, 1888-03-18

throes. Finding him r~esolutely silent,
save for al occasional groan, / stretched
myself before the fire, drowsily speculat-
ing on the chances of Horton getting over
his mood by morning. The old chapel
was of comfortable temperature, the fire
subsiding from blaze to ember. The IN
yielding quality of my bed made itself
more perceptible than in the old times.
Ugly ridges and intrusive nail heads con-
spired to keep me wakeful. A dim, red
dish glow from the Goals gave n ghostly,
shadowy aspect to the place. 1 remember
thinking of it, INT of that other fatal 10th
in "'62."
The impression may have been on my
mind as slumber-a deep, heavy slumber
EMBODIED my senses. 1 must have slept
soundly for hours, when a sudden cry
rang through the church. / started to
my feet. Horton and the negro man
sprang up at the same The
church was crowded with dismayed and
panic stricken troopers snatching their
arms and rushing frantically to the wide
open door. Horses and men crowded the
crossroads, and hat terrible thunder of
hoofs came down the road. l rushed out
with the men. Horton shouted to them
to mount" while cries of "Mosbyl
Mosbyr' echoed on every side. / laid
my han on the pommel of the saddle
Oht lISlduI ulOI6 duu L "Oulu uhNS
vaulted upon the animals back-when a
pistol shot cleft the din. With the mag
ical CELEBRITY Of vision 1 beheld Blake fall,
and the murderer, Strengthening himself
swiftly, half turn his face toward me.
1t was Hortonl Despite the wild STAN
pede l recognized distinctly Horton, and
then he vanished in the tumult, fighting
and hard pressed with us all by the
enemy.
INIT - "a 49, 49,. 5000
on the identical spot may not be remark
able-the reader may call it what seems
good to him-but l do assert that what
followed has neither solution nor parallel.
Suddenly 1 awakened, chilly, shivering
and exhausted. l found myself standing
on the roadside close to a clump of pines.
The church was nowhere visible, and in
the east the stre&ks of dawn tinged the
horizon. A few yards from me 1 perceived
Horton.
where are wei" I asked in dazed be-
wilderment. "Am l awake1"
He came slowly toward me. Don't
you see we have halted in the same placer
he said in a husky voice. / stared at the
pines above me, at the fenceless fields, the
winding road and the farm house on the
hill to the left-it was absolutely true. l
stood on the Identical spot upon which /
had halted in 49,.
you are lame-how did you walk this
farr' 1 demanded, rubbing my eyes and
temples,in a desperat effort to clear away
the vivid, realistic delusion.
II did not walk" he returned, without
meeting my eyes. The subtle, indefnable
consciousness of detected guilt recalled
the one revelation of the night.
! walked up and confronted Horton.
you are Blake's murderer. You are the
enemy who killed him that night"
Horton ~shuddered. 81 am Blake's muir
derer," he repeated slowly. az am the
enemy who killed him that night"
why did you commit the crimep" Z
HE was my rival. / nave never known
a moments peace since that night. He
has come a to finish his retribution,"
he r~ejoined hopelessly.
A few minutes later the negro man ap-
peared. 81 nebber knowed they's comm
tell you run in en- called the men," he
said, for, strangely enough, the same de-
fusion, or whatever 1t might me, had
driven the negro from the chapel; zen
mastah, I nebber stopped runnin' aell 1
seen 'em tu'n off at dat ar road dar."
The man refused to return to the church,
but set of on foot then and there for Gull
pepper.
Tom found US on the roadside when he
arrived with the wagon-none too soon,
for Horton was desperately i'll and died a
Few days later, first making a full confess
sion Then | related the mystery Of the
night to Tom. "Blake said that / should
know some day, n he kept his word" l
concluded. Tom had no solution to offer
If anybody has I shall be glad to hear
for the fact remains that we went to sleep
in the chapel and awakened four miles
from it.-Inde in New York Mercury.