Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1912-10-02

recover from the hands of the wicked
est BLACKBOARD on earth a certain
document that has come into his DOS
session. 1t is a question whether or
nat we shall succeed. If we do,
shall put this document in your hands
and you must promise that it shall not
go Out Of your possession until you
have placed it in your sisters hands.
You must promise me, too, that you
will ask no questions about it and that
you will not read it. When Katharine
has seen it, do with it whatever she
tells you. She probably will say that
you are to burn it without reading
Can't you see, Harding, what a
dilemma I was in? l felt that what
Mr.. Crandall asked me to do was Kath-
arine's wish. They had talked togeth-
Ell for nearly half an hour just be-
fore you came to the house. | had to
promise what he asked, though l pro-
tested first. 1t seemed to me that car
rying back the document to Katharine
would excite her and retard her re-
covery, and 1 told him So"
The sight of that document safe
in her own hands will do more to cure
her speedily than all the doctors in
the world he answered"
did he mean the yellow letter." l
queried.
Il don't know. l asked him if that
was what he meant and he would not
answer me. The only thing he did
tell me was that there had been
strange developments in the case
since he had undertaken to get this
paper for Katharine. They seemed to
puzzle him greatly. He said that some
thing with which he had nothing to
do had alarmed the man we were GO
ing to e and that he had disappeared,
gone into hiding"
How will We find him?' l asked.
He is as anxious to see me as he
Is not to see some one else,' Crandall
told me. He wrote me plain directions
nov to reach a place he calls the de-
serted cottage, and made an appoint
ment there for nine o'clock tonight I"
AS I listened to Louise's story I did
not know what to think about Gran
dalPs part in the affair. 1t seemed now
n a he had been acting in Katharine's
behalf, though this did not explain his
acquaintance and relations with the
man he had called Aleck Young.
Why" l asked Louise, "do YOU
suppose that he and Katharine insist
ed on you coming out here? Why
could not Crandall himself have recov-
cred the document and restored it to
Katharine?"
Il asked him that. He told me that
the mar who held it had made the
condition that it should be received by
either my father or Katharine. They
did not wish it known that my IA
what had happened, and as they were
certain this man knew neither Kath-
arlne nor me, | was to go with him
and 1m~personate my sister,"
Did you get the document"
NO, We failed" said Louise. "and
do not know what in the world | am to
tell Katharine. We came out here in
the afternoon. Crandall thought it
advisable to find the place by day
light. We ran the automobile I'D the
lane that leads to this place and crept
through the thicket until we came in
sight OF the cottage. There were two
men moving about in the cottage.
Young and another man whom Mr..
Crandall told me was the postmaster
at Ardway. He seemed surprised at
the presence of the postmaster. We
watched for half an hour and then
TOOK the automobile back to a little
hotel about three miles away from Ard
way. For some reason, Mr.. Crandall
did not want to stop in Ardway."
i guess was the reason" re-
Piled. But when did you return
here?"
I'VE had dinner at the little hotel.
and as soon as it was dark, started
back for the cottage. When we ar
rived we found a light in the window
and saw Young there in a stupor just
as o see him. The other man was
nowhere around. After trying to
awaken Young, without success. Mr..
Crandall searched his clothes, but
there was nothing in any of his peck
cts. He even felt all the seams, and
took off his shoes in search of the pa
per we wanted, but it was nowhere on
him. He ransacked the cottage as we'll
as was possible in this dim light, but
could not find any suggestion of a
h1d1ng-place. Out in the little shed
that serves as a kitchen he found a
slip on which was written a list of
eatables-bread, milk, eggs and such
things. We decided from this that the
other man-Rouser, I think Mr.. Gran
dali had said his name was-had gone
to some neighboring farmhouse or
store to lay in supplies and probably
would soon return. Mr.. CrandaIl sug-
gested u hiding in the bushes until
his arrival, and we did so. We had
hardly taken our place behind the
bushes before we heard him COMING.
Mr.. Crandall stepped out, and the
rest is so mixed up I don't know just
what happened. l heard shots and felt
a pain in my arm and 1 think 1
screamed and then / don't remember