Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-10-26

There came one dark and sultry
! night, heavy beneath skies overcast, in
| August. Whitaker left a roof garden
in the middle of a stupid performance,
| and walked the streets till long after
| midnight, counting the fatigue that
| alone could bestow untroubled sleep.
| On his return q sleepy hall-bOy with
wilted collar ran the elevator up to
| his tenth-fioor landing and, leaving him
| fumbling at the lock of his door,
! dropped clankingly out of sight. Whit
aker entered and shut himself in with
| the pitch-blackness of his private hall.
He CROPPED along the wall for the
! electric switch, and found only the
shank of it, the hard rubber button
| having disappeared. And then, while
still he was trying to think how this
could have happened, he sustained q
| murderous assault.
A misCalculatiOn on the part of the
marauder alone saved him. The black
! jack Cor whatever the weapon Was)
missing his head by the narrowest
shave, descended upon his left Shout
der with numbing force. NOtwith-
standing his pain and surprise, Whit
aker rallied and grappled, thus escap-
ing a second and probably more deadly
blow
But his shoulder was almost useless.
and the pain Of it began to sicken him,
while the man in his grip fought like
devil unclaimed.
For some minutes the night was rem
| dered wild and violent with the crashes
| of OverthrOWn furniture and the thud
and thump of struggling bodies. Then
| Whitaker broke free and plunged in
| what he imagined to be the direction
of dresser in which he kept a revolv-
er. His foot slipped on the hardwood
floor, the ankle twisted, and he fell
aWkWardly, striking his head against
q table leg with such force that he lay
| half stunned. An instant later his as
! Sailant emptied five chambers of a re-
vOlver into the darkness about him,
and then, alarmed by a racket OF
| pounding on the hall door, fed success
fully by way of the fire escape to adj
| joining roofs and neighboring back
yards. .t
| pull himself together and hobble to the
door, brace of intelligent policemen,
who had been summoned by the hall
| BOY, were threatening to break it down.
Admitted, they took his safety into
| their care and, simultaneously, the re-
| vOlver which he incautiOusly admitted
| possessing. Later they departed, OBJ
viously disgruntled by the Unprofes-
sional conduct of the Crook who had
left no "clues," with a warning to the,
| householder that he might expect to be
| summoned to court, as soon as he was
able to move, to answer for the crime
! Of keeping weapon of defense.
| Whitaker took to his bed in company
with black temper and the aroma of
arnica.
He entertained, the next day, several
persons: reporters; a physician; fu-
| tile, superfuOus, unornamentaI crea-
ture misleadingly designated a plain
clothes man; finally his friend (by now
! their acquaintance had warmed to real
friendship Ember.
The retired investigator found Whit
| aker getting into his clothes-a cere-
mony distinguished by some profanity
and numerous grunts.
afternoon he said, taking a chair
and surveying the sufferer with slight
| iy masked amusement. "Having a
good timer
'YOu go to thunder!' said Whitaker
In disgust.
"Glad to see you're not hurt MUCH
pursued the other, Unabashed.
Whitaker witbered him with a glare.
you're lucky to be alive" observed
Ember, eXasperatingly philosophic.
ga lot you know about it! | sup
pose you could lay this thug by the
heels in a brace Of shakes?"
"Just about" Ember admitted plac-
| idly.
Whitaker stared aggressively. 'You
mean Drummond?"
The answer was a nod.
81 don't believe it,"
you'll at all events do me the credit
to recall that 1 warned you two months
ago."
"An the same, don't believe it was
Drummond"
"You haven't missed any property,
believer
"No."
$50 presumably the fellow had some
motive other than a desire to thieve.
Besides if he'd been on the loot he
might much more easily have tried one
Of the lower foors-and more sem
sibly."
"Well ;" Whitaker temporized.
"And I'd like to know what you
mean to do"
about what?"
"Unless you're hell-bent on sticking
around here to get your head mashed
in venture respectfully to suggest
that you consign yourself to my COM
petent care"
Meaning
''Iye got a bungalow down on Long
Island-a One-hOrse sort of a bachelor
affair-and I'm going to run down this
evening and stay awhile. There's quiet.
no society and good swimming VIII