The Dickson County herald. (Dickson, Tenn.) 1907-1979, 1915-08-06

II
nshfi-
A gnal Ma shnt MP. thcn twus thRn Aii
th-t the room cou:ssnea sHoNs shasf
Whats aasA more or leas naw
! hetFd 20 anAwer. Only the slap u
the cards no tAsy wsre Eang euto lhs
table: then VIE chatter of 4 In - u
sHrned iR soEas distant lack \ N
The bottles we're hiUaght IAwwnrd
and they sat down enc On eneA xids
of tho dusty mahogany table. The
man faelns me was Spencer. the ~Nhsr
ant Nth his haelt ny why.
Wen play tM the banda point 10
three" ANNOUNCED Spencer. taking oat
hia watch and lsying II down where
both could see h 10 you agree 10
,hasf--uiiless via and your tIinda
80 Alleging before that hour.-
i agree" Thu tons was harsh: II
WAS almost snAothersd The man was
staring at the watch: there was q
strange set look to bic figure: a paus-
Ing AZ OF thought--of sinister thought,
II should now say; then never
stopped TO characterize Il: II was fol
lowed too quickly by loud laugh and
sudden grab AZ the cards
You'll whit feel Il in my bones"
came In encouraging tones from the
rich man. II you do"--hsrs the storm
mlied and his voice sank TO an en-
couraging vhisper-"you can bay the
old tavern up the road It's going for
song: and then ven be nsighbors
and can play-play--"
The bills had all gone one wsy
They fell within spencers grasp Sud.
denly hard upon q rattling peal which
seemed 10 unite heaven and earth. !
heard shouted out:
"Haif.past two, The gan. stops At
three"
Damn your greedy eyes!" came
bach In a growl Then all was still.
feaFfuly ,stili, both Ia the atmosphere
outside and h that within, during
which ] caught sight OF the Strangers
hrnd moving slowly around to bis
back and returning as slowly forward.
all under cover OF the tabletop and a
stack OF halt-empty bottles.
I can buy the Claymore tavern,
can II Well. I'm going to-" rang out
into the air as the speaker leaped TO
his feet Take that. you cheat! And
that! And that" And the shots rang
out--one. two, threel
Spencer was dead IN his Folly. I
had seen him rise. throw up bis hands
and then fall In . heap among the
cards and glasses
Then the man who stood there
alone turned slightly and ! saw his
face. ] have seen II many times
since; have seen Il at claymore tav.
ern. He put the weapon back In bis
pocket and began gathering UP the
money When every bin was In his
pockets he reached out his hand for
the watch. Thea ! saw him smile. He
smiled as he shut the case. be smiled
as he plunged Il In after the bills,
Next moment woke to reaiixa.
ton OF myself and all the danger OF
ny own position hid the instinct
to make . leap for the window over
my head and clutch at Its narrow slll
In wild attempt at escape
But the effort ended precipitateiy.
He Was coming toward me---a strain
ing. painting fgure--haK carrying. half
dragging. the dead man who topped
aside from his arms. My senses
blurred. and knew nothing tn on q
sudden they cleared again. and woke
to the blessed realization that the
door had been pushed against my slen.
der figure. hiding II completely from
his sight. and that this door was nov
closed again and this time tightly,
and was safe--safe'
The relief sent the Precipitation In
reek from every pore; but the ley
revulsion came quickly As drew UP
knees To. get better purchase on the
sill heavens torch was suddenly lit
up. the closet became pit Of dazzling
wilderness amid which saw the hiat
OF that dead body, with head propped
against the wall and eyes
Remember. was but fifteen. The
legs wsrs hunched UP and almost
touched mine, The door--the door
there was my way--the only way
which would rid me Instantly OF any
proximity to this hideous object |
flung myself at it--found the knob
turned It and yelled aloud--my foot
had brushed against him. knew the
difference and II sent me palpitating
over the threshold. but no farther
Love OF life had returned with my es-
cape from that awful prison house.
and | halted In the semidarkness into
which had plunged. thanking heaven
for the thunde. peal which had
drowned my loud cry,
For | was not yet safe. He vas
still there, He had turned out all
lights but one He had not seen me
and was going could hear the
sound OF his feet as he wcnt stun
bling In his Iigtag course towards the
door, Then every sound both on his
part and on mine was lost In swoop
OF down-falling rain and remember
nothing more till out OF the blackness
before me, he started again into view,