The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1911-07-13

lDvs1 unbeard at first. faint, thrilling.
maddening.
Tick. tick. tick!
1t was the beating of his watch. A
spasm of horror seized him.
What time was it?
The coyote was to be fired at o
o'clock 1t was when he left his
cabin. How long had he been uncon-
scious? Was it time nOw-nOw? Was
MacDonald's finger already reaching
out to that little white button which
would send him into eternity?
He struggled again, crashing furious
" at the thing which covered his
mouth. tearing the flesh of his wrists
as he twisted at the ropes which bound
him. choking himself with his efforts
to loosen the thong about his neck.
Exhausted again, he sank back. pant
ing. half dead. As he lay with closed
eyes a little Of his reason asserted it.
SELF After all was he such coward
as to go mad?
Tick. tick. tick!
His watch was beating at furious
rate Was something wrong with IT.?
Was it going too fast? He tried to
count the seconds. but they raced away
from him. When he looked again his
gaze fell on the little yellow tongue of
fame in the lantern globe. 1t was not
the steady. unwinking eye of few
minutes before. There was sputter-
ing weakness l2hlut it now, and as he
watched the light grew fainter and
fainter. The fame was going out A
few minutes more and he would be in
darkness. At first the. significance Of
It did not come to him. Then he
Strengthened himself with jerk that
frightened the thong about his heck nm
I'll It choked him. Hours must have
passed since the lantern had been plac-
ed on that rock. else the oil would not
be burned out Of II now.
For the first time Rowland realized
that 1t was becoming more and more
difficult for him to get breath. The
thing about his neck was tightening
slowly. inexorably, like a hot band Of
steel, and suddenly. because Of this
tightening. he found that he had re-
covered his voice.
This rawhide is pinching my Ad-
ANS APPLE
Whatever had been about his mouth
had slipped down, and his words sound
ed hollow and choking in the rock
bound chamber. He tried to raise his
voice in a shout. though he knew how
futile his ioudest shrieks would be.
The effort choked him more. His SUI
fering was becoming excruciating.
Sharp pains darted like redhot needles
through his limbs, his back tortured
him, and his head ached as thought
knife had cleft the base Of his skull
The strength of his limbs was leav.
ing him. He no longer felt any sersa-
ton in his cramped feet. He meas.
ured the paralysis creeping up his legs
inch by inch. driving the sharp pains
before 1t. and then a groan Of horror
rose to his lips.
The light had gone out.
AS if that dying Of the little yellow
fame were the signal for his death.
there came to his ears sharp Kissing
sound; spark leaped up into the
blackness before his eyes. and slow,
creeping glow came toward him over
the rock at his feet.
The hour. the minute. the second.
had come. and Macdonald had press
ed the little white button that was to
send him into eternity. He did not
cry out now. He knew that the end was
very near, and in its nearness he found
new strength. Once he had seen a
man walk to his death on the scaffold.
and as the condemned had spoken his
last farewell. with the moose about his
neck. he had marveled at the clearness
of his voice. at the fearlessness Of this
creature in his last moment on earth.
Now he understood. Inch by inch
the fuse burned toward him-a fifth
of the distance, quarter. now third.
At last it reached half-was almost
under his feet. Two minutes more Of
life. He put his whole strength once
again in an attempt to free his hands.
This time his attempt was cool. steady.
masterful. with death 100 seconds
away. His heart gave sudden burst
ing leap into his throat when he felt
something give. Another effort. and
in the powder choked vault there rang
out thrilling cry of triumph. His
hands were free! He reached forward
to the fuse, and this time a moaning,
wordless sob fell from him, faint, ter.
rifying. with all the horror that might
fill human soul in it's inarticulate
note. He could not reach the fuse be-
cause Of the thong about his neck.
He felt for his knife. He had left it
in his room. Sixty seconds more
forty-thirty. He could see the fiery
end Of the fuse almost at his feet. Sud-
denly his cropping fingers came in con-
tact with the cold steel of his pocket
revolver. and with a last hope he
snatched it forth. stretching down his
pistol arm until the muzzle of the
weapon was within dozen inches of
the deadly spark At his first shot the
spark leaped. but did not go out. After
the second there was no longer the
fiery. creeping thing on the floor, and