Stevens County tribune., 1879-08-14

| ter than deserved, knew that; and ii
was her fathers intention to establish the
young couple on his fine plantation, while
Mr.. and Mrs. Warren returned to Eng
land to enjoy their we'll canned compe-
tency.
The day was tine-no rarity in the
East-but a sort of silvery haze hung
over the peaks northwards, and there
| were frequent gusts of ice-cold wind
rushing down frsm gap and pass in the
rocky range that forms the rocky bound
ary of India. l rode on, and presently
from an angle in the mountain road l
| caught glimpse of the Twenty Springs,
as Mr.. Warren's thriving station was
called, with its gardens and meadows,
| and the now deserted plantation, and the
empty huts of the coolies. Then turned
the corner and saw it no more; but even
as it vanished from my eyes | heard a
strange, d ep sound, like that of distant
| thunder, the nature OF which | could not
divine. My horse suddenly snorted and
reared, and then stood trembling, and
could scarcely be urged forward. While
was in the act of STOPPING forward to
pat the Arabs glossy neck, speaking
soothingly to him the while, there broke
upon ear sudden roar, louder, nearer
at each instant, and eliminating III a
crash so dreadful that the simultaneous
discharge OF thousand cannon would
have seemed puny when compared with
1t.
Deafened, dizzy and confused, dis
mounted from my frightened horse, now
wholly unmaHageable, and hurried to h
spot, when, as l remember, Edlth'S home
was in sight. The air was thick with
dust and withered leaves, but as the pros
pect grew clearer could see no trace of
the bungalow, of its homesteads and gar
dens, or of the thriving tea-plantations
and verdant meadows around it. Valnly
did strain my eyes to catch one we'll
known feature of the familiar scene.
Nothing was visible save dreary waste
of stones, mud and rocks, filling up hall
the valley, and above which hung a cloud
of tawny dust that was slowly subsiding
AS stood stupidity gazing on the scene
of ruin, | caught sight of a man bare
headed, and with a scared, white face. !
knew HIM. 1t was the young clergyman
who had come over from Nynee Tai to
perform the marriage ceremony between
Edith and me.
"Mr. Edwards?" said, inquiringly, as
| neared him.
He caught my hand, covered his face,
and burst into tears. Then for the tirst
time realized what fear was.
"For PHYS sake, tell me all!'' cried l.
hoarsely. ''Is Miss Warren--is Edith
safe? What has"
"Of all beneath that roof-the roof OF
Mr. Warren's hespitable house, alone
am spared" answered the clergyman in
broken accents. "Death, the grim mower
has earned in his harvest there"
The cause of the disaster was but too
evident. A stone avalanche, or m"raSne,
as it is called in Switzerland, had rushed
down from the unscaled heights of the
huge mountain towering above Yirmi
Sou, and had overwhelmed all beneath it.
~ caught glimps of Miss Warren in
the garden as the stony flood burst on us
with its deafening roar" said the clergy
man as he grew calmer; ''it may by that
Gods mercy has spared her life, too"
And, indeed, Eave much to be thank
full for since my dear Edith was found,
faint1ng, but unhurt, at the foot of a tall
cedar the only tree left standing, wedged
in between fallen rocks. But the other
inmates of the house had perished, nor
were even their bodies ever extricated
from the mighty mausoleum which ma
ture's own hand had piled above them.
Edith and l have been married this
five years, but our home is in England,
not in India; and sometimes when see a
shadow come across my wife's tair face,
1 know she is thinH ing of those who sleep
below the cruel stones at Yirml Sou.