Sturgis

“ Sprague looked at his friend, as if surprised to hear him apparently abandon the fight.
"Don't worry about me," he said kindly; "I came here of my own free will. But," he added, as a vision of Agnes Murdock flashed upon his mind, "I have no intention to die just yet, if I can help it. Are we not both able-bodied men and armed? What can one man do against two?"
"It is not an open fight," said Sturgis, "but I am glad to see your spirit. I do not give up; but I want you to realize that we are in a critical situation, with the odds enormously against us." ”

“ The words were Murdock's as he turned away from the grating and closed the sliding panel.
"An interruption which probably means death to us," whispered Sturgis to his companion; "take another breath of fresh air, old fellow; we must hold out a little longer."
Sprague, however, lay motionless and unresponsive. The reporter shook him violently and turned him over upon his back. The artist's body was limp and inert; his eyes half closed; his face livid. ”

“ The ruling passion is strong in death; without knowing just why he did so, Sturgis found himself again at the speaking-tube, endeavoring to hear the conversation, the sound of which evidently came from Murdock's office.
He could barely distinguish a word here and there; but he recognized the timbre of one of the voices. It was the chemist's, and his interlocutor was a woman—perhaps his daughter. If only he could reach Agnes Murdock with some word or signal.
In suspense, he held his ear to the mouthpiece, occasionally taking a breath of fresh air to renew his strength. ”

“ A panel of the door at the head of the stairs had been pushed up, revealing a small opening covered by a strong and closely woven wire netting.
"As we were saying, 'murder will out!' Nevertheless, it is sometimes easier to weld a chain, even of circumstantial evidence, than it is to predict who will be bound in it."
Sturgis and Sprague stood in the glimmering light of the candle, silently watching the glowing eyes behind the screen.
"Mr. Sturgis, you are a clever man," continued Murdock, "an uncommonly clever man. ”

“ Without replying, Sturgis took from his pocket a bone-handled knife and carefully dipped one end of the handle into the fluid in the leaden tank. At once the liquid began to seethe and boil, giving out dark pungent fumes.
"I thought so," muttered the reporter, under his breath; "that man is truly a genius—the genius of evil."
"Who?" asked Sprague. ”

“ Sturgis hardly knew whether or not any of this wild dream was verity. Yet the train--and later, the trolley-car--continued to roll through unfamiliar country, and Mrs. Sturgis resigned herself trustfully to her son's keeping.
At the Asquam Station, Hop was drawn up with his antiquated surrey. He wore a sprig of goldenrod in his buttonhole, and goldenrod bobbed over the old horse's forelock.
"Proud day, ma'am," said Hop, as Ken helped his mother into the wagon, "Proud day, I'm sure."
"As if I were a wedding or something," whispered Mrs. Sturgis. "Ken, I'm excited!" ”

“ Sprague's dinner party was over, and among the first to take their leave, shortly after midnight, were Dunlap, Sturgis and Doctor Thurston.
The reporter did not often spend an evening in worldly dissipation. He was a man of action, a hard worker and an enthusiastic student. Almost all of the time which was not actually spent in the pursuit of his profession, was devoted to study in many widely different fields of art and science. For Sturgis's ideal of his profession was high; he held that almost every form of knowledge was essential to success in his line of work. ”

“ Between Murdock and the rest of us there was a difference of degree, certainly, but was there a difference of kind?"
"There is one thing which I cannot yet understand," said Thurston, "and that is, why Murdock should have pushed his audacity to the point of defying you to ferret out the mystery of this crime, when he might perhaps have avoided all risk of detection by holding his tongue."
"No man is perfect," answered Sturgis, sententiously, "not even an accomplished villain like Murdock, fortunately for the rest of mankind. Every human being has his weak points. ”

“ Sturgis's conditions. If you are willing," he continued, turning to the reporter, "our host will hold the stakes and decide the wager."
"I, for one, agree with Sprague," said Doctor Thurston. "I am disappointed in the problem. I have seen Sturgis unravel some extremely puzzling tangles in my day; and such a case would not be hard to find. Why, no longer ago than this evening, on our way here, we stumbled upon a most peculiar case——eh?——oh!——er——please pass the cognac, Sprague. I wish I had some like it in my cellar; it is worth its weight in gold." ”

“ Sturgis was a man of singular charm of character, the reticence which distinguishes his writings being laid aside in his intercourse with his friends. His novels show a peculiar and sympathetic insight into the immature mind of masculine youth. ”

“ There was a warm, tender flush upon her cheeks telling of her happiness. Her eyes shone, soft in their brightness, and her lips were red with the leaping blood of youth. She had turned to speak with Mrs. Sturgis, the stoutest, jolliest and altogether most motherly woman in the valley, and Mrs. Sturgis, watching her eyes and lips and paying no attention to her words, put out her plump hands suddenly, crying heartily:
"You pretty little mouse! If I had just one wish I'd wish I was a man, an' I'd just grab you up in my arms an' I wouldn't stop goin' until I set you down in front of a preacher. ”

“ The grass was rank and we were told that it was a favorite feeding ground of the deer.
At Louis Lake I made an excuse to visit Burr Sturgis’ mother who lived with her husband on the opposite side of the lake from our camp. I asked Burr to take me across that I might get from his mother some corn cakes. We found Mrs. Sturgis to be a woman about forty-five years of age with some of the freshness of youth in her appearance, and in conversation quite above her surroundings. She had had a large family of children all born in the woods. The rumor among the guides was that she was from Connecticut. ”

“ But so accustomed was he to receiving detailed impressions of all that occurred before his eyes, that the chemist's actions, unimportant as they seemed at the time, were unconsciously recorded upon the reporter's brain.
Murdock opened the door of the extension and passed out of the room. Sturgis, watching his chance, snatched up a sheet of paper from the table, inserted it in the typewriter, and rattled off something as fast as he could. Looking up when he had finished, he saw that Murdock had returned and was observing him with a sardonic grin.
"More happy thoughts?" he inquired. ”

“ Doctor Thurston turned to him:
"Come along, Sturgis; neither you nor I are needed here; and if we do not hurry, Sprague's dinner will have to wait for us. It is a quarter to eight now."
The reporter seemed about to follow his friend, but he stood for an instant irresolute.
"I say, Doctor," he inquired at last, "are you sure the man is drunk?"
"He has certainly been drinking heavily. Why?"
"Because it seems to me——Hello, we cannot go yet; the passenger is more badly hurt than the driver."
"The passenger?" queried the physician, turning in surprise to the policeman. ”

“ In 1863, General Sturgis moved out from Memphis to occupy the prairie country of Mississippi, that large fertile region upon the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, where the great cotton and corn fields lay as yet un-tracked by the hoofs of the invader. Forrest fell upon him on the Tishomingo Creek, with less than twenty-five hundred horse. The army of Sturgis is estimated at about fourteen thousand men of all arms, and was completely equipped. ”

“ But there was no suspicion of annoyance in Sprague's cheery voice, as he exclaimed:
"You cannot come in yet, Mrs. O'Meagher. I am asleep, and I shall be asleep for another hour at the least. Surely you cannot have forgotten that to-day is a holiday. Happy New Year! You have time to go to several masses before——"
"Get up, old lazybones; and don't keep a man waiting at your door in this inhospitable way, when he is in a hurry," interrupted a voice whose timbre was not that of the housekeeper, Mrs. O'Meagher.
"Oh! is that you, Sturgis?" laughed the artist. ”

“ Murdock had escaped the justice of men.
CHAPTER XXV. THE MURDER SYNDICATE.
"See here, Sturgis; this won't do. I forbade you to do a stroke of work to-day, or even to leave your bed; and here you are scribbling away just as though nothing had happened. I tell you when a man has had the narrow squeak you have, there has been a tremendous strain upon his heart, and it is positively dangerous——"
"Don't scold, old man; I have never in my life been better than I feel to-day. ”

“ Sprague, as an amiable man of the world and a prince of good fellows, it may be said that he is not one of us. Much to my sorrow, therefore, I am left no alternative to the course I am about to adopt. The fault, if anybody's, is your own, after all, Mr. Sprague. There is a homely but expressive adage concerning the danger of 'monkeying' with a buzz saw. Why, my dear friend, did you 'monkey' with Mr. Sturgis's buzz saw, instead of sticking to your palette and maulstick. ”

“ As he passed the chemist, the reporter caught his eye, and, in a flash, read there some sinister purpose, which caused him to hesitate, on his guard.
At that moment there came a knock upon the hall door.
"Pshaw!" exclaimed Murdock, "here comes an interruption, I suppose. Please step down stairs; I shall be with you directly."
With these words, he quietly but firmly shoved the reporter into the extension, and, with a rapid motion, pushed forward the door.
Sturgis almost lost his balance, but instinctively put out his foot between the door and the jamb. He felt a strong pressure from the outside ”

“ Sturgis said to Hugh, "Well, Hugh, instead of sitting about here any longer, you might go up to-day on to the mountain and look around to find some good strong corral poles and posts. Some of the poles in the big corral are getting pretty weak, and as soon as the roundup has passed, we may as well make that corral over. Try to find poles that are easy got out, and of course as near home as you can; and if you get a chance, you might kill a heifer or a young bull, if you should see one." ”

“ Sturgis's eyes were roving restlessly over the walls, ceiling and floor in search of a loophole of escape.
"There is no chance to reach the skylight without a ladder; and even if we could reach it, we should be no further advanced, as it would be impossible to make any impression on the steel shutters. That leaves the register and the speaking-tube. While I examine the register, suppose you try the tube. If it connects with the Manhattan Chemical Company's office, there is a bare chance that we may attract the attention of the detectives whom we left there." ”

“ With the Sturgises, life became dreary and grew [Pg 93] drearier. Miss Loughborough’s school closed, Signor Bellini departed for his beloved Italy, the Wednesday and Saturday pupils became fewer and fewer and by mid-July had evaporated entirely. Mrs. Sturgis, fretting over the trivial expenses each day inevitably brought, wore a worried, harassed air. ”

“ I am surprised that one who passes for a man of science should be willing to make such a request."
If Murdock intended to gall the reporter, he succeeded; for, modest as he was, Sturgis prided himself above all things upon the scientific value of his work in all its aspects. He manifested no external sign of annoyance, however, as he answered with a smile:
"I am not a man of science now, but only a reporter."
"In that case," replied Murdock, "let us talk of something else. I should be pleased to discuss my chemical researches with Mr. Sturgis, the scientist; but with Mr. ”

“ He met Arbogast at the Wall Street door. The two men re-entered, Arbogast setting down his satchel in the vestibule and leaving the outer door ajar, as Quinlan found it a few minutes later, when he stole the satchel. I have every reason to believe that it was at Chatham's request that the men returned. He wished to use the telephone, and he did so."
"Your story is connected, and it is certainly not lacking in details," said Dunlap incredulously; "in fact, the details are far too abundant for the evidence thus far advanced."
"Every one of the details is based upon facts," replied Sturgis. ”

“ During the fall and winter we built Fort Meade and the town of Sturgis. ”

“ I shall have to continue to confide to the pages of my journal, as I have done for years, the interesting events of, if I may say so, a somewhat remarkable career, which I hope will some day, after my death, find their way in print to public favor. My dream has always been that some such man as Mr. Sturgis might ultimately edit these memoirs; but, alas, the fondest of human dreams are seldom destined to be realized.
"Now then, gentlemen, before finally parting with you, I wish to honorably carry out the terms of my wager with Mr. ”

“ The sturgeon, it is true, still made their appearance, but they were spent and thin, and altogether unlike those which had been wont of yore to visit the fishing-ground of the sisterhood. The abbess and the nuns, however, either could not or they would not perceive the cause of the falling off in the take, or the change in the appearance of the sturgeon, but the common people who dwelt in the vicinity of the convent, and especially those poor persons to whom the river had been heretofore a source of support, were neither slow in seeing the cause nor in publishing the consequences to the world. ”

“ The sturgeon confesses that he gave way to this graceful flattery, and entered into a weir made to catch fish, which he found to be similar to the gates of great lords' houses—large when one goes in, and small when one goes out; he fell into the net, in which the jorsh saw him, and cried out, deriding him, "Suffer for the love of Christ." The deposition of the sturgeon makes a great impression upon the minds of the judges, who give orders to inflict the knout upon the little jorsh, to impale it in the great heat, as a punishment for its cheating ”