Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1886-07-09

on the beam, and there | lay painting
and whispering, so outworn and feeble
that even in that great silence did not
hear my own words; "Ihank God
Thank Cod my prayoris heard"
But still the tower iorkcd and swaycd
and the wind blew gusty and chill. al
will got TO the ladders and 60 down 10
meet thcm,n thought |, perhaps they
have gone for n rope" and turning
over half rose TO my feet. fell Hat
again, not by hairs breadth too soon;
the great bells were still beating and
believing, jangling, swinging and
quivering over my head without
any pause just as before; and II
heard not sound of il, nor shall | over
| hear again for cvcrmorc till | hear the
trumpet of the Judgment Angel.
There then | lay n space longer
whether minutes or hours | know not,
for time was for me no longer; and
half in n trance of exhaustion, half in
n stupor of despair, | lay all along, and
glarcd hopclcssly into the vault, But |
knew by the pulsing of my perch that
the fierce ringing of the bells still was
answered by the quiycring and jar of
the walls and nf my beam. Some hid
building caused my beam TO reach its
lowest point of vibration Just 70 Rart-
)rnly swept over it, and phSS. rs VAS
inverted at the limit of his swing, then
it was that the stay bumped itself TO its
highest. This motion had saved my
life, else must have been cut off into
the void mere shattered heap with the
first descent of the bell. And yet why
should have clung TO lifcP At that
moment had as lIcvc have died. But
still the buckling of the stay raised me
up and down and mechanically my
dcspairing fingers clutched it as stran-
gler gripes his victim.
Suddenly something touched me on
the back; then again finger seemed TO
be lightly drawn a fraction of an inch
across me. ! covered lower and lower
at this new terror, and did not feel il II
third time. No! there ii is again; rhyth
mically, evenly, ineXorably laying itself
upon me again and again, as if the an
gel of death himself were marking me
fordcstruction. Atcach touch thought
it fell more heavily, nor could | any
longer shrink away from that strange
ghostly hand. Then suddenly felt it
hot rs well as heavy, hot as n hand of
fire. The new horror cast out the old,
and all my wits bent themselves in the
darkness upon that one weird visitation.
Hal | had it, The hours of ringing had
heated Bartlemy and the clapper of the
bell was lcngthcning. Thousands of
strokes of iron on iron had made that
tongue so hot that it had expanded by
little and little, until now itse6tt!S,i
down across my little marginc III safety,
and his-Bartlemy's-was the finger
that touched me so rhythmically, pres
sing heavier and heavier us it reached
further and further down, and in very
truth the hand was the hand of death.
And death looked me straight in the
eyes remorsclcss and uncompromising.
Unless heaven intervencd to help me,
my life was to be measured by minutes,
and was to die by inches.
Perhaps heaven did help me; for now
over the shoulder of one of the higher
bells, by which it still suffered moment
ary cclipscs, the moon began to shine
in on me through the louvrcs And rs
gszed about for help in the new light
with fevercd and fcar-strickcn eyes, |
caught sight of the nearest of the bell
ropes, running down u quivering silver
cord and losing itself in the solid night
below. 1t rose and fell as the brawny
ringers arms pulled it. | looked aloft
and saw it was Catherine S, the second
bells rope, and the ringer of Catherine
| | knew was Roger, my second son. |
think that gave me hope, and indeed
my peril was now so near that delay
and design would in moment more be
| Nv In ShrpIG
and hot furrow was being scared
every stroke. Slowly, and crouching
as close as lizard, writhed along the
beam. But in this way | could make
but little progress, for before my body
was clear of the pursuing pendulum OF
Bartlemy's clapper, the way was cut
across by the steady sweep of his neigh
Dor bell, and between that and the
beam was no hope of passage for me,
| dropped over the side, and, clinging
with feet and hands TO the under
side of the beam, wormed pain
fully along. | felt the blood
buzzing in my head, and my eye
balls swcllcd almost to bursting; the
muscles stood out upon my legs anC
arms like cordage, but | knew that the
time could thus hang must be counted
by moments. | crossed one leg ovel
the stay and gained some rest, though
at every swing the bells edge cut anC
cut into the thigh; but that was no time
to think of such things, and then in the
moonlight ] saw one, and one only
desperate way of escape. If | coult
throw myself on to the stay in the very
instant when the two bells, that crosset
it Just above me, were swinging away
in opposite directions, then before they
returned | might poise myself and leap
ing out into space, clutch my sons bel
rope, and sliding down so reach firm
footing below. 1t was gamblers las
throw, and the odds were terrible
balance of eye and limb, the most in
stance obedience of muscle TO the will
the fullest force of the body and coolies
decision of mind, even n gymnast
trained and untired, might shrink. Ant
how was /, deafened and daZcd, linn
and quivcring, nerycless and unstrung
to make that desperate adventureP Anc
what was the penalty of failureP Tc
be nipped and ground between the re
turning bells and be dropped a lifeles'
carcass, or lcaping, TO miss my hold
and falling headlong, to be dashed
against the unseen platform far below
But in such a match men do not coun
the odds or stop to hagglc about the
stakes with DEATH fixed my eyes upor
the bells, and recounted theil
sweeps till the pulsation was
burnt into my brain. Then boldly, ye
without haste, cast myself on to the
upper surface of the beam, rose deity
to my feet, poised myself as it switched
and fastened my gaze not on the bells
but on the rope. As the rope rose to it:
topmost limit and paused before its de-
scent as one bell ended its swing, and
the other began its merciless pouncC
upon its quarry, | crouched and bounded
and my hands closed in death grips
upon the cord. My arm strained in
their sockets; like streak of molten
iron the rope slid through my palms