Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1910-09-17

She went up the stairs at that, two
at a time. Evidently she collided
with the candle, for it went out, and
l was left in darkness.
l was really astonishingly cool I
remember stepping over the chair and
gluing my ear to the door, and / shall
never forget feeling it give an inch or
two there in the darkness, under a
steady pressure from without. But
the chair held, although 1 could hear
an ominous cracking of one of the
legs. And then, without the slightest
warning, the cardroom window broke
with a crash l had my finger on the
trigger of the revolver, and as 1
jumped it went off, right through the
door. Some one outside swore round
ly, and for the first time I could hear
what was said.
only a scratch. Men are at
the other end of the house. 4.
Have the whole rats nest on u.s."
And a lot of profanity which l won't
write down. The voices were at the
broken window now, and although 1
was trembling violently, I was de-
termined that would hold them until
| help came. 1 moved up the stairs I'M
til l could see into the cardroom, or
rather through it, to the window. AS
/ looked small man put his leg over
the sill and stepped into the room.
| The curtain confused him for a mo-
ment; then he turned, not toward me,
| but toward the billiard room door. ]
/ fired again, and something that was
| glass or china crashed to the ground
| Then l ran up the stairs and along the
| corridor to the main staircase. Ger
/ trude was standing there, trying to
| locate the shots, and I must have
! been a peculiar figure, with my hair
in crimps, my dressing-gown flying. nc
| slippers, and a revolver clutched in
my hand. l had no time to talk
There was the sound of footsteps in
| the lower hall, and some one bounded
up the stairs.
l had gone Berserk, l think.
leaned over the stair-rail and fired
again Halsey. below. yelled at me.
What are you doing up there?" he
yelled You missed me by an inch >
And then / collapsed and tainted
When I came around Liddy was rub
bling my temples with eau de Quinine
| and the search was in full blast
Well, the man was gone. The stable
burned to the ground, while the CROWD
cheered at every falling -atfer, and
the volunteer fire department sprayed
it with a garden hose. And in the
house Alex and Halsey searched ever,
corner of the lower floor, finding NJ
one.
The truth of my story was show1
by the broken window and the over
turned chair. That the unknown hal
got upstairs was almost impossible
He had not used the main staircase
there was no way to the upper foo
in the east wing, and Liddy had beef
at the window, in the west wing
where the servants stair went up. Blu
we did not go to bed at all Sam Be
harmon and Warner helped in tn
search, and not closet escape,
scrutiny. Even the cellars were givel
thorough overhauling, without re
suit. The door in the east entry ha,
hole through it where my bullet ha
| gone. The hole slanted downward
| and the bullet was embedded in tn
| porch Some reddish stains showed j
had done execution.
Somebody will walk lame, Halse
said, when he had marked the cours
/ of the bullet. It's too low to have hi
: anything but a leg or foot"
From that time on 1 watched ever
, person ! met for limp, and to thi
day the man who halts in his walk j
: an object of suspicion to me- Blu
Casanova had no lame men; the nea1
: est approach to it was an old fello'
: who tended the safety gates at tn
: railroad, and he, learned on inquir,