Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1916-04-22

narm COON 20 Dan IuHe tnrOuBn tnlS
NIGHTS work And Mr.. Lanedon says.
quick like. What do yod meant so I
told him and the doctor, and Mr.. Lang
don was all fer comm wi mo. but the
doctor wouldna let him. 'Dinna fash
ycrser,' said. when saw the doctor
was RIGHT. III gae fast. and n there
n need fer you Ill come richt back
And the doctor said. You're all worn
ont, Philip. You've got to have some
rest BE sensible. SO | went back
a'one.r
"At what hour did you reach the
home Of Miss Pager
IL dinna ken the exact hour, but It
were aboot daylight, and | cude see
quite n ways ahead of me-"
"Will you tell us, please. what you
saw when you approached the Page
house?'
Slowly one great hand clinched itself
into n knotted fist, and the muscles OF
his Jaw frightened, and across those
who sat between, the gray eyes of the
Scotchman and the tear-dimmed eyes
Of Mrs. Page met I'm a mute commun-
ion Of terrible memories. Then, slowly,
with a new tone of suppressed excite
ment lending a thrill to his voice he
said.
when l got ME enough to see the
hoose. cude see great black splotch
In front Of 1t, that l made oot to be
men. Then cude hear shouts: Come
DOT, Dan Page, we've summat to say
to your So / didna drive right oop
to the place. stopplt In the road and
crepit through the wood at the back
and, hiding under the hedge, got oop
to the rear. Then wrote on a wee
scrap of paper, I've news Of Mary
and 1 come to bring help Then 1
tappit on a window, till l saw Mrs.
Page peerin' oot-and held up the
paper.
"After n minute or so she unlatchit
the back door and slippit in. oh,
Mr.. MACPHERSON, says the puir lady,
cryin', is my girl safeY And 1 says,
Safe and sound asleep And she says,
Thank Cod Then | heerd another
NOANC III 4AlAlllts 4AllllN lO 10 IL 7
Don't let them get me-oh, my God,
don't let them get mer And l saw
that Dan Page was hidin' behind her,
clingin' to her skirts like a scared
BARN. His face were all drawn and
twistit like, and his mouth was slob-
BERN, aud he kept cryin', Il was drunk
Il was drunk! You tell them, Annie
You tell them! At that she says like
one speakin' to a child, There, there,
Dan-you're safer And then there
came an awfu' cry from ootside:
Come oOt, Dan Page-or Wen smoke
ye DOT like the beast that ye arer At
that Mrs. Page began to sob and says,
oh, what shall 1 do? What shall
do! They will ma talk to me-and
they'll burn Oor hoose, they'll burn oor
hoose! oh, if Philip were only herer
"'Dinna greet l said, I'll get him,
but he nun ha' time. Let Dan Page
go upstairs and talk to them from a
window
"'Oh, Dam says the puir lady. Dan
will you do that? Tell them you
didn't mean to hurt Mary or-or me.
No, no. he whlmpered, 4 can't,
can'tr But grabbit him by the arm
and pulled him to his feet. BE man,
l cried, and l shookit him. BE mar
and get you upstairs
YOU'D be safe in the cupola. DAN
says Mrs. Page. IN stay with you
and this kind man will. go for Philip
But he kept sayin', NO, no. and l
could hear the others bangin' at the
door and | dared not stay, so | slippit
DOT the way | came and went off for
lIr. Langdon."
Mrs. Page, whose anxiety to be near
Mary had kept her from returning TO
the witness room, shuddered at the
memories that MACPHERSON was con-
juring up out of the past. The soft
ness which time has lent the tragedy
of that chill winter morning was
stripped off, exposing the old horrible
wound, and she could feel again those
cropping fingers, icy cold. clutching at
her as she strove TO drag Dan Page
up stairs towards the cupola.
She could hear his voice, now thick
with drink, now athrill with terrible
fear-as he pleaded with her to hide
him and to save him. She had been
mercifully numb with the horror of it
then; consumed only with the desire
to hold those men at bay long enough
for MACPHERSON to bring help, and it
was that desire which gave her the
strength to drag the heavy bulk Of her
husband up the two flights Of stairs
into the little cupola at the top.
She could feel again the sting Of the
cold dawn wind against her face as she
stepped out on the platform Of rough
boards and dropped the inert figure Of
her husband at her feet.
Then with all the eloquence Of her
great fear she had pleaded with the
mob below to go away. They had
seemed all eyes floating on a great pool
of blackness against the snow as she
loOlyad down hut lafpr Sha pOuld COO