The sun., 1889-12-22
A TIMELY TALE.
6oTTTTuEpI



I had Rad the story % tho MAIDEN. whose
eomlnEs hsr lover perceived By the parting OF
the tai grain In the field % rips wheat tErouzh
which she passsd. bet whose form. although
it mIRht bs folded In his arms. was yet az in
visible to his lsight a. the summer air. did
Mt doubs FOR n momeat that the animal that
hal come To me- was one OF those strange be-
inGs. I lifted bis head: It vas,hsavy. 1 took
hold Of 4 paw which hs readily gave me: he
had every attrbuts Of real dog. except that
kS .oald not be seen"
I call that perfectly horrible" said Aunt
Martina with q sort OF gasp.
Perhaps" said tho Joanz man. " you would
prefer tha. should not continue"
At this both ly wife aud Aunt Martha de-
elared that he must 20 OF. aud even did not
object to hearing the rssr Of the story.
Well said the young man. Ajax never
came back. Ut Is generally believed that dogs
can see things which are Invisible 70 rs. aud
am afraid that my faithful hound was fright
ened. perhaps to death. when he found that
the animal whose entrance into the courtyard
he had perceived was q supernatural thing
But II needed canine COMPANION had
one. for By day or night this Invisible dog never
left me. When slens he lay on the door by
the side OF my bed: II put down my hand
could always feel his head. and often hs would
stand up and press his nose against me. as II
to assure me thaS he was there. This strange
companionship continued for several days, and
became really attached to the invisible ami
NAL His constant com mpanionshfD seemed to
indicate that he had como to guard me. and
that he was determined to do IL thoroughly.
fsls 80 much confidence In his protection. Al
though know not how IL could be eXertsd.
that one morning decided TO take q walk. and
with my hand on the head of the dog. 10 make
sure that he was with me, strolied into the
open country.
L had walked about . mile. and was ap-
preaching . RroIp Of large trees, when sud
denly from behind one Of them the ialI figure
Of a man appeared In an instant knew it to
be Col KaIdhAin; his was q face which could
not easily be forgotten Without . word he
raised a pistol which he held in his hand and
fred at me. The ball Whissied over my head
Il stopped short startled. and frightened
almos: out OF my senses was unarmed. and
had no place Of refuge It was plain that the
man was determined to kill me.
Quickly recocking his pistol. EAldhein
raised it again. / invoIuntarily shrank back.
expecting death but before be could FIRE his
arm suddenly dropped. and the pistol was dis
charged into the ground. Then began a strange
scene. The man shouted. kicked. and beat up
and down with his arms. his pistol fell from
his hand. he sprang from side to side, he turned
around. ne struggled Bnd yeued.
Il stood astounded. For an instant sup
posed the man had been overtaken ty some
sort Of ht: but in fash the truth came to
me. Kaldhein was being attacked By my pro-
tector. the invisible dog
-Horriasd By this conviction. my first i'm
pulse was to save the man. and. without know
ing what was going TO do. stepped quickly
toward him. but stumbling over something
did noc see. fed spravlfng- Before could
regain my feet saw Kaldhein fall backward
20 the ground. where . scene took place. so
terrbe tha; shall not attempt to describe it.
When. with trembling steps approached. the
man was dead The invisible dog had almost
torp him 10 pieces.
Il could do nothing. did not remain upon
the spot another minute. but hurried home to
the castle. As rapidly walked on felt the
doz beside me. and. putting my hand upon him.
felt that he was painting terribly. and for
three days did not leave the house.
About the end Of this time was sitting in
an upper room Of the castle. rejecting upon
the recent dreadful event, when tho thought
struck me that the invisible dog who was by
my side. appsrsntly asleep. was of an unusual
ly DO overful build TO overcome so easily such
strong man as Kaldnein. feIc . desi re to
know how large the creature really was. and.
rs had never touched any portion OF his body
back OF mis- shoulders. now passed my hand
along his back. was amazed at his length,
and when had moved my hand at least seven
feet from his head IL still rested upon his body.
then the form OF that body began TO change in
4 manner which terrified me. but. imoeIIed by
u horrible bat irresistible curiosity. my hand
moved on.
But I no longer touched the body Of q dog:
the form beneath my ha nd was cylindrical. az
parsntly shout . foot In diameter. As my
hand moved on the diameter diminished. and
the skin OF the creature became cold and
clammy. / was feeling the body Of snake!
Il now had reached the open door OF tho
room The body OF the snake extended
through IT. 1t went on to the TOP Of tho
stairs: these ! began to descend. my heart
beating fast with terror. my face blanched.
am sure. but my hand still moving along tho
body OF tho awful creature. I had studied
zoology. giving . good deal OF attention 10 rep.
tiles. and / knew that. Judged by the ordi-
nary ratio OF diminu;ion OF the bodies OF ser
pents. this one must extend . long distance
down the Stair.
But had not descended more than q dozen
steps before felt shiVer beneath my hand.
and then a Jerk. and the next moment It was
drawn upward. withdrew my hand.
and started to one side. and then. how. know
not. became aware that the dog part OF the |
creature was coming down stairs-
Il now became possessed by a wild terror. |
The creature mus; oe furious that had dis !
covered hiJ real form. lie had always been :
earefui to keep his head toward me. should /
bs torn 10 pieces as Kaldhein had besni Down !
tho stairs dashed. across the court yard. and |,
toward q lofty old tower. which stood In ono !
torner OF tho castle. Up the winding stairs OF /
thlS ran with Aneed which belongs only to |
Z iranticallJ terrified creature until i reached |
he fourth story. whore dashed through an
open doorway. slammed bshind me an iron |
ioor. which hat win sDrinG. aad foil gasp
ing upon the floor.
+" In less than minute was aware. by
Ilight rAtrling OF the crate hinges. that somo-
thing was pushing against the door. but did
hot move knew that was safe. Tho room
In which lay was a prison dungeon and In It,
Ia the olden times. it IS said. men had been left
TO perish. Escape or Communication with the
outer world was impossible. A little light and
air came through a narrow slit In the wall. and
70 force the door would Do impossible.
krav Ntar H. fyz,s IaEk DO. I