The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-08-01

noses to the bars and signified with
hungry ~ferocity in the direction of the
girl, but she felt herself beyond their
reach, and was not afraid of them.
"The police are after me, JEAN" she
said, stammeringly, "and you must hide
me-"
"Why are they after you?"
TT can not tell you. Bat I am in.
nocent Of what they suspect me. }
swear to you that / am. l am not ca
pable of killing a a Am 1 Jean?"
mo. But you are very capable of
being the means of q man being killed.
Do you know what they will do with
you if they catch your"
mo. What will they do?"
"Well, they will put you in prison,
but first they will bind you and gag you
to prevent your escaping or making a
noise. Come, my pet, let me show you
what they will do. Let us play that
you are my prisoner. See, / take your
handkerchief, which is much softer
than the hard rope which the police
would use, and I fasten your hands so,
behind your back. Then / take my
handkerchief, and rolling it up, so, put
it in your mouth and tie it behind your
neck, so. Now you can not help your
self or make q sound, can you?"
The girl, with a vague look of fright
in her eyes, silently shook her head.
"And now" continued Jean, II have
some pretty things to tell you.
II warned you not to betray me with
that fellow Galancho, and you did. You
went with him tonight to Lenoir's. /
followed you, and saw ali that you did.
When my opportunity came | put my
arm through the little closet window
and knitted him where l knew the blow
would settle him quickly. Now, it is
your turn. Do you know that / have
loved you so that it has made me mad,
and you have laughed at me? You
would never be faithful to me. But no
body else shall ever possess you again.
Your time has come.
Sgringing to his feet. he passed
through to the larger compartment
where the lines were, throwing the bar
rier wide open Is he did so. The wretched
girl, staggering to her feet, followed
him, dumbly. He hurled her back.
ward, and as she fell her head received
a slight cut by striking the bars of the
cage. With blows of his whip the lion
tanner drove the ferocious beasts into
the compartment where Silvia lay as if
paralyzed by terror, and closed the
barrier behind them. Folding his arms,
he stood outside, waiting stolidly for
the inevitable result. From the single
lamp swinging in the center of the ring
he had barely sufficient light to see what
~transpired.
One of the big lions walked delber-
ately with a SLOUGH gait wei to the
PROSTATE girl, shifted at the blood on
her head and licked it growing the
while. The other lion and the lioness
crouclied and watched him in~quiringly.
Thus several minutes passed. Then
Silvia, in a fit of desperation, struggled
to rise to her feet. The lion owe her
at once seized her by the shoulder.
Her blood spurted out of the wounds
made by his teeth, and the smell of it
intoxicated the waiting brutes, With
the swiftness of arrows they sprang up
on her and began rending her to pieces.
The second lion buried his teeth in
one Of her legs, while the lioness closed
her powerful jaws on the poor girls
breast. In q few moments Silyia's ago
MES were over, and the savage brutes
were gorging themselves with dismem-
bered fragments of her fair body.
The floor of the cage was slippery
with blood: the horrid jaws of the beasts
dabbled with the crimson fluid, and the
only sounds heard were the crunching
of the bones Of the unhappy rope-dan-
Ger and the low growing Of the lions.
Jean Dufrac stood looking ON at the
appalling spectacle, pittiless IS the
brutes that worked his awful vengeance,
motionless as a statue. SO he was dis
covered at early dawn by an hostler
moving early about the tent-the same
one who had told the story Of Silvia's
amours to the police-and there, when
he gave the alarm, the gendarmes still
found the lion-tamer.
Then ensued the similar scene with
which this narration opened. All that
day Jean Duffac kept the officers at bay
and by threats of letting loose the lions
compelled tribute Of food and wine. al
length the happy thought occurred te
some one OF dragging his wine. 1t was
done, and at length he sank down upon
the floor inaensible. Then the lions
were kept back by means OF red-hoi
irons while he was dragged out and car
ried off to prison.
Two months later, on the 18th o
November, 1849, he was executed.
--
What hrs. Grundy Says.