he worth
the ransom money to himself or the
public? Was the American prepared
to proceed to extremities In case he
did not get his money! The Hon.
Charles held that the London detective
was the shATpest man on earth. The
great nan would be missed and Il hue
and cry raised. Would the sleuths
strike the trail and follow 1t up7
The o was rather warm that
night, It being summer, but the cap
tive managed to put In a very comfort
able night. He was up and ready to
bow to Thomas when the bread and
water and morning papers were
brought In, and he was IN fairly good
spirits at the end Of the third day,
when the explorer called for his on
swer. 1t was net ready for him. On
the contrary, the captive pleasantly
observed
You see, my dear SIR, this expert
nee is so unusual with me that l must
havo a little more time to think It over,
At the end OF another three days 1
shall doubtless be prepared to give you
a definite answer"
He was told that the three days
would add 600 to his ransom, but
there was no argument over that. His
captor retired, the same food and old
mattress were brought in, and as the
evening grew old the prisoner stretch
ed out for a rest. He was falling
asleep when he heard the skyilght soft
y raised. Then no caught sight Of a
head and heard a voice asking:
"Is there anybody down there2"
"Only me-" answered the honorable
as he realized that the voice belonged
to a young girl.
Are you rich or poor, old or youngT"
II am fairly rich, and l am q nan
seventy years old"
"That won't do" said the girl. II
am an orphan, living with my aunt
in this row ten doors below. If l I'M
to rescue anybody, he must be young
and rich and ready to marry me, the
same as Il Is in the books. I'm sorry
for you, but l must say good night"
but hold on a minute" called the
captive. II can't turn myself into a
young man, but I can give some nice
young man money to marry you on.
That win amount to the same thing,
won't III"
"Why yes; 1 suppose SO. win you
give f5T'
"Yes-a hundred"
Tho girl ran away without another
word, but fifteen minutes later she
dropped a rope down the opening, with
one end made fast to a chimney, and
the captive soon stood beside her. He
found her a girl of only thirteen, but
he lowered her literally. He did not
go to the police, but straight home.
He did not seek the arrest Of the X
plorer, but wrote him a polite note to
say that, owing to unforeseen circum-
stances, 1t would be impossible to
make any further appointments with
him regarding the Nile relies.