Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1909-12-10

cous power of by-gone daye:

IF / had known hat | was eating
his b-b-bread, it would have choked
me! Send him to mel Where is hep
Il am here" said David. quietly en-
tering the door. Il am here to throw
myself on your mercy and to beg you,
for the love of God, to forgive me-"
AS he heard the familiar voice, the
beggar trembled. He made one last
supreme effort to look out of his dark
ened eyes. An expression of desrair-
ing agony followed the attempt, a"1
then, with both his great bony hands.
he clutched at the throat of his night
robe as If choking for breath, tore it
open and reaching down into his
bosom felt for some concealed object.
He found it at last, grasped it and
drew it forth. 1t was a shining blade
/ of steel.
Mantel sprang to take it from his
hand; but David pushed him back and
said calmly: Let him alone"
Yes, let me Alone cried the biind
man, trembling in every limb. and
crawling slowly and painfully from the
bed.
The movements of the dying man
were too slow and weak to convey any
adequate expression of the tempest
sN.tD 40 40 s1c'i. IL q III }
that a tragedy was really being enact
ed, and that this poor TREMBLING crea-
ture was thirsting for the life-r'@oN of
a mortal foe.
David did not seek to escape. He
did not even shudder. There was a
singular expression of repose on his
features, for in his desperation he So
laced himself by the reflection that he
for n sin whose Dtnnnronrt had hanNv,a
was about to render flnal satisfaction
otherwise impossible. He therefore
folded his arms across his breast and
stood waiting.
The contorted face of the furious
beggar afforded a terrible contrast to
the tranquil co~untenance of the peni-
tent and unresisting object of his ha-
tired. The Opaque flesh seemed to have
become transparent, and through it
glowed the maleful light of hatred and
revenge. The lips were drawn back
from the white teeth, above which the
great moustache bristles savagely. h
lids were lifted from the hollow and
expressionless eyes. Balancing him
self for an instant he moved forward;
but the emaciated limbs tottered I'M
der the weight of the body. He reeled,
caught himself, then reeled once more,
and lunged forward in the direction
from which he had heard the voice of
his enemy.
Again Mantel strove to intercept
him, and again David forced
Uncertain as to the exact location of
the object Of his hatred, he raised his
knife and struck at random; but the
blow spent itself in air. The futility
and helplessness of his efforts crazed
him.
Where are you? G-g-give me some
sfgn!" he cried.
II am here" said David, in a voice
whose preternatural calmness sent a
shudder to the heart Of his friend.
With n supreme and final effort, the
dying man lurched forward and threw
himself wildly toward the sound. His
hand, brandishing the dagger, was up
lifted and seemed about to descend on
his foe; but at that very instant, with
a frightful imprecation upon his lips,
the gigantic form collapsed. the knife
dropped from the hand, and he plung-
ed, a corpse, into the arms of his in
tended victim.
David received the dead weight upon
the bosom at which the dagger had
been aimed. and the first expression of
his 1dCe lnulCdleu d CeTIdlH
ment that a single blow had not been
permitted to end his troubles. as we'll
as terror at an event so appalling. He
porting the awful burden. and then,
overpowered with the horror of the sit
uation, cried out:
Take him. Mantel. take him! Help
me to lay him down! Quick, I cannot
stand it; quick!"
They laid the ~lifeless form on the
bed, while the little dog, leaping up be-
side his dead master. threw his head
back and emitted a series of prolong-
ed and melancholy bowls.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Bewildered by the scene through
which he had just passed, Corson re-
turned to his rooms and spent the
night in a sort OF stupor. What hap
pened the mex day he never knew;
but on the following morning he ac-
companied Mantel to the cemetery
where, with simple but reverent cere-
mony, they committed the body of the
doctor to the bosom of earth.
Just as they were about to urn
away. after the conclusion Of the bur-
ial service, a strange thing happened.
The limb OF a great elm tree, which
had been tied back to keep 1t out Of
the way Of the workmen, was released
by the old sexton and swept back owe
the grave.
It produced a similar impression up
on the minds of both the subdued spec
tators. They glanced al a c other,
and Mantel said, 1T was like the wing
OF an ANGEL"
YES" added David with a sigh, 'and
seemed to brush away and obliterate
all traces of his sorrow and his sins"
They did not speak during their
homeward journey. and when they
reached their rooms David paced un-
easily backward and forward until the
shadows of evening had fallen. When
he suddenly observed that 1t was dusk.
he took his hat and vent out into the
streets. There was something so rest
less and unnatural about his move
L.