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Some minutes later, perhaps five, a horrible cry for help, so terrifying that it could be heard above the singing, split the serenity of the happy occasion. For a second the group in the house froze, looking at each other in astonishment; then with Tom Lerch in the lead they dashed out into the night. The cry sounded again, only this time it was fainter. "Help, help... It's got me..." Oliver's terror-stricken voice called again, this time from a position above their heads. With panic in their hearts, some of the people dashed back into the house, while the others continued to call to the voice above their heads which was still moaning: "Help me...Help..." Anxiously they continued to scan the moonlit sky, but there was nothing to be seen; only the voice could be heard: "Help me, help..." It is highly possible that the glare from the lights of the house may, to a limited extent, have affected the visibility of the would-be rescuers. Then too, the trees and bushes situated near the house may have deflected the apparent direction of the pleading voice. But for almost five minutes the voice continued to call. Sometimes it was loud, then soft, now close at hand, now feeble and far away—but always from the sky, never on the ground level. Neighbors were called and a frantic search was begun which covered the entire yard, the farm buildings, the roof and chimney of the house, and even the basement. Men got ladders and climbed in trees, poked in the snow, and even lowered the lantern down the well. Oliver could not be found. At 10:00, the horror of the ghastly situation became all the more apparent when eight or nine people in the yard heard the voice calling to them from above their heads. Once more it uttered a soul- tingling plea for help. After that, the voice was never heard again. The search was continued with renewed effort, the members not daring to venture an opinion as to what weird, unnatural event was taking place. Then it was noticed the Oliver's tracks had stopped about 225 feet from the house, about half the distance to the well; beyond these tracks the snow was undisturbed. There was no sign of struggle, nothing to indicate that a fracas of nature had occurred. At the end of the tracks, halfway between the house and the well, lay an abandoned bucket. Oliver had left the house with two. Where was the other one? The search for Oliver continued all night and all the next day, without revealing the slightest clue as to his whereabouts. Some witnesses disagreed as to the exact words called out by Oliver. Some swore he called "It's got me." Others were just as dogmatic and claimed he screamed: "They've got me!" Said both, first "Its"when attractor hit Him ight of L-M on receiving-Por' i They" Different theories were advanced to the effect that an eagle might have carried him off. But who ever heard of an eagle carrying off a grown man? And would an eagle, even if it could do so, hover over the scene for half an hour, holding on to its victim? What about the missing bucket? Would Oliver, thus lifted up into the sky, still retain his hold on a bucket? Would he not drop it and use both hands in the struggle? For a time it was thought that the grapnel of a balloon had carried off the man. This, however, was quickly disproved. Due to weather conditions no balloon had ascended that day, anywhere. Another theory holds that Oliver was murdered; that the slayer crept up behind his unsuspecting victim as he went to the well, seizing the bucket and killing him with it. One of the guests at the Lerch farm that night, driven mad with jealousy over the attentions Oliver was giving to Lillian Hirsch, may have 97