Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-12-01
YHE WATERBURY EVENING DEMoCRAT SATURDAY, DEC 1888

stopped. aMaster, look towards the center, on that table of granite; there is some one there. Let us ask him the way.n
 advanced a few steps, but what beheld made the hair on my head fairly bristle with horror Yes, in the center of the granite table human form was crouching in the shadow. A gaunt and hideous old man three times the size of any living man. In his i'm mense crooked fingers he clutched a whole quarter of sheep, raw and bleeding, which he was devouring. The blood ran in streams along his bony arms and dripped upon his knees A frightful smile distorted his face. It was evident that All saw this gigantic phantom as we'll as myself, for he had turned as pale as a sheet; his hand clutched convul sively the carbine, which until this moment had been slung to his belt. had not strength to address this grisly specter, though Ali did not give me time to do so I saw him raise his carbine to his shoulder, and the report rang through the air, repeated hundred times by the echo in the ravine. But the specter did not stir; he seemed only to devour his repast more greedily than before.
 Fire again, Alil Fire for our ives!" \ second bullet whistled through the air. l snatched the carbine from his hand. 1 took aim-once-twice-thr each time as if fascinated advanced several paces, as I saw that my bullets met no resistance, but went through empty air. Finally, beside myself with terror flung my carbine to the earth, drew my saber, and springing on the first shelf of the table rock where the old man was still seated devouring his hideous repast-when-oh my friends-oh, Heavenl I shall never forget the horror of that mo- ment-the old man slowly turned his head, his beard stained with blood, and fixed on me his cavernous, deep set eyes, whose orbits gleamed like coals of fire"
 Here De Thon, who seemed to live over again this frightful episode of his life, leaned forward on the stone pillar He went through the whole scene. His hands were clenched, the veins ill his neck swollen to bursting, while the pale moonlight of the tropics seemed to magnify his figure and gestures. In the silence of the desert his voice, half stiaed with emotion, made us shudder The terrible vision seemed actually to pass before our eyes.
 "Then, my friends" he continued, ia nameless terror froze my blood. l could not meet this internal gaze, and I started down the slope at full speed. Springing over masses of stone, wounding myself against jagged points of rock, while my faithful and terrified companion followed me, invoking Allah in breathless, incoherent phrases. How long this flight continued before we came to our senses cannot tell Only the faint light LII UAAO dp1OAJ o4AhAASo SAh SAO"Su uS SAS AIl- extricable labyrinth through which we were wandering. A burning thirst consumed me, which could only try to quench with few handfuls of melting snow, mixed with earth. When 1 recovered myself a little, l con- cluded that had been the victim of an hal Inclination induced Ey fatigue and by the hunger and thirst which had tortured me for so many hours, and the horror of feeling that we had lost our way. But then, why should my faithful Ali have had the same fear, and why should it have manifested itself by exactly the same visions? I made up my mind that whatever happened, or whatever visions might cross my path, that l would not betray my perception of them by word or sign,
 Our route now seemed every moment to become more dreary, gloomy and monoto- nous; we were utterly worn out; we went along like automatons, stumbling through the last gorges which separated us from the plain below, and from safety. Suddenly we found ourselves in tine bottom of a small ex- tinct crater, and saw advancing toward us a troop of horsemen. They were riding at full gallop, wheeling abruptly to avoid the points of rock, and sweeping i'll circle round and round the edge of the~crater. | Their horses, whiteAgith foam, bounded over the heaps of basalt; thousands of fiery | sparks flew from their hoofs, and each cavalier carried a long, slender lance which was aimed at me- This must be ar hallucination, since Ali sees nothing, said to myself, when suddenly at one of the in numerable charges of my enemies, Ali drew his saber and flung himself in front of me tc cover my body from the lance. Doubt was no longer possible, The faithful fellow haG been watching these horsemen, but, like myself, he had determined to say nothing but his devotion had overpowered his will.
 "Save yourself, my master! Death to tho Kourdes! Seize your poniard or we are lost.
 A blood red mist passed before my eyes, bounded forward and struck wildly with mJ dagger. l tried to defend myself, but felt [ sharp, cold steel pierce my side, and as dark ness came on l found myself stretched, ex hausted and bleeding, on the plain, with deep wound in my side Who dealt thi. wound? Could have done it myself in my efforts at self-defense-or was it the ven geance of the Agri-Daha I shall never know But one thing is certain-while this scal throbs in my flesh, I swear by the Heavel that looks down on us tonight, that never never more will attempt to set foot on tn accursed mountain.-George Kohn in Detroi Free Press,