Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-10-06
6e0TF Ter S|DEg&DQOR|
A STORY OF MYSTERY
RyLUCLACHAMBERLAIN |
AuMor9f1HE COAST. OF CHANCE


. COAST, OF CHANCE
Th Bosbs-Nerta Company
him, almost upon him, leaped another
man, with such a rush, such a face,
and such a wild look, that he filled the
street with terror
stood there staring stupidity, too
stunned to realize what had happened.
He saw me, and for an instant he stood
with the pistol smoking in his hand
the handsolnest man ever saw in my
life, and the most terrible. Then he
flung the pistol into the street and
ran.
He ran down Dupont, and disap-
peared into Washington; and all the
while stood there, listening to the ter
rible loud clatter his feet made In the
blue smoke was drifting out of the
Slated door over the man who lay
still. Then there seemed to come over
me at once the meaning OF the horrible
thing that had happened, and l ran.
heard a shutter flung open in the
street behind me. l saw q glitter near
the curb, fash of steel, a shine OF
mother-of-pearl, and that was the pis-
toll he had flung away. felt suffocat-
ing, and my feet seemed weighted
with lead as If l were running In a
dream. And, strange enough, what
filled me with the widest terror was
not the sight of the thing that lay still
on the pavement under the drifting
smoke, but the sound of those furiously
running feet, dying away and away
into the sleepy city. felt as if my
self were a criminal pursued, as if the
house was the one refuge that would
save me, and with a thousand horrors
at my heels burst in upon father just
sitting down with Mr.. Dingley in the
quiet, sunny dining room.
At sight of me both jumped up.
Whats the matter, child?" father
said.
looked around, and realized l was
still clutching my basket, though all
the mushrooms had fallen out, and my
foot was through a torn flounce, and
my hat hanging on my neck. My mouth
was dry. For moment l couldn't get
a word off my tongue; and then, He
fell. he fell" said, and SHe is gone!"
Where was it," The words seemed
to be in Mr. Dingley's voice, yet came
as if from far off.
"Mr. Rood's gambling-house!"
gasped, and felt the top of my head
getting cold and the floor beginning
to move under me. L had dim impress
sion of Mr.. Dingley rushing out Of the
room with his napkin still In his hand;
then found myself sitting on the sofa,
with singing taste Of brandy on my
tongue, and heard fathers voice say
ing, "Can't you tell me, child?"
4 "Oh," said, ."he's dead And then
l poured all the story out in a breath.
saw fathers face growing more and
more keen and grave and I could feel
hi; fingers gently around my arm as IL
he feared my turning faint again. In
deed the room around me seemed un-
real but what had happened in the
street was still frightfully clear 1t was
cut into my mind as If it were still be-
fore my eyes, the topping lurch Of the
falling body, the silk hat rolling into
the gutter, and then that fine terrible
gentleman that had sprung out after.
The moment had stamped him as clear
in my memory as years could have
done. could tell how very tall he was,
how dark, how his brows made one
black bar across his forehead, how his
eyes were deeply set under them, how
his chin was wide and keen and his
left cheek flicked by white scar near
the mouth. At the time in my furious
excitement ! only knew that must tell
some one everything, or the thing
would kill me. But whether It was IA
theirs strange stern face, his seeming
so calm and going out so quietly, and
yet in such haste; or whether 1t was
some memory Of the hunted look Of
the man who had flung away the pis-
toll, | wished had not described him
so exactly. It would have been easy
enough to have said I could not re-
member him clearly.
I was so stunned by what had hap
pened before my eyes that l could not
even formulate in my thoughts what it
had been. The very impression of ter
ror that remained with me was con-
fused, and mixed with wounding pity.
For though he had looked SO wild
could not remember that he had
seemed ferocious or afraid. The look
remembered had not been fear OF what
was going to happen to him, but hor-
ror Of what had been done-and hor-
ror at sight Of me.
Voices in the street. sounding un-
'wontedly loud and excited, reached me.
People were hurrying past the house
all hurrying downward in the same
direction. I. saw Lee run across the
yard and stand peering out Of the side
gate put my hands over my ears.
Fon nd
walked; and back and forth Abby fol-
lowed me with little plaid shawl she
was trying to put over my shoulders.
CHAPTER IL.
The Evidence.
1t did not seem possible that Mr.
Dingley and father could be gone
longer than half an hour, but the hands
of the clock went to nine and then to
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