The Nevada County picayune., 1910-09-02

She went up the stairs at that, two at a time. Evidently shs collided with the candle. for it went out, and I was left in darkness
 l was really astonishingly cool. remember stepping over the chair and gluing my ear to the door, and l shall never forget feeling it give an inch or two there in the darkness, under steady pressure from without. But the chair held. although I could hear an ominous cracking of one of the legs. And then. without the slightest warning. the cardroom window broke with crash. l had my finger on the trigger of the revolver, and as l 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 scratch. Men are at the other end of the house Have the whole rats nest on us And a lot of profanity which l won't write down. The voices were at the broken window now. and although NdS lItIHullIS NlOlCHlll, co dC- termined that I would hold them until help came. I moved mp the stairs un- til l could see into the cardroom. or rather through it. to the window. As l looked a small man put his leg over the sill and stepped into the room. The curtain confused him for mo ment. then he turned, not toward me, but toward the billiard room door. l 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 l must have been a peculiar figure. with my hair in crimps, my dressing gown flying, no slippers, and 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.
 I had gone Berserk. I 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 I collapsed and tainted. When I came around Liddy was rub ping 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 ratter, and the volunteer fire department sprayed 1t with garden hose. And in the house Alex and Halsey searched every corner of the lower floor, finding no one
 The truth of my story was shown by the broken window and the over turned chair. That the unknown had qot upstairs was almost impossible. He had not used the main staircase, there was no way to the upper floor in the east wing, and Liddy had been at the window, in the west wing where the servants stair went up But we did not go to bed at all sam bo- harmon and Warner helped In the search. and not a closet escaped scrutiny. Even the cellars were given thorough over "tN"S"N suit The door in the east entry had n hole through it where my bullet had gone The hole slanted downward, and the bullet was embedded in the porch. Some reddish stains showed II had done execution.
 Somebody will walk lame. Halsey said. when he had marked the course of the bullet. Its too low to have mt anything but leg or foot
 From that time on l watched every person l met for a limp, and to this day the man who halts in his walk IS an object of suspicion to me But Casanova had no lame men; the near est approach to it was an old feilow who tended the safety gates al the railroad, and he. learned on inquiry. had tv, artificial legs. Our man naa