Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-03-19


1t was 6 o'clock in the evening, and
day and night were mingling. A boy, /
who was ten years old, started for the |
paper. The walk before him there and |
back would require about ten minutes.
Twenty minutes passed and he had not !
returned His mother began to grow
anxious. Her husband laughed at her. |
Dinner was announced, and still no
word from Mark. Mrs. Chandler in |
sisted that the father should go to the |
newsstand and make inquiries. He
consented and learned that the boy had
been there, bought paper and gone
AWAY with 1t in the direction OF his
home.
This is what happened to Mark
While walking home a carriage drove
up to the sidewalk beside him, two
men alighted. seized the boy, put him
into the carriage. got in with him, shut
the door and were driven away. There
was not a person near to see what had
been done.
Mark Chandler was a very bright
boy. He was boys boy, not girls
boy by any means. He had no use for
indoor playthings, except that In the
garrett of his home he had a workshop
and various electrical contrivances. He
knew nothing OF electric theories, but
had played with batteries to turn min
iature mills, ring bells and make tiny
lights so often that he had become
quite conversant with the adjustment
of wires His other amusements were
baseball, football and in winter skat-
ing. Altogether Mark was as we'll cal
culated as any boy of his age to take
care of himself.
| He knew he was being kidnapped.
| and from the lingo in which his cap
tors conversed he judged they were
Italians. OF course he was terribly
| frightened, but 1t didn't take him very
long to recover his equanimity suff1-
GENTLY to notice the direction in which
he was being taken. He had been
about the city more or less and knew
some locations. But he was not driven
in a straight course and soon lost his
bearings. 1t was in the spring Of the
year, the length Of the twilight had
considerably heightened, and the boy
could see landmarks If he only recog-
nized them Presently he passed rink
where he had skated. After this the
carriage turned down a broad avenue,
which he distinctly remembered, but
did not know its name. The lamps were
lighted, and he saw the names Of the
streets crossed. Bogart street was one
| tnf1 hn I'd cyo
turned Not far from the corner of
the street and the avenue the carriage
stopped at a large house. 1t stood
alone and had the appearance of being
unoccupied. Mark was taken into 1t
by a back door, but there were no
lights. and after passing through a
basement hall and up short stairway
he found himself in a handsomely fur
nished room in which gas jet was
burning. Besides the two men was a
woman, veritable bag, and, though
he understood not a word Of their talk,
he knew that the men were turning
him over to her as his ailer. After a
brief consultation the two men went
out Of the room, followed by the wo-
man, who locked the door after her.
Mark threw himself on a lounge
and cried till she came back with some
bread and little butter and sugar on
it. She told him in Italian English not
to cry, giving him to understand that
he would be we'll treated. This helped
him to recover his equanimity, and he
ate the supper she had provided for
him. Then she took him upstairs to a
large bedroom. in which the gas jet
was turned low, and told him to go to
1 bed.
The kidnapers were evidently either
caretakers of the house or, knowing
that 1t was vacant, had forced IN en-
trance and appropriated it to their use
Mark didn't consider this. He was toe
young But he did consider means Of
escape. His father had once locked
him in a room for disobedience and
shortly after found him playing base
ball with his boy companions. Marx
had slid down a drain pipe. As soor
as the woman left him he began tC
make investigations. He raised a win
dow so stealthily as not to make 6
sound that could be heard and looked
out. He was on the third story in the
rear of the house and nothing near BY
which he might get down. He noticed
a telephone wire leading into a room
below and wished he might get near 4
long enough to send a message. But 1
, was not likely that his captors would
permit him to do so.
He longed also for the battery he haC
at home and wires to connect IL witt
, the telephone wires. thinking he nigh
send a message. But he was perfect,
safe where he was. and at last. givinl
up trying to devise means Of escape
he threw himself on the bed. Their
he fell to thinking how anxious his ia
ther and mother would be about hin
and cried himself to sleep.
Early In the morning the woman
awakened him and took him out of tn
room he occupied. She had no idea o
letting him stay in the daytime wher
: he might attract the attention Of thos
outside and communicate with them
She took him downstairs to the kitchen
where she gave him something to eai
After that she compelled him to re