Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-11-20

WluOW, IuuLuUleQ COllluS. ATQulOTe
him in the ribs to make him
stop laughing. To the quick step of
walking horses ahead of them was
now added the whisper and creak of
leather.
Hello, there!" yelled Cooke. wish
ing to take the initiative.
'Hey-O!" answered a voice, and
all was still.
Give us the road; we're taking
body into Turner's to catch the morn
ing train" called Cooke.
Who's dead?"
zone of Ardmore's Dutchmen. Ship.
ping the corpse back to Germany"
The party ahead Of them paused as
though debating the case.
The 11orth-bound party was a blur in
the road, Their horses shifted and
moved restlessly about as their riders
conferred.
GIVE us the road" shouted Cooke
1--WE haven't much time to catch our
train"
Who did you say was dead?"
Karl Schmidt" returned Paul
promptly.
Ardmore's heart sank. fearful lest
an inspection of the corpse should be
proposed. But at this moment a wall,
eerie and heart-breaking, rose and fell
disnally upon the night 1t was Jerry
mourning her dead husband, her
slight figure swaying back and forth
over his body in an abandon Of grief.
'De poor vidow-she be nit u.s."
called out Big Paul. forsaking his
usual excellent English for gutteral
dialect.
who are you fellows?" demanded
Cooke, squirting his horse forward.
The horsemen, to his surprise. seemed
to draw back. and he heard a voice
speak out sharply, followed by re-
grouping Of the riders at the side of
the road
We've been to dance at Turner's
and air goin' back home to Kildare"
came the reply.
THAT seems all right" whispered
Ardmore to Collins.
Thus" muttered Collins, "in the
midst Of death we are in life, and this
reaching Jerry, caused her to bend
over the corpse at her feet as though
in convulsive spasm of sorrow,
whereupon. to add color to their story
sentences In German.
Give us the road!" commanded
Cooke, and without further parley
they started ahead. closing about the
wagon to diminish. as far as possible,
the size of the caravan. Paul kept the
horses at walk, as became their
sad errand. and Jerry continued to
weep dolorously.
They passed the horsemen at slight
rise in the rolling road The party
bound for Turner's moved steadily for
ward, the horsemen huddled about the
wagon, with Jerry's led horse be.
tween Ardmore and Collins at the
rear. At the top of the knoll hung the
returning dancers, well to the left of
the road. permitting with due respect
the passing Of the funeral party. One
of the men. Ardmore could have sworn
lifted his hat until the wagon had
passed. Then some one called good
night, and looking back. Ardmore saw
them-a dozen men, he iudged-regain
the road and quietly resume their
journey toward Kildare.
Pretty peaceable for fellows who've
been attending a dance" suggested
\
them.
Cooke turned back with the same
observation and seemed troubled.
81 was afraid to look too closely at
those men. They seemed rather too so.
| Der and was struck with the fact thai
they punched up pretty close as
though they were hiding something. y
They were afraid OF the corpse
remarked Collins readily ITO meet a
dead man on lonely road at this hour
of the morning is enough to sober the
most riotous."
"One fellow lifted his hat as we
passed. and thought"
well, what did you think, Mr.. Ard
more?" demanded Cooke impatiently.
well, it may seem strange, but
thought there was something about
that chap that suggested Grissy. II
/, would be lihe Grissy to lift his hat tc
q corpse under any circumstances. He
has spent whole lot of time in Paris
and besides, he never forgets his
manners"
But suppose it was Griswold. ;
said Cooke. wishing to dispose of the
/ suspicion. what could he be doing out
here? He hasn't Appleweight--wt
know that; and he has just nov
missed his chance OF ever getting
him"
They paused to allow Jerry to re
sumo her horse, and one of the detec
tives Joined in the conference to ven
ture his opinion that the men the,
had passed were in uniform. "The,
looked like militia to me-" and as hi
was careful man. Cooke took note o
his remark, though he made no com
ment.
Suppose they were in uniform,
said Jerry lightly; they can do N
harm. and as we are now in Soutl
Carolina, and they are not our troops
} 1t would not be proper for us to rnoles
them. Let us go on, for Mr.. Apple
, weights widow is not anxious to mis-
her train back to the fatherland.'
, ''If they were a detail Of the enemy
militia, they would have held us up,
declared Cooke with fnality.
, But as they moved on toward TUT
J ner's, Ardmore was still troubled owe
: what seemed to him the remarkabl