Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1910-05-27
XIV

my Dcar Major Jcn-In the JOY with
which you and Miss Dallas hailed the
appearance of the man whom Nod
thought dead, | Was-fOr the time be
ing-quite forgOtten; and very nhtur-
ally. too. Profiting by the occasion,
left the room and went to the bedroom
where Mr.. Sarby lay in a trance, SINH
lar to that into which Mr.. Aylmer had
fallen, both frances being caused by
the poison OF the deVil-stick. AS YOU
have learned from his own lips. | re-
vlved him, as / revived his friend: so
now, my good Jen, you have your two
boys with you again, alive and well.
The comedy is finished: and was | not
right in denying to these past events
the misleading name of tragedy?
Naturally, you will wish to know
how the dead came to be alive, and for
what reason | behaved as l did. Well,
here you shall find the whole cXplana-
ton SO fully given that there will be
no necessity for you to seek me. In
deed. If you do SO. you will not find
me. as by the time you receive this
letter I shall be we'll on my way to
New York. Thence it is my intention
to go abroad. and-as l told you at our
last meeting-you will never sec me
again. When you finish this letter,
you will, no doubt, be glad of this, and
it is just as we'll thai l should remain
beyond your reach.
Il am-as you know physician.
but I am also what you may not know
IA man of genius. l have brains, buE
no money; and for experiments in
chemistry, money. I regret to say, is
extremely necessary. This being the
case, I have needed money, and that in
large quantities. all my life. AS I could
not make it for myself-not having
the mercantile INSTINCT resolved to
gain it by making a rich marriage. For
many years l have traveled the world.
Like Ulysses. l have known men and
cities, and some years g Chance-a
deity at whose shrine | always pay my
devotions-led me to Barbados. Will
there l was attracted, as l always am
by the weird and mysterious, by the
superstitionS of the African race. |
studied the cult of Obi, the belief Of
the Noodoo Stone. and by a strange
chain of circumstances, which l need
not relate. l gained possession of that
powerful talisman which is known to
all nesroid America. With this stone
in my possession I was king-so to
speak-of all the black race. This
power 1 determined to use to my own
advantage, and through 1T to make a
rich marriage.
II discovered that Mrs. Dallas was
the richest women in the West Indies,
mat she had one fair and maria eablc
daughter, and that mother and daugh-
ter were under the influence of a ne
gress called Dido. who was a profound
believer in the cult of Obi deter
mined. therefore. to bend the negress
to my will by means of the Voodoo
Stone, and to marry the daughter. I'm
fortunately, Mrs. Dallas and her child
were in America. So thither I went in
order to prosecute my suit. and obtain
q rich wife In the person OF Miss Isa-
bella Dallas. From information OBJ
tanned in Barbados I found where they
were living, so to their town I repair
ed, and established myself as a physi-
clan. I made the acquaintance of your
self, Of Mr.. Aylmer, and Mr.. Sarby, and
also of Mrs. Dallas and her daughter,
the young and charming girl whom
intended to make my wife.
But here, as you ma guess. I
found an unexpected obstacle. The
Young lady was in love with Mr.. Ayl-
mer, and would have nothing to do
with an elderly bachelor like myself.
I determined to remove that obstacle;
not by death, but by gentler means
which would do away with all risk,
and place Miss Dallas in my power.
Need I say that I allude t h devil
stick?
II knew that you possessed it, my
dear Major, as I had beer informed of
its existence and of it's owner by Dido.
Over this negress, by e of the
Voodoo Stone. I possessed complete
power. She was ready to do whatever
1 wanted, and I employed her in for
warding my schemes. Her grandinoth-
err had come from Ashantee. the native
country of the wand of sleep, and knew
all about it; also she Knew how to pre-
pare the poison. These secrets she
transmitted to Dido, and I resolved 20
obtain the devil-stick, to make Dido
prepare fresh poison, and to use the
stick against my rival. Mr.. Aylmer.
And now a word about his poison.
It does not kill, but merely places it's
victim in a franc state. which so
closely resembles death that not even
the most expert doctor can tell the diff
ference. If the trance continues the
victim dies-but there is an antidote--
which, by the way, I obtained from
Dido-and this antidote, ii used n
time, can restore the victim from a
state OF catalepsy to his pristine vigor.
I had made up my mind to use the
stick, and so, as / was anxious to give
Mr.. Aylmer a chance of escape, I pro-
phesied to him a state of life In death.
This phrase describes exactly the
trance state OF those wounded by the
devil stick-impregnated with its pol
son