Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1914-10-27

any moment a torrent Of words would
pour forth from him and lay bare the
whole tragic. terrible story hidden In
his breast Under the secret he carried
bis heart lay like stone. He would
have given bis left arm to have closed
bis Office door and made his confession.
but be had been hunted long enough to
feel the sense Of caution exert Itself.
Mr.. Bryan returned to bis Office, and
Nelson tore into tiny bits the police
circular. He would have to SO away.
There were two reasons. The hound
was near the quarry; his plight was
bringing sadness to the woman he
loved. Not more than score Of miles
beyond his Office window the boundary
lines of South Carolina tapered be-
tween North Carolina and Tennessee.
making q mountainous corner There
few of the people could read. The
questions they asked were about the
weather and the scant crops Of corn
from which they illicitly distilled
enough whisky to provide them with
money for clothes and medicine. Their
habitat was called the Dark Corner.
he would withdraw into Its shad-
ows Perhaps. after few years. he
could come out of the wilderness with
safety and find Molly Bryan waiting
for him. 1t was sweet for him to think
that any one would wait his coming.
At first the scheme seemed vision
airy, but careful study Of 1t convinced
him that II was not only a plausible
plan, but the safest be could devise.
lie would buy number Of acres and
build himself Il home and workshop
His determination to devote all his
energies to invention for number or
years was logical and would furnish
the necessary explanation.
In the spring. while the snow still
lay upon the ground In shady places.
Nelson attacked the wilderness with
gang Of workmen He had bought
800 acres in the Dark Corner. Here
he lived in shanty with his workers.
as they made clearing and he direct
I'd the blasting and cutting Of rock
from the >nnscarred sides Of the noun.
tains for his foundations.
When his castle in the Dark Corner
neared completion he journeyed back
to Greepville. arriving there In the
night. BE timed himself so that he
caught IN express train north In
distant city the next day be wrote
and inclosed with a dollar certificate
this personal. addressed to the business
office Of the Herald In New York:
"Bill--Greenville-1@3-Kid."
The number 10 meant the nineteenth
letter Of the alphabet. "S." and the
number 3 meant the third letter. 20"
or all the men In the world there
was but one that he felt he could
surely trust. one that fully believed
him. one that would come and help
him. and this man with the succor he
called for now was a convict
Nelson's castle in the Dark Corner
took shape rapidly. It rose two and
a half stories above a basement Of
rock. From the upper windows he
was given a clear view Of every point
of the circle where sky and earth met.
The outside was painted neutral
color. so that only keen pair Of eyes
at a distance would have picked out
the habitation amid the surrounding
shade trees
The high basement was planned for
kitchen. servants and storage purposes.
The first floor was arranged for his
workshop. the floor above for his living
quarters, and the top Of half story was
to remain closed against every human
hand save that of Nelson.
There was gossip among the machtn'
lists and lab6rers who uncrated the
masses Of steel and iron that had been
hauled over the mountain roads. for
among the things that were not depos-
tied on the laboratory floor were GER
tain weights with leather clasps about
the thickness Of q mans ankle. There
were also iron bars and affairs Of rope
and polished wood that looked like
trapezes and gymnastic apparatus used
in the circus. These things were placed
at the foot Of the stairs leading to the
attic. There was a heavy lock to the
door, and the master Of the strange
mountain castle never parted with the
key,