Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-08-06

watching the proceedings, while he re-
gained his somewhat overtasE ed breath
in reality more intent upon the beam
ing and anxious face of his love than
anything else.
The feat now about to be per-
formed" said the master Of ceremonies
in explanation, and to do away with
something of the tedium of waiting, " is
one that has never been attempted by
any other man, and upon this occasion
the leap will be greater than ever before.
But as it is perilous eyond all descrip-
ton | must beg the M )st silence"
A net was about to he stretched so as
to save the performer in case of falling
but he motioned that it should not be
done, saying, so as to be heard distinctly
by all:
There is no use for that. I desire to
make the jump without it-make one
that will be long remembered"
Those who understood the matter best
were most thrilled by the words, and the
same groom who had given vent to his
feelings with regard to the dashing
Cuban whispered to his cOmrade:
believe they have all gone mad.
Heaven give safety, but l wouldn't ven
ture (even if if l could do it as well as
he) for the whole concern"
:" IS it all ready" asked Fred, as he
ran his eyes swiftly over the slender
cords and bars that were to be to him as
the spinnings of fate.
Ready"
lie kissed his fingers apparently to the
audience, but in reality to the girl he
loved, seized rope, climbed to the first
bar-then another and another until he
reached the last, cut the others loose,
and performed all the various acts he
had gone through with from that dizzy
height, and with as much certainty and
seeming as careless as if not a foot from
the ground in place OF nearly a hundred.
Then he rested, and braced himselffor
the final One-the daring, thrilling, IN
matched leap in mid-air, from one swing
ing trapeZe to another, and failing to
catch which at the proper instant and
cling to twas death.
Backward and forward he swung,
while breathless silence reigned, pre-
pared himself for the desperate feat,
fixed his eyes upon the treacherous bar
to which he must spring and fasten upon,
shot through the air almost like a flash
Of light, clutched it safely with his
hands, was struggling to gain a seat as
the wild huZZas, that could no longer be
controlled, burst from every lip, and then
the supporters gave away, and, with q
mighty crash, he fell backward to the
ground
Women shrieked and tainted in terror,
men were aWe-stricken and incapable of
action; but even in that swift descent
was heard above all the cry of " Annie :"
Carried from the ring with the form of
the girl he loved clinging wildly to him,
instant aid was obtained, but, though no
bones were broken, it was the opinion of
the physicians that his recovery was
doubtful; the Jar had been so great that
there might be internal injuries.
The sports of the ring had ceased, the
audience been dismissed, but did not
stir. Sorrowfully they waited and wills
pered with white lips for some final It'd
ings, something beyond mere uncertainty.
The company were gathered around
the injured man with fearful eyes, and
the grief of the girl would have melted
the heart Of a stone. And silently there
stood the fair Cuban, wringing her hands
and with the muscles Of her face working
But she was woman
would naturally feel more deeply than
men, and nothing was thought Of it.
Meanwhile, even as the white-winged
angel of life and the black-winged one
Of death were battling for their prey, an
investigation was being made into the
cause OF the accident by those whose
duty it was to see that all was safe, and
upon whom the blame would fall the
most heavily.
Ropes ami bars were found to be in
tact 1t was the iron rings that had
broken, and wondering at this they stood
with them in their hands, vixen one of
the physicians land by chance a chemist
who Was in attendance came along and
had his attention called to the matter
F." This fatal fall" he said, after even the
most casual observation, has not been
the result of accident, but of premedi-
tatCd malice upon the part Of some enc
my. The iron rings have been honey
COmbed and rendered as brittle as glass
by some powerful acids, then rubbed
over with varnish to hide it from detec-
ton. Whoever did the deed had murder
in their soul"
At that instant came the murmur that
the injured man had aroused from his
stupor; had spoken; that there was no
longer any doubt of his recovery
Iudnh OOU! DufSt from inc IlpS OF
all
Even the pallid, CHASTITY face of the
Cuban Queen flushed, and she turned
away when the other news-the treach-
cry with regard to the rings-came to
her ears, and hastily freeing herself from
the press was lost to sight.
But almost instantly the double report
Of pistol was heard, and rushing in the
direction Of the sound they found that
she had shot her horse and then herself,
and was gasping for breath, with the
life-blood swiftly flowing from wound
in her side
Beyond all help" was the instant
decision OF the physicians; but can
any one tell the meaning Of this?"
4 loved him; he would have married
another. [ tried to kill him-failed, and
Oh! God, I"
They were the last words Of the beau
tiful and passionate woman, but told the
entire story, few as they were-was as
the condensation Of an entire volume.
From the admiring gaze Of the public
disappeared two stars that night. One
we can follow to a home of light, love
and happiness And the other?
"Quid Pro Quo"