Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-02-14

the dense shadow OF a clump Of shrub
berry.
The night was so placid that dur
ing the intervals between the inilta
tive calls the low murmur of Whisper
ing spring fell distinct and clear upon
the silence few steps away the
red-roofed cottage bulked large In
the gloom.
The man had already twice given
his call and was about to give it a
third time, when the parlor door at
the front of the house rather noisily
opened, and man came down off the
porch and across the yard. AS he
walked over the brink Of the slight
decline where the yard dipped to the
creek, he passed in outline for brief
moment against the southern sky.
1t was the preacher.
His glasses were off, the stoop gone
from his shoulders and his step
showed not a sign of n1incing. He was
partly dressed, partly in his night
clothes precisely as one who had
wakened naturally from sleep and
gone into the yard for some trifing
purpose or other. There was light
spot at his hip which the watcher
under the clump of shrubbery sur
missed to be the ivory handle Of the
six-gun that had thudded against the
bottom of the skiff.
He went straight to the spring, took
down the dipper and dipped himself
drink, making deal of noise in the
act-even an unnecessary amount of
it, as it seemed to the critical ears
under the shrubbery.
The drink over, he hung up the dip
per, with another clatter; sauntered
past the man crouched by the rustic
seat; snatched something that was
reached out to him; hid it in the
bosom of his shirt; whispered very
hurried word or two; strolled back up
the yard; crossed the porch; re-en-
tered the parlor door and locked it be-
hind him.
The man crouehing by the seat half
rose and slipped back the way he had
come, the frogs, as before, falling ST
lent as he came even with them and
resuming their .croak again after he
had passed. Jack tried hard to make
him out as he stole by, less than a
dozen steps away, but he was so
stopped and so shrouded in gloom that
the effort was in vain.
And so they had come-and gone
A burden seemed to be lifted from
the night. A clean breeze came down
out of the cool dells OF the serene
woods as If to sweep away the faint
of their presence
The woodsman lay long time lis
tening, and reviewing the astonishing
pantomime. Not a sound did he hear.
He glanced up at the red-roofed cot
tage. From porch step to gable it lay
as peaceful as its background of placid
sky. 1t was hard to think that at that
moment it might be standing at the
danger-center Of some intangible web
Of evil that was being woven about it.
He knew the lay of the house as
well as he knew his own small cabin
along the south and fronting the
road the seldom used parlor, with
the spare bedroom opening off from it
on the east; back Of these the sit
ting-room, and the old bankers bed
room adjoining it, with the small
room containing his safe opening off
it on the west and extending some
distance beyond the main wall; back
of these rooms the dining-room and
back of it the kitchen.
Front entrance to both parlor and
sitting-room was from the wide porch,
which filed up almost the entire jog
between the parlor and the small
room that served as Office.
Mrs. Curry and Texie both slept up
stairs, the latter over the old bankers
bedroom, the former over the office.
There were no rooms above the par
lor and spare bedroom, these with the
porch, being later addition to the
original building.
With every possible caution Jack
slowly crawled up the yard, around
back of the house, and under the part
/ ly open window Of the parlor bed
room; lay listening for a guarded mo-
ment; then rose, noiseless as the
night, and peeped within.
On chair just under the window
hung the somber frock coat; on the
| bed a man breathed even and deep.
apparently sleeping as TRANQUILITY as a
tired athlete,