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The Hindered Hand, a novel by Sutton E. Griggs |
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Chapter 25. A Joyful Farewell |
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_ CHAPTER XXV. A Joyful Farewell Mr. Seabright sat upright in bed and rubbed his eyes. The gas was burning and there sat a man in one corner of his bedroom, turning a rifle over and over, in a cool manner, a keen look of satisfaction in his eyes. "Am I dreaming? O, I am dreaming!" said Mr. Seabright, trying to thus reassure himself; but a man was sitting in a chair in the corner, all as plain as day. "But I have had dreams that appeared as real," thought Mr. Seabright. He pinched himself so as to further determine the fact as to whether he was awake or asleep. Being thoroughly convinced that he was awake, he quickly fell back in the bed and pulled the cover over his head. Remembering, however, the man's rifle, he pulled the covering far enough down to allow one terrified eye to keep track of the weapon. "Mr. Seabright!" called the intruder. "Sir," responded Mr. Seabright, in sepulchral tones. "I think your wife belongs to that man Marshall's church," remarked the man. Mr. Seabright nodded assent. "Tell her that her pastor will hardly live till morning and that he would like to see her," said the man. Mr. Seabright had now found courage to pull the cover down from over the other eye, and it now rested on his nose. "Did you hear me," said the man, rather sharply. "You will please excuse my boldness," said Mr. Seabright, tremblingly, "but you have a totally wrong conception of my disposition I fear, Mr. Stranger. You can get the full benefit of my services with only the butt end of that thing pointing my way, instead of the occasional shifting of the muzzle in my direction." The stranger smiled coldly and said, "Tell her what I said." Mr. Seabright now got out of bed and proceeded to the door opening from his room into that of his wife. "Arabelle!" called Mr. Seabright through the partly opened door. Mrs. Seabright, who was in the midst of a horrible dream, sprang out of bed. "Arabelle, Percy G. Marshall is dying and would like to see you." "O my God! Can I save him?" she cried, wringing her hands. Excited though she was, it was not long before she was attired and rushing to the study of the church where she was told that she would find the dying man. The door of the study was slightly ajar so that she had no trouble in entering. There upon the sofa lay the dying man, his hand pressed to his side, evidently in an effort to staunch the flow of blood. It is the young man whom we saw repeating his childhood prayer after Mrs. Seabright in the Domain Hotel. "I knew that it would come to this, mother. I wanted to live to tell you that," said the dying preacher. "O my boy, my darling! O what has lain hold of me?" cried Mrs. Seabright, as she knelt by the bedside of the dying one and kissed his lips fervently. A gasp and the spirit of the young man was gone. A loud scream rang out on the night air when Mrs. Seabright realized that it was all over with him. "Wait, my boy, mother is coming." Taking from her bosom a small vial she swallowed the contents, fell across the breast of the dead and joined him in the spirit land. * * * * * When Mr. Seabright had delivered to Mrs. Seabright the message of the intruder, he turned and looked at the man in a helpless sort of way. When Mrs. Seabright was gone the man remarked to Mr. Seabright: "I been had my eye on your house for sevul years. It makes a good fort to shoot frum. It'll be turned to that use to-day. You'd better clean out, for a mob 'll be here soon." "O my God! Have they found me out? O my God! my God!" said Mr. Seabright, wringing his hands. "You may git now, I say," said the man. Mr. Seabright sought to put on his clothes, but trembled so that he did not make much headway. His visitor, to expedite matters, assisted him in dressing. "Take your money and the like. I won't need it where I'll be 'fore night," said the intruder. Mr. Seabright took advantage of this offer to pile into a small valise all the money, valuable papers and jewels in the house that he could find. He went out of the rear door and passed back to his stable, and out into the alley. Casting a look back at his house, he said: "Farewell, Hades!" Looking up into the heavens, he whispered as he ran: "In case, O stars, any inquiry is made of you as to my whereabouts, please let it be known, of course without specifying the exact spot, that I have gone to the land of the Eskimo. My face will soon be overgrown with a beard which I shall so dye that the keenest scented mob in all the world can not discern any difference between my humble self and the anatomy of the regulation Eskimo. So, farewell!" _ |
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