Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1912-08-10
the haggard. ghostly lineaments OF

cld1 tC0 ~ Cry OQl- ueTe WIS no
doubt as to the insanity in those wild
orbs staring at me. and for the in
slant could not escape their power
They seemed to hold me as the snake
does the bird Then my fingers grip
ped hard on the dresser. and swung
around. desperately resolved to make
the creature captive With my first
hostile move the door clicked shut
and before could touch the latch
my foot caught the edge of a rug and
l fell to my knees
Could she have gone down the stairs ::
I sprang to the railing and glanced
below. guard. fully armed. stood
just within the front door leaning on
his rife. No one could pass that way
unobserved. Then she must be hiding
within one OF the rooms. So certain
was 1 Of this that took time 70 the
search. opening door after door and
surveying each interior thus revealed
with carefulneSS which convinced
me they We're absolutely empty.
Thoroughly puzzled. came out of
the last room. that in which the Irish
lad and | had been imprisoned. aud.
scarcely knowing why. paused ut the
head of the stairs to glance down once
again at the sentry stationed below.
He was apparently Il young fellow.
roughly dressed in butteruut. a wide
brimmed aud rather disreputa BILE hat
shading his face. He lifted his eyes to
the stairs. and l nearly cried out in
startled amaZeElent. AS lived. ii
was O'Brien, | would have believed
it merely a strange resemblance had
not the fellow impudently grinned up
at me. making use of a peculiar ges-
ture. which left no doubt of his iden-
tity. O'Brien. in pretense of Confed-
crate uniform. acting as sentinel here
as one of DoRald'S guerrillas. What
had it to do with my escape-with the
mystery of This house? And Jean
did she know? Could she have passed
and repassed without noticing the boy
and recognizing him? Could it be that
she was conspirinG in my escape and
had placed him there?
For the Lords sake. sor," he whis
pered hoarsely. ''av we're goin' to skip
now's the tonne. before the sergeant
gifts here wild my relief
What do you mean? Have you
been stationed there to let me slip
through"
Sure. that's the program. It's the
girl that fixed it all up
Not Miss DenSiow:
.'An' who the divil else would it be-
Sure she picked me out from the
whole bunch for the job an niver
cracked Il smoile, but them pretty DIES
of hers was dancin'. Just now whin
she came down she give me the wink
an said was to pass ye out an niver
say nothin'."
But what are you doing here:
IL
rade?''
The fellow grinned. bringing his
hand to a salute
I'm Private O'Brien. sor of the
Confed army / wus lift behind whin
me fellow sojers departed after the
late fracas Sometimes / tell thin |
belonged to Dodd's squad. sometoimes
20 Theilen's. an thin agin L came over
here wild Liftenant Dunn. Divil
bit O. difference it -makes so l belong
to some other outfit than the fellow
I'm talkin' to. It's an illigant liar !
am. begorra. an that's how ! hold the
job. Sure. thin divils shot the horse
undher me. an | came down in bit
of BUSH so shook up | didn't know me
own name for an hour. Thin there
was no gittin' away. an / lay there
studyin' it all out an watchin thin
rebs LAWN. The way they had fixed
me l couldn't see how l was liver go
in to git shut of thin except by bein
reb myself for awhoile. SO l shtole
q coat-this beauty I've got on. sor-
an \ hat. an afther the most of thin
had marched away L came out an
reported TO the sergeant. He talked
TO me loike hell. sor. till the girl took
me part. an since thin he's bin civil
enough
Miss Denslow took your part?"
questioned in surprise. What did she
say"
The Irish eyes twinkIed merrily-
"Bedad she said she knew me: that
was wan of I.iftenant Dunn's caval
rymen.'-
"She said that
"Begorra. she did. sor. an stood
lookin' ct her purity face wild me
mouth open. 1t was beautiful loi.
while she was givin- it TO him. She'd
"a fooled a betther man than that ser
geant wild the honest way of her an
thin eyes a lookin' sthraicht at him
They're great devils. thin girls"
But why did she do this: What
object could she have had:"
He rubbed his sleeve across his
mouth leaning over the railing To
where he could look the full length of
the hail. Then he Strengthened up. his
face solemn as a preachers.
AT first thought il was me manly
beauty that did it But af;her awhoile
1 woke p from me dhrame. You was.