Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1889-12-20

ance 10 tnlS Dltter cry, III spite Oh lne ueduly
fear felt, and of the almost certainty that
/ should never live to tell this tale, mighty
sympathy arose in my heart for this wretched
maniac; for did not know, as well almost
as he, the agony of sleeplessness2
81 therefore said kindly and pityingly:
"'How strangei l. too, cannot sleepp
"Looking at me with world of despair in
his face, he said:
is it cursor Then, rocking himself to
and fro on the seat, he moaned out, oh,
wh;d-what shall do to sleepp
There was such ring of anguish in his
tones that my heart bled for him, and | said
gently:
cont try what have tred-that which
is, after ALL the only comfort, waking or
sleepingr
"'What's thatr he said eagerly.
"'Prayp l said.
"'Ohr he answered YEARLY, 4 have prayed,
but God won't hear me. How can he, when
he isup therc-pointing to tho sky-'and
am in that hellP
"'But he does hear | said solemnly, and
es to u child. He sees and hears everything.
He sees you and me here now, he knew we
should meet this morning, and he it is who
teaches me to say to you, pray Tell him,
when lying on your restless bed-just as you
:
suffer, that you are unhappy, that was
going on, when my companion suddenly
started up, and looking uneasily around,
whispered, Hush! bark!
"l1e seemed to listen eagerly, and then,
with an expression i'll his face of intense
hatred, gradually and cautiously drew the
hand, hitherto concealed, out of his breast.
A deadly sickness seized me, for my worst
fears were realized, when l beheld the light
of the dawning day CLEAN upon the blade Of
murderous looking knife; but ray of hope
was at the same moment vouchsafed to me,
for following with my eyes the direction Of
his-oh, joyl-two horsemen were apparent
through the trees, trotting slowly along a
grassy pathway generally only used by foot
passengers, and each carried a ready-cocked
pistol and seemed in eager search.
"Of course knew they We're on the track
of the wretched man at my side, and, al
though they were quite within hail, dared
not either call or make Them a sign, feeling
convinced that, had done either, the knife
would have been plunged into my bosom, FOR
l perceived the maniac was watching me
narrowly, and he evidently meant to sell his
liberty dearly.
Had the horsemen seen us7 I wondered,
in an agony of hope and fear; but | dared
not move, and words would utterly fail me
to express myssensations when | suddenly
saw my miserable companion start to his
feet, brandishing the knife, and, leaving his
side of the seat, come toward mine. | was
preparing, as a last resource, to scream and
run for my life, vshen, to my amazement in
stead of attacking Inc, the poor wretch threw
himself on his knees at my feet, trembling
like "A leaf, aud, burynG his face in my lap
II had never relinquished my seat, said, in
hurried and impIorng whisper:
Save lie from those two men They
did not see me. For the love of God don't
give me up to them! You are good and
kind, and are sorry for me, and you have
told me to pray; so now l pray God and
pray you, don't, don't give me upn
For an instant he remained motionless,
with his face buried III my lap, and l really
don't know what folly my womanly impulse
of intense sympathy might not have tempted
me to commit had | not at that instant
caught sight of the knife which he still
grasped tightly in his hand. | shuddered as
l saw it, and he must have felt me do so, for,
raising his head quickly and putting his aw
full face close 10 mine, lie muttered fiercely
and half to himself, She doesn't look true
Oh If | thought she would betray men
"Now, certainly, l thought, my last hour
must be come; but in spite Of my despera-
ton | managed to say calmly and in an au-
thoritative whisper:
- Hush Be quiet, or they will hear you!
They will soon have passed, and then you
shall come home with me-. co Cody
| thought, did the horsemen see us:)
''He crouched down obedently like child,
hiding his face on my knees, and once more
| cried for divine assistance in my awful need,
and again my prayer answered, for on
looking desparingly across the wood, saw,
within thirty or forty yards of us and behind
the unfortunate man on his knees, the same
two men who had passed by on horseback.
| So they had seen us, and help was ut hand at
| last; they We're creeping toward us and max
| ing signs to me not to move, SO as to give
| them time to approach. | leaned, therefore,
over the wretched maniac, gently strokng
his hair and speaking soothingly to him, tell
| Ing him for his life not to rise or show him
self, not TO move till the men were gone SO
he knelt on, with his head buried in my lap
and trembling with fear. | must confess
that ct this moment | hated myself and felt
q very Delilah, for the poor fellow began to
stammer forth few disjointed words from
the Lords Prayer. But what-what could
do?
And the men kept coming on silently and
stealthily, nearer, closer, till at last one of
them sprang forward and threw some kind
of cloth over the madman's head, while his
companion placed gives upon his wrists, and
then-then | saw the hideous knife fall harm
lessly to the ground! know not to this da y
when it happened, but before Il suppose tho
cloth had quite blinded the astonished maniac,
and in the struggle that followed, he bit my
hand nearly to the bone q have the mark
now, and always shall have it,, but so excited
was l that | never even felt the wound till
on my way home saw the blood
at is not easy for me TO describe what !
felt when, after the keepers had uncovered
the poor wretch's face, and We're leading him
away, cowed and manacled (but not subdued)
he looked witherngly at me and said between
his teeth:
Gods bitterest curse upon you, for you
cheated me with your prayers and lying
words, and l trusted you and you betrayed
| mel
Then came string of imprecations, in
the midst of which the keepers hurried him
into vehicle which was following, and they
drove away.
my story is done How ! got home !