Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1868-11-20

'"'hV s"uuci ofedh III Tic SKY mly1
reveal me To the wild eyes that watcl,
ed for ine--but 10. ifIl7
Safely passing the summit, 7 threy
my leg over for the descent, and : fel
my foot seized. IL was but the cling
ing tendril of q wild vine, skirtinl
the wall. Grasping my knife In M,
right hand, crept along the bushe
for nifty yards, then struck across tn,
lawn for the side entrance. TIL
darkness perplexed me, but though
Iwns peering straight. Suddenly m,
foot struck bricks. What was this
l tried to recollect. There was N,
pavement round that part of the hos
pital. efls., .sl, .,i 80
1 Ipushed on uncertainty, and feel
ing ~ weightin the air, put out M,
hands to grope for some clue tn my
whereabouts. 1t was In an alley--
hanked with stone walls far aboy,
my head. 1t gave sudden turn
In an instant / knew was in the
subterranean passages Of the asylum
l. turned to retrace my steps--tht
obaque density of some heavy body
crouclied between me and the cute,
air. ! heard its stified breathing--its
steaIthy tread approaching me. NY
God? he had followed me from the
very door of the dead-house here T! =
A struggle for life with mailman III
these narrow, gloomy vaults--to liz
In the pool of ones own hearts blood
In this undiscovered tomb-aml my
young wife Constance !--'twas mad
deningl ~. N.
For an instant my brain was on
fire. Then l thought there might be
an exit-other devious windings In
which could elude my deadly pursu.
er. Going deity backward, / turned
the angle in the wall, and then
plunged ut the utmost speed of a
young and active man along the back
passage. Instantly I knew / was
pursued. Meeting another crossed
path, / struck into 1t in the opposite
direction. The maniac instantly fol-
lowed me. What q race through
those cavernous depths of the mad
house! What tragic pitfalls might
Turk at every step ?-what black and
stagnant pools lie waiting to engulph
me ?--what deeper depths Of fey
blackness into which to fall--and fall
forever. ff.1 +Ia.,s.af.-,-'. .i.' l.l.--
The passage grew narrower. We
were, perhaps, under the very center
Of the building, and farthest from the
outer air. had tried to breathe
noiselssly; the effortexhausted me.
knew nothing of the labyrinths;
could only guess at our position by
the distance from the entrance.
thought l could retrace them. MY
strength was falling. I was feetest,
but he most enduring. h-fa as-.lt "a,
Presently he would run me down.
1t was terrible venture, but the ne
cessity was imminent. / would try
II. Gathering all my force, / darted
like an arrow on into the darkness
The suddenness of my increased speed
baffled him. succeeded In putting
fifty yards between us, gained and
turned the next angle, then drawing
myself against the wall, with nerve
and muscle strained In preternatural
tension, with the mighty heaving of
my spent chest crushed into silence
by an iron effort Of despairing will, I
M,aitad far. .him- to aq as---a,,e-. Il hoard
strength through the blackness, reach
the angle, turn IL striking his massive
body against the jutting stones. I
heard him spring like an animal on
along the track. I felt his hot breath
like steam-the foam of his set jaws
flung across my face-and he stopped.
l felt that he scds feeling for mel
that he was crouching on the stones.
saw the red fire of his eye-balls
glare up to me through the darkness.
1 felt the touch of his icy flesh on my
hand. Like lightning he raised him
self, and throwing his vast weight
against me, pinioned me to the
stones. All the mad rage of a man
at bay surged upward to my BRAIN
l clasped my knife convusively, and
seized him by the throat, resolved to
die hard. It was hairy--it was shag-
gy. The hands against my chest had
n thick coat Of fur. ! clasped him to
my breast. 1t was Lion--my dog
Lion. uliaIu-
"Great heaven, Winter Keene
what kept you tho whole night In
that cursed dead house? 1t Is near
day; the door has been open this two
hours, and Derby and King have
been aleep. was getting on my
boots TO look for YOUR
"Nhy i'm the name of common
sense did you let this dog out after
me? VIII you tell me that?"
"NVhy, he howled like maniac,
and clawed the door till, II I had been
suspicious, / should have thought you
In some danger, and could not Keep
him in"
"Danger! Well, we can't talk
now. Rouse yourself; havehad ali
interview with your maniac, and he
is prowling round the grounds after
me now. Call up the men. must
90 after Philips Immediately"
"My God! you don't say so T'
Eyes ! don't waste second"
In five minutes the whole force OF
the hospital was out In the grounds.
We took him In the angle Of the
great door, crouched behind the jut-
ting wall, wditing for me! He drew
his lips back over his teeth, In the
dunn ferocity of o mad brute, as he saw
me, and eyes settled Into a dull, iurid
glare, impossible to describe, as he
Kissed out: -.- ,.l,.ty..
q Ha this IL twicc-twice you tri-
umph; wait till the third time"
Around the glazing crate, In the
closing hour of the tempest-tosse.I
night, we shook hands over the glad
ness of our reunion, and after the
story was over, the horror first, and
the laughter was after lat the close Of
my adventurel and Derby and King
had left, and Harry Leigh and ! stood
at the window watching the young
winter day rise over the hills, there
was something very like sears over
the bold, bright blue Of his eyes as he
pointed to the granite walls of the
mad-house and said ....
"Constance would have gone there
Winter, or died, and mine would
have been heavy, heavy life, after"