The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1888-11-30


for himself Tho animal derourcd IL
share without any effort % resume
any III il tricksy familiaritics. and a
attempt % Lzigi's 70 coax Il within
reach Of his hand vas unsuccessful.
Al the end Of two Or three DAYS rnors
the prisoners condition had become
pitiable. The trar now descended but
three times IN the dny. and the scantv
provision which IL brought made him
look forw ard 70 each new arrival with
feyerish anx ictv. Hc ala not DENY the
mouse 4 share. but threw Il the crumbs
with crudeinr hand. and the secret
hostility between The two grew hourly
stronger. The mouse no longer plagued
him with excessive attentions. but
would take refuge On some niche N
the stones above Luicrs head. and
there sit for hour after hour In the nm
broken silence OF the cell. lis black and
sparkling ewes staring n him with a
persistence which he could not cscane.
II was in vain that he tried % distract
his attention by turning his mind 70
scenes Of his own past life. or
letting il lingcr over such philosophi-
cal speculations a. would formerly
have suficed TO Danish every other
thought. Through all the winnings Of
his brain the consciousness OF that IN
changing gaze pursued him II he
tried TO battle more openly with his
enemy. and to stare down his OPP
ponent matters were still worse. He
could not look into the mouse's eyes
for more than few seconds without
their seeming to dilate and glitter
with harder light. until his mind felt
paralyzed in the grasp OF some wicked
and incomprehensible power. Every
time he subjected himself 70 the trial
II was more difficult 70 shake on the
mysterious influence. until he avoided
the mouse's eyes resoluteiy. and when
the consciousness that they were fixed
upon him forced him for an instant to
turn and meet them. he fairly
screamed with dread He might have
banished the creature BY violence. but
he had an inexplicable repugnance to
thus acknowledging his fear Of il. and
proving by . recourse to such brutal
means the reality Of its weird hold
upon him.
Added to this were his physical
sufferings from the daily decrease in
his allowance Of food. 50 that he now
actually experienced the pangs Of
hunger. TKreo days more passed.
The shelf now descended but once in
the twenfy-four hours. and even then
brought him. in the shape OF a crust
Of bread and . sip Of water, barely
enough 70 sustain life. There was
now = constant struggle between
Luigi and the mouse as to which
should secure this pittance. II was
true that the greater strength Of the
man enabled him TO keep the mouse
on when il approached him too closely
at his meals. But strength. he learned,
was not the only thing in question.
The want OF food rendered him sleep
less. and once. unsatisfcd with his
mockery Of . meal. he watched for
twcnty-four hours. without rest. for
the return Of the shelf. When the
tiny portal burst asunder he leaped
forward and stretched his hand into
the opening. only to find the mouse
there before him. After a brief sfrug-
gle. Luigi. although weak from his
privations. succeeded in rescuing the
precious morsels from the animal.
though ut the cost OF some severe
bites. The two glared savagely at
each other while the man devoured the
bread. The mouse jumped down Just
in time TO escape the rapid ascent OF
the shelf, and contrary to its usual
custom. retreated from the cell.
Luigi. with his hunger still unap-
pcased. watched uneasily for the r.
turn Of his little prosecutor. but Il did
not come back. and there suddenly
fell upon the unhappy man . dull
drowsiness which he could not shake
on. He rose and paced his dungeon.
but finally stumbled and fell from
sheer inability to lift his feet lie
would have been unable TO resist for
: vv,ovv>or< hsa 1oa;xo IN slr<.u huA a.