The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1886-01-01

have been glad to know, but they tried
to discover in vain
The night was dark. By the light of
the carriage lamps only the first rank
of the mounted escort could be seen.
The pace was rapid Sandorf, Bathory
and Zathmar remained motionless and
silent in their corners. Sarcany did
not seek to break the silence, either to
protest against his arrest or to ask why
the arrest had been made.
After leaving Trieste the post chaise
made bend which took it obliquely
towards the coast. Count Sanford,
amid the noise of the trotting horses
and the jingling sabres, could hear the
distant murmur CT the surf on the rocks
along the shore. For a moment few
lights shone out in the night, and almost
Immediately disappeared. This was
the small town of Muggia, which the
post chase had just passed without halt
ing. Then Sandorf noticed that the
road lay into the interior
At eleven o'clock the chase stopped
to change horses. It was only at II farm,
where the horses were waiting ready to
be harnessed. It was not a post-station.
The escort resumed it's journey. The
carriage passed along a road among the
vineyards where the vines interlaced
themselves in festoons to the branches
of the mulberry trees. The road was
flat and the carriage, made rapid pro-
gross. The darkness now grew moro
profound, for heavy clouds, brought up
by violent sirocco from the southeast,
covered the sky and although the VIM
dows were let down from time to time
to admit little fresh air-for the nights
are warm in Istria--it was impossible to
distinguish anything even close at
hand. Although Sandorf and his
friends noted every incident on the
road, the direction of the wind and the
time elapsed since their departure, they
could not discover the direction in
which the carriage was travelling. The
object was doubtless to keep it as secret
as possible, so that their place of con-
finement should not be known to the
public.
About two o'clock in the morning
they again changed horses. As ut the
first change, the halt did not last five
minutes.
Count Sandorf thought he could make
out in the gloom a few houses Mt the
end of road, as though on the extreme
outskirt of town.
This was Buje. tue chief place of a
district situated about twenty miles
south of Muggia.
AS soon as the horses were put to the
carriage lieutenant spoke n few words to
thepostillion ina low tone. and the chaise
set off at gallop.
At half-past three o'clock the day be-
gan to dawn. An hour later the posi-
ton of the rising sun would have shown
them the direction i'll which they were
going, but the police shut down the
shutters, and the interior of the car
riage was plunged into complete dark
ness.
Neither Count Sandorf nor his friends
made the least observation 1t w0uld
not have been renlied to; that was GER
tain. The best thing to Go was to sub
NIT and wait.
An hour or two afterwards-it was
difficult to reckon how the time went
the post-chaise stopped for the last time,
and the change of horses was very
quickly performed Mt Vislnada.
As they left here all that could he
noticed was that the read had become
very hard. Theshouts of the postillion,
the cracking of his whip, necessarily
urged the horses forward, and the shoes
ratified on the hard, stony ground of
mountainous reg on. A few hills with
little clumps of pravich treas could he
made ont on the horizon. Two or three
times the prisoners heard the sounds of
flute. They. came from the young
shepherds who were PLAYING their curi-
GUS tunes as they gathered together
their fioclls of black goats, but this
afforded no sufficient indication of the
country the prisoners were passing
without seeing it.
About nine O'Clock the chnise went of
in quite different direction. Unless
they were mistaken they were descend
ing rapid after having reached the
highest point of their journey. The
speed was much increased, and occn-
sionally the wheels had to be skidded.
In fact, after leading through the hilly
country commanded by Mont Maieur.
the road drops down obliquelv as it ap-
proaches Pislno. Although the town is
very much above sea level it seems to
be in deep valley to judge from the
neighboring hills Some distance be-
fore it is reached the campanile above