The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1886-04-24

surrendered.
He took off his pointed helmet, which
might have betrayed him, and cautiously
put his head out of the ditch. Not
solitary creature was to be seen on the
horizon. Here on the right a little village
sent the smoke up from its roofs into the
slSy-the kitchen smoke. There on the
left he could see a grand castle, thanked
with towers, at the end of an avenue of
trees. He waited there till the evening.
It was a painful time. He saw nothing
but flights Of crows.
Night came upon him. He lay down
at the bottom of the sheltering ditch,
and slept a feverish sleep haunted by
nishtmare-the sleep of famished man.
The dawn rose again over his head. He
returned to his post and watched But
the country lay deserted and empty as it
had done the day before; and a new fear
entered into the heart of Walter Schnaffs,
the fear Of dying of hunger. He could
see himself lying at the bottom of the
ditch, on his back, with his eyes shut;
and beasts-all kinds of small animals
would come round his dead body, and
devour it, attacking every part at the
same time, creeping inside his clothes to
bite his cold skin; and a great crow
would come and pick out his eyes with
its sharp beak.
Then he lost his head altogether, fancy
ing he was going to faint away from
weakness, and never be able to get out
of the ditch And he was just preparing
to start for the village, come what might
and dare everything, when he saw three
laborers going toward the fields, with
their pitchforks on their shoulders and
he plunged back into his hiding-place.
As soon as the shadows of evening
darkened over him, he dragged himself
slowly out of the ditch, and bent and
fearful, with beating heart, set out for
the distant castle, choosing it IN prefer
ence to the village, which seemed to him
like den of tigers. The windows of the
lower story were lighted up, One of
them even was open, and there came out
strong smell of roast meat-a smell
that penetrated into the nostrils and
down into the stomach of Walter
Schnaffs. That smell electrified him, it
took away his breath, and, drawing him
irresistibly toward it, put desperate
courage into his heart. And suddenly,
without stopping to think, he presented
himself, in his helmet, at the opening of
the window. Eight servants were sitting
at dinner, round large table. But, all
at once one of the maid-servants dropped
her glass, and sat staring, open-mouthed.
They all turned round to see what she
was looking at. They caught sight of
the enemy. "God help usl the Prussians
have attacked the castlel"
There was a scream, a single scream,
made up of eight screams in eight differ
ent tones-a cry of deadly terror. Then
there was tumultuous uprising, a push
ing, and scrambling and a wild flight
toward the door at the end of the room.
Chairs fell, men knocked down women
and trampled them under foot. In two
seconds the room was empty and de
serted, and right in front of Walter
Schnaffs, standing stupefied before the
window, was the table laden with food.
After few moments hesitation he
stepped over the window-sill and went
up to the table. He shook with famine
as he had with fever; but he was still
held back and paralyzed by his fears
He listened. The whole house seemed tc
shake; doors banged, and footsteps hur.
.Iied across the floor above. The Prus-
sian strained his ears to catch the con.
fused sounds; then he heard dun thuds
as of bodies falling on the soft ground al
the foot of the walls-human bodies
jumping out of the irst-hoor windows
Then every movement, every sound
ceased, and the great castle was as silent
as the grave.
Walter Schnaffs sat down before ont
of the untouched plates and began to eat
He devoured great mouthfuls, as if he
he was afraid Of being interrupted before
he had had time to swallow enough. He
threw the morsels into his mouth with
both hands, as if he was throwing them
into pit; he ate so fast that great humps
OF food stuck in his throat and had to be
washed down with copious draughts Of
water. He emptied all the plates, anG
all the dishes, and all the bottles, till ht
was drunk with food and liquor. Red
p and stupid, and hiccoughing, with dull
head and greasy lips, unbuttoning hi
uniform to breathe, he was utterly in
capable of stirring a step. He shut hi
eyes-his brain was heavy; he crossed his
arms upon the table and laid his heaC
down upon them, and went off gently t,
the land of dreams.