Little Falls transcript., 1886-01-15

4 great olive tree. q
I'he two W. omen came and looked
at tsus attentively a few minutes }then
IS lett a,..5tll the boat and : saw them no
more. n
In spite ofmy great fear my Curl
os1ty was so strong that I could not
Keep from opening my eyes to look af-
ter them. After / raised myself Il
struck against branch that hindered
my movements. I cut it off and hid it
under the seat. I then could see out.
side OF the. boat, and through the
darkness saw that wewere III q great
olive grove, and in the distance Icould
see figures gliding in the shadow.
4 - 1T ls# some dance of Lamia' 81 I
said to myself; and ! was about to
awaken Thomas when I heard APP
pro aching footsteps. Thinking that It
might be the two women, / lay down
and did not move. 1t was they. They
came into the boat, which Immediate
ly began to move ~ .<%' a%Efs[5
| "ln a few m moments we were again at
the jetty at Maspe.
| after having moored the boat the
elder woman said: My daughter, we
must bid them farewell forever. For
ever, say, for you will never see this
boat again or any member of her crew.
In two hours from this time they will
all be at 1.-THE bottom ofthe ocean,
/ "'But the ocean is as smooth as OIL
"'Nevertheless, before they shall
have passed the Point Of Arrangatzi
will cause to rise three huge waves
the first OF milk, the second of tears
and the third of blood. They will es-
cape the first two, but nothing can
save them from the last. 1t is my fate
to hate them. Ihave prosecuted them
all winter, removing the fish from their
course, and since my power over them
| ends tomorrow evening, will end by
burying them under the waves. Ishall
have mercy on no one. Youm must not
forget that it is our mission to abhor
them all, and above all others, those
| who love US best
Let us then yield to our. fate!
But what if by some unhappy chance
they should not go to sea to-day
Hush, fool! 1t is impossible!
They will go, and they will perish.
There is but one single way by which
they might escape from the, fate that.
threatens them; but they do not know
it.
What is the way, mother?'
"'By plunging a harpoon into the
midst OF the last wave, the wave of
blood; for that wave will be I, myself.
l.shall~ hide beneath it's waters, and
the blow that should strike this wave
should pierce my own heart
& 1 T.
it?'
6" THAT cannot be, since no one
knows this secret but you. They
shall be mine, and at our next noctur-
nal festival no one shall. be- able to
boast 55of success comparable with
mine!''
"With these words she bade us
awake, and they both vanished with
shrieks Of loud laughter. I"
The boy ceased to speak. Some of
lis did not believe a word he had spok-
en-; others explained his tale by a
dream and Knocked him. "But tell
me, !" said he to the latter, ''does any
one OF you know of an olivegrov with
in q circle Of 10 miles OF this placer"
They knew of none--but Bilinch drew
from under one Of the seats an olive
branch and waved it triumphantly,
saying: 'Look, here is the branch |
cut when I raised my head; hid it
there that you might believe my word
and know that these two women are
not the product OF dream. ~ & 3. -.
No one could say a word against
such positive proof for.no olive tree
grew within less than ten miles. The
fatal branch was handed silently from
one to another. A s,perstitious ter
ror seized the most incredulous, and
we repeated, shuddering, IA Lamia,
Lamia!' II
The captain rose, and, taking the
helm, commanded silence. Then,
turning to me. he added, : Thomas,
take the harpoons 4 Stand at the
PROV with open eyes and firm arm!
At my first order strike firmly INTO
theEwater! And you others, to your
oars!" -
Our boat cut the waves rapidly
The trembling light OF the dawn smiled
on the surface Of the water, which was
not rippled by the lightest breath Of
air. The boat flew onward, and
through the morning fog the trees and
shrubs On the shore seemed. ed to, be |
taking a strange flight.
We doubled the point and reached
the bar. There was no trace of danger
on any side, but nobody dared to
speak, ~ a %so~ as,sp |
= All atSonce, two fathoms in front of |
us, there rose an enormous wave, as
high asa nountain.1as white as snow.
to >Io;, l.
his eyes ION me. "lt was 2truen" he |
murmured,. with a trembling voice.
The wave OF milk" p '.~s {
%3''Thirty oar blades dipped into the I
water at once, and the boat leaped to
the wave. Her brow disappeared III 7
a cloud Of foam / but before The third 4
stroke Of The oars another wave rose
before, US, greater than the first, as
clear as crystal; from it rose g. vapor
that caused our eyes to smart.
'~>Assbefore, we hung for an instant sus-
pended above the deep, and then the
wave rolled on to break roaring on the
sand.
'The wave of tears!" said my uncle.
"Open your eyes, Thomasl"
The boat swept on, and the fatal |
spot was almost passed when we saw,
the whole horizon, the ter
rible wave of blood coming toward us
and drawing us into its terrible em-
brace with an irresistible power. @!
my friend! it would, be impossible to
describe TO you the terrible anxiety, I
the overwhelming fear that held us ali
in thatsupremesmoment II. ;
"Strike firmly in the 1niddle!"S. cried /
my uncle, crossing himself I closed |
my eyes, and with, a trembling hand |
hurled my spear into the midst Of the
bloody wave. 5.=s4