Year: 1873

going to be sick ~ L exclaimed, hold
ing on to the seat with all my might


"You do look strange, ,"he replied, 8


snaky smile stealing over his face. 81


shouldn't wonder lift was apOElexy.n
> / did not suspect the game he had
) played. His words were like an echo
: and his face seemed twice as large as
l it usually was. My head began to spin
and my brain to snap and crack, and
I was greatly frightened.


"You are badly off," he continued,
. looking into my face. al will drive
( as fast as possible, and get doctor"
! My tongue was so heavy that /
could not reply. 1 clutched the sest,
shut my eyes, and he put the horse at
his best pace. We met a farmers


team and can remember that one of
! the occupants of the wagon called out
to know what allied me. Raleigh did
not reply, but urged the horse for
ward.


About three miles from Grafton
was long stretch of forest, and this
we soon reached. The pain in my
head was not so violent, and was
not so badly affected when opening
my eyes. had settled into q sort of
dumb stupor, with a brain so be-
numbed that I had to say to myself,
"this is tree, that is a stump" ETC.,
before I could make sure that ! was
not wrong. Half q mile down the
J road after we struck the forest, and
then Raleigh turned the horse into a


blind road leading back into the woods


1 could not understand what he in


tended. tried to grapple with the


question, but could not solve it.


"Well here we are" exclaimed Raj


eigh, when we had reached a point


forty rods from the road.


He stopped the horse, got out and


hitched him, and then came around
to the wheel.


"You don't feel just right, but 1
guess you will be better sOon," he re-
marked. 'COme let me help you
down."


He reached up his arms, and 1 let
go of the seat and fell into them. 1t
seemed to me as if l weighed a ton,
but he carried me along without an
effort, and laid me down within about
a rod of the fence which ran along on
one side of an old pasture. Just now
the effect of the drug was wearing off
and began to feel little better, and
l got faint suspicion thatsomething
unusual had happened, But 1 was
! pOWeTleSs to move limb the sensa-
ton was like that when your foot
goes to sleep. "Can you speak ?" in
quired Raleigh, bending over me, "be-
cause if you can it will save me the
/ trouble. want to know just where
you have stored way that money"


Now / began to realize my situa-
ton. His face looked natural again
and the load was off my tongue. /
also felt that could move my fingers
3 little.


"George Raleigh are you going to
rob me ," 1 asked, finding my voice
at last.


"WeIl, some folks might call it rob
bing, but we dress up the term little
by calling it the only correct financial
way of equalizing the floating cur
rency, so that each one is provided for
and no one left out"


"You shan't have the money; pH
Ole first - L yOlIed, rising "a little.


"Ah, I see-you didn't take quite
enough, !" he cOolly remarked. "Well,
I've provided for this"


He went to the buggy, procured
ropes and a gag, and knelt down be-
side me. I had but little strength yet
and he conquered me in a moment.
Lying me on my right side, looking
toward the fence, he tied my hands
and then forced a gag into my mouth.


"There now, you see you are nicely
fixed up, and all because you act like
a fool, instead of a sensible young
lawyer soon to be admitted to the
bar"


While he was speaking-indeed
while he was tying mel had caught
sight of the white face of little girl
looking at US between the rails of the
fence. I could see her great blue eyes.
There were red stains around her
mouth and on the little hand resting
on the rails, and l knew that she
was some farmers child searching for
strawberries. l could not warn her of
her danger, and feared she would be
seen or heard. While Raleigh was
tying the last knot, I winked at tine
little girl as hard as 1 could, hoping
that she would see me and move
away. But she did not go.


'rWeIl, now for the money! said
Raleigh, and he began searching my
pockets. He went from one to the
other, removing all the articles, felt
down my boot leg, and he finally
passed his hand over my bosom and
discovered the money.


"Ha there it is !'' he exclaimed,
drawing out the packages; and he was
cool enough to 90 at it to count out
the money. AS he commenced the
little girl waved her handkerchief to
me. My heart went humping, for /
expected she would utter q word or a
shout; but she sank down from sight
and caught q glance at her frOck as
she passed through the grass.


"You see, my young FRIEND" re-
marked Raleigh, as he drew off one of
his boots and deposited some of the
bills in it, 'there's nothing like
transacting business as it should be
transacted. Some men would have
shot or stabbed you, but it is only the
apprentices who do such work. No
real gentlemen would"


"He drew off the other boot and
placed some "fifties" and "twenties"
in it, and then continued:


"I have it all planned how to deal
with you as soon as get this money
disposed of around my person. /
shall lay you on your back and pour
the balance of this wine down your
throat. There's enOug h of it to make
you sleep from now until tomorrow
night, and by that time I shall be
hundreds of miles away. As soon as
I see that the drug has taken effect /
shall unite your hands and remove
the gag. When you come out of your
sleep-if you ever dO-yOu had better
crawl out to the road, where you
will be most likely to meet with some
traveller. l want to use the horse and
buggy, otherwise 1 would leave them
to you"


How cool he talked He treated
the matter as if it were a regular
transaction in which fully &C
quiesced. He had me fast prisoner,
and felt that he could do Just as he
pleased. While was thinking l saw
the little white face appear between
the rails again, hut in 8 moment it,
faded away and its place was taken
by the sun-burned phiz of a farmer.
He looked from me to Raleigh and
back again, and winked to him in a
way which he understood. His face
disappeared, and felt that 1 should
be saved.


mo, old Scrip won't get his tin to-
day." mused Raleigh, storing away
lllc UAlAo IL HIS JONhClb. 1Ou Will
90 back to Law & Law feeling put
out and cut up. But they shouldn't
blame you-is is not your way at all.
True, had you minded your business
on the cars and not been so free with
stranger, this would not have hap
pened. 1 was on nv way to Milwau-
kee, and had no thought of such rich
pickings here"


"NOw, in just about a minute We'll
be through the business, +" he remarked
trying TO put the flask between my
jaws.


rolled my head to one side and he
did not succeed. He was jamming
the flask against my teeth, when I
caught sound Of a soft step, the crash
of club, and Raleigh rolled off my
body. He tried to leap up, but three
or four farmers struck him senseless.
Before he came to was free of ropes
and gag, and we had him nicely
bound.


Over beyond the pasture a farmer
and his hands were raking up hay.
n