The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1921-06-24

Out Ildl our one anu Only lllIaLl -
Potts was upstairs"
Good Lord" spluttered Darrell,
by now very wide awake, what do
we do, sergeant-major?"
"We take it in turns-two at n
| time-to sit up with Potts" Hugh
glanced at the other three. "D-n it
you blighters-wake up"
81 don't know what it is" Darrell
said, rubbing his eyes, II feel most in
formally sleepy"
"Well, listen to me-confound you
Toby"
SORRY, old man." With q start Sin
clair sat up in his chair and blinked
at Hugh.
They're almost certain to try and
get him tonight" went on Hugh.
Having given the show away by
leaving a clue on the wretched secre-
tary, they must get the real man as
soon as possible. It's far too danger
Gus to leave the-leave the" His
head dropped forward or his chest:
q short, h~alf-strangled snOre came
from his lips. 1t had the effect of
waking him for the moment, and he
staggered to his feet.
The other three, %sprawling in their
chairs, were openly and unaShamedly
asleep; even the dogs lay in fantastic
attitudes, breathing heavily, inert like
logs.
"Wake up" shouted Hugh wildly.
"For Gods sake wake up! We've
been %drugged!"
An iron weight seemed to be press
for sleep grew stronger and stronger.
For a few moments more he fought
against it, ~hopelessly, despairingly 4;
while his legs seemed not to belong
to him, and there was a roaring noise
in his ears. And then, just before
Inconsistencies overcame him, there
came to his bemused brain the sound
of a whistle thrice repeated from out
side the window. With a last stu
pendous effort he fought his way to-
ward It. and for q moment he stared
into the darkness. There were dim
figures moving through the shrubs,
and suddenly one seemed to detach
itself. 1t came nearer and the light
fell on the mans face. His o S and
mouth were covered with q sort of
pad, but the cold, sneering eyes were
u~nmistakable.
"Lakington J" gasped Hugh, and
then the roaring noise increased in
his head his legs struck work alto
gether. He collapsed on the floor and
lay sprawling, while Lexington, his
face pressed against the glass outside,
watched in silence.
Draw the curtains" Lexington
was speaking, his voice muffled be-
hind the pad, and II Of the men id
as he said. There were four in all,
each with a similar pad over his
mouth and nose. "Where did you put
the generator, BrownlOwY"
"In the coal-scuttle." A man whom
Mrs. Denny would have had no diTi-
Guilty in recognizing. even with the
mask on his face, carefully lifted a
small black box out Of the scuttle from
behind some coal, and shook it gent
ly, holding it to his ear. ITS fin
ished," he remarked, and darlington
nodded.
"An ingenious invention is gas"
he said, addressing another Of the
men. 1--WE owe your nation quite a
debt Of gratitude for the idea"
A cultural grunt left no doubt as
to what that nation was, and Laling-
ton dropped the box into his pocket.
go get him." he ordered briefly.
and the others left the room.
COntemptuOusly Lexington kicked
one Of the dogs; it rolled over and
lay motionless in it's new position.
Then he went In turn to each of the
three men sprawling In the chairs.
With no attempt at gentleness he
turned their faces up to the light, and
studied them deliberately then he let
their heads roll back again with a
thud. Finally, he went to the window
and stared down at Drummond. In
his eyes was a look of cold fury, and
he kicked the unconscious man saw
agely In the ribs.
"You young swine" he muttered.
"DO you think I'll forget that blow
on the jawY"
He took another box out Of his
pocket and looked at it lovingly.
"Shall II" With a short laugh he
replaced it. Its too good a death
for you, Captain Drummond, ID. S. o.,
NJ. G. Just to snuff III In your sleep.
No. my friend, l think l can devise
something better thas that; some
thing really artistic"
Two other men came in as he
turned away, and Lexington looked
at them.
"Well," he asked, have you got the
old woman?"
Bound and gagged in the Kitchen"
answered one Of them lacOnically.
"Are you going to do this crowd IMP
The speaker looked at the uncon-
scious men with hatred In his eyes.
"They cucumber the earth-this
breed Of puppy"
"They will not cucumber II for
long," said darlington softly. But