Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1914-01-02
A ~.

Durham listened az long as his ear
could catch the sound, then a strange
desolation settled down upon him.
The little station behind him was
closed, though a light over the desk
shone brightly through it's front win
dow and the telegraph sounder was
clicking busily.
Turning impatiently from the dark
ness, Durham sought the bright win
dow, in front of which lay a newspa-
per. He could rea the large headlines
of a column-no more. for the paper
was upside down. and a bunch Of bill
heads lay partly across it. 1t read:
MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF
YOUNG AND PRETTY WOMAN
His heart stood still, and then went
thudding on in dull, horrid blows.
Vainly he tried to read further. He
followed every visible word of that pa
per to discover It's date and origin,
but those miserable bill-heads frus-
trated his effort. He felt like dashing
his hand through the glass, but reflect
ed that the act might result in his be-
ing locked up in some miserable coun-
try jail. He tried the window and
gave the door another vicious shake,
but all to no purpose. Finally he turned
on his heel and walked up and down
for an hour, tramping the length Of the
shaky platform, back and forth, till
the train rumbled up.
At the first stop a man in front got
out, leaving a newspaper in the seat.
With eager hands, Durham leaned for
yard and gr2spGd il, searching It's eel
umns in vain for the tantalizing head
lines. But there were others equally ar
FESTIVE. This paper announced the
mysterious disappearance Of a young
actress who was suspecting of poison
Ing her husband. When seen last, she
was boarding a train en- route to Wash
ington. She had not arrived there,
however, so far as could be discov-
cred. 1t was supposed that she was
lingering in the vicinity OF Philadel-
! phia or Baltimore. There were added
a few discriminating details concerning
her relationship with her dead hus-
band, and a brief sketch of her sensa-
tional life. The paragraph closed with
the statement that she was an accom-
plished musician.
. The young man frowned and, open
ing his window, flung the ~scandalous
sheet to the breeze. He determined to
forget what he had read, yet the ines
kept coming before his eyes.
When he reached the city he ven
to the news stand in the station,
where was an agent who knew him,
and procured a copy of every paper on
SOLE yrHar ipstaol ne h,rryjpu h0~n
he found a seat in a secluded corner
and proceeded to examine his pur-
chases.
In large letters on the front page of
a New York paper blazed:
HOUSE ROBBED OF JEWELS
gWORTH TEN THOUSAND DOL
LARS BY BEAUTIFUL YOUNG
ADVENTURES MASQUE-
RADING AS A PARLOR
MAID.
He ran his eyes down the column
and gathered that she was still at
large, though the entire police force
Of New York was on~her track.
He turned to another paper, only to
be met by the words:
ESCAPE OF FAIR LUNATIC
and underneath:
Prison walls could not ~confine Miss
Nancy Lee, who last week threw a light
ed lamp at her mother, setting fire to the
young woman seems to have recovered
her senses. and processes to know moth
ing of what happened. but the physicians
say she is liable to another attack of in
anity. and deem It safe to keep her con
fined. She escaped during the night. leav-
ing no ciew to her whereabouts. How
she managed to- get open the window
a mystery.
In disgust he flung the ape from
him and took up another.
FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED! BEAUTY
Full YOUNG HEIRESS MISSING.
His soul turned sick within him. He
looked up and saw a little procession
of late jewellers rushing out to the last
suburban train, the girls leaving a
trail of orris perfume and a vision Of
dainty opera cloaks. One of the men
envied him his unperturbed mind. To
be sure, he would not get back to the
city till three in the morning, but he
| would have no visions Of rcbbertes and
fair lunatics and hard pressed maid
n unjustly pursued, to mar his rest.
Durham buttoned his coat and
turned up his collar as he started out
into the street, for the night had
turned cold, and his nerves made him
chilly. AS he walked, the blood began
to race more healthily in his veins,