Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-03-25

by widest rumors regarding the evil
dence to be adduced. Every day men
and women stopped me in the street
to ask what / knew of the murder. /
followed the advice of Bishop Per-
kins and kept my knowledge to myself.
Saturday came, and when the chores
were done / went alone to the grain
barn in the back lot of the senator's
farm with fail and measure and broom
and fork and shovel and sacks and my
luncheon, in q pushcart, with all of
which Mrs. Wright had provided me.
1t was a lonely place with woods
on three sides of the field and road
on the other. I kept laying down
beds of wheat on the barn floor and
beating them out with the fail until
the sun was well over the roof, when
l sat down to eat my luncheon. Then
l swept up the grain and winnowed
out the chaff and filled one of my
sacks. That done, / covered the floor
again and the thump of the fail eased
my loneliness until in the middle of
the afternoon two of my schoolmates
came and asked me to go swimming
with them. The river was not forty
rods away and a good trail led to the
swimming hole. 1t was a warm, bright
day and / was hot and thirsty. The
thought of cool waters and friendly
companionship was too much for me.
I went with them and stayed with
them longer than 1 intended. l re-
member saying as I dressed that /
should have to work late and go with
out my supper in order to finish my
stint.
1t was almost dark when l was put
ting the last sack of wheat into my
cart, in the gloomy barn and getting
ready to go.
A rustling in the straw where l
stealthy footsteps in the darkness. l
stood my ground and demanded:
"Who's thereT
l saw a form approaching in the
gloom with feet as noiseless as cats.
| took step backward and, seeing
that it was a woman, stopped.
''It's Kate" came in hoarse whis-
per as 1 recognized her form and staff.
"Run, boy-they have just come out
O. the woods. 1 saw them. They will
take you away. Run"
She had picked up the fail, and now
she put it in my hands and gave me
a push toward the door. ran, and
none too quickly, for l had not gone
fifty feet from the barn in the stubble
when l heard them coming after me,
whoever they were. / saw that they
were gaining and turned quickly. I
had time to raise my fail and bring it
down upon the head Of the leader,
who fell as I had seen a beef fall IN
der the ak. Another man stopped be-
yond the reach of my fail and, after
seconds hesitation, turned and ran
away in the darkness.
i could hear or see no other motion
in the field. / turned and ran on
down the slope toward the village. In
a moment 1 saw someone coming out
of the maple grove at the fields end,
just ahead, with a lantern.
Then 1 heard the voice of the school
master saying:
''Is it you, my lad?
Eyes," 1 answered, as I came up to
him and Mary, in a condition Of
breathless excitement.
told them of the curious adventure
1 had had.
"Come quick" said the schoolmas-
ter. Let's go back and find the man
in the STUMBLE"
1 remembered that had struck the
path in my flight just before stopping
to swing the fail. The man must have
fallen very near it. Soon we found
where he had been lying and drops of
fresh blood on the stubble.
"Hush," said the schoolmaster.
We listened and heard a wagon rat
Ting at a wild pace down the road
toward the river.
'sThere he goes" said Mr.. Racket.
His companions have carried him
away. Ye'd be riding in that wagon
now, yerself, my brave lad, if We hadn't
"a made a lucky hit with the fail
God bless vel"
"What would they "a done with
me?" 1 asked.
"Oh, reckon they'd "a took ye off,
lad, and KEEP We for a year or so until
Amos was out O. danger" said Mr..
Hacket. Maybe they'd drowned We in
the river down there an left yer
clothes on the bank to make it look