The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-04-24

for yard before mr 10 any direction. 30 j
called 10 him ag1in and repeated lhf quctlon,
lie made 900 answer, Eut shifted bis grasp
from ms hand 10 my wrist, and then up 90
the middle Of my arm, ~ raising himself By
degrees, till our faces raWr nearly on % level
There be paused and iclt his hot breath on
my check
civilian Wuldur," said he hoarsely, wasn't
to-morrrw 10 have been your wodding-day p"
Something IN the tone Of his voice, in the
uucsi0n, IN the dusk and dreadful solitude,
sfrucl mo with horror. tried Go shake OF
bis hnuds bot he held ton fast fof that
"Well, What if Il was :" said ], aficr Q mo-
ment, "Nou needn't grip % hard, Catch
hold of The pole, win son and let 60 Of my
arms
lie gave short hard laugh buy never
stirred.
II suppose we're about two thousand feet
high" saws he, and II seemed 20 me that he
had something between bis teeth, "lt either
Of us was 10 full, he'd be O dead nan before
ho touched the ground"
would haNe given the world at that mo,
ment 10 bo able 10 see hia face but what
with my own head being doWHwards, and oil
his weight hanging 20 my arms, J had no
moIe power than an infant,
John" | exclaimed "whai do you mean
Catch hold Of the pole, and lrt me do the
same, My heads on FIRE :"
"Do YOU see this P" said he, catching my
arms a couple Of inches higher up, aud look
Ing right In my face, "Do you see this9"
IL was q large, open clasp-kHiie, and he
was holding Il With his teeth. Ills breath
seemed 10 hiss over the cold blade, 81 bought
It this evening" hid IL IN my built wuited
Ill the clouds cameround and there was no
soul TO see, Presently / shall cat you away
from the balloon, ] took an oath that you
should never have her, and ! mean to keep
e."
dimness came over MY eyes, and every
thing grew red, ! felt that In another minute
! should 10 inscnsihle, lie thought | was 50
already, and, letting my arms free, made a
sprug at the pole overhead,
That spring saved me, Our wrists were
bound together, and as he rose he drew me
Jloug with him for was 80 faint and giddy
that could make no effort for myself
] saw him hold hy the pole with his lcit
hand ! Jaw him take the knife in his right
! felt the cold steel pass between his wris,
and mine, and them ,,,,,
And then, the horror Of the moment gave
me back my strength, and | clung TO the
framework jus, rs the thong gave way,
We were separated now, and ! was still Sc
cured TO the trapeze by one ankle. lie had
only his arms TO trust to--aud the knife,
oh. the deadly deadly strife that followed
Il sickens me TO think Of H. His only hope
now lay in the cursed weapons aud 40 cling
ing 20 the woodwork with one hand, he
siroye TO stab me with the other
II was life or death now, and grew des.
perate. To feel his murdcrous clutch upon
my throat, and In the silence Of that hideous
.strugglc, TO hear the report Of champagne
Sork--iollowed by peal Of careless laughter
overhead -. = Oh, II was worse than
death, a hundred times overt
cannot tell how long we chung thus, each
with hand upon the Others throat, IL may
have lten only fow seconds but il seemed
like hours to me, The question was simply
which should be stranglcd first.
Presently his grpc relaxed, his lips be-
came dcnd.whitc and n shuddcr ran through
every Gbre Of his body He had turned gid
dyl
Then cry burst from him--n cry like
nothing human. He made false clutch nt
the trapcze, aud rcclcd over, caught him,
Just in time by the belt round his waist.
"lt's all over with me-" he groanod between
his set teeth. "lts all-oyer-with me =
Take your revenge" Then his head fell
heavily back ami lie hing, n dead weight on
my arm,
! did take my revenge but It was hard
work, and | was already halfcNhnuStcd. How
| contriycd to hold him up, 90 unbind my
foot. and ia crawl. so laden. up the ropes. is
more than ! can tell hut my presence Of
mind never failed me for an instant, and
suppose the excitement gave me n sort of
false strength while il lasicd. AT all events
did il, though now only remember climb
lng over the baskct-work, and seeing the faces
of the gentlemen all turned upon me as !
sank to the bottom Of the car, scarcely more
alive than the hurthcn in my arms,
He is-a pcuitent man now, an Australian
settler, and, as ! am told, well TO do in those
pnria
This is my story, and ! have no more to
tell.