Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-12-21

the ladder toward the door for dear life?
Worse than useless, for that would only hasten
our doom! We should be met at the foot OF
the ladder with gun or an axe and be shot
down or clovcn down at once! There was
nothing else to be done then except to wait,
tremble and pray. And on! did not pray!
Yes! as never prayed before in my life!
| Hark! What was that?
My worst fears realized! The deep stiffness
broken by the sound OF many footsteps craunch-
ing through the dry brush and frozen snow, and
approaching the hut. The time had come! My
heart seemed to die within me. Before the
new corners could reach the house, the old as
sassin rose slowly, shufied over the floor and
opened the door.
1 held my breath to listen My ears became
as the ears of rabbits. My sense of hearing
the fairy tale. heard the old criminal whisper
in that penetrating key which goes much
farther than it is meant to go:
.'Hish, sh-sh-sh-l Don't make bit Of noise!'
"Wots up now?' growled deep voice as the
crowd entered the room.
"Hish-sh-sh-sh-sh-! Travellers from Washing
ton! Quality! Rich! Oh, tell you!"
Who are they? Men or women9 queried a
third voice.
"Hlsh-sh-sh-sh-! Ole oman, young gal,
and boy!'
"Umph-humph!"
"Hish-sh-sh! Now set right down and pull
of them heavy boots fore you come to the
fire! Don't want to 'sturb en-
IL. i
seemed to know everything that passed as if !
had been IN the room with them. The men
dropped on the floor and drew off their boots,
conversing in whispers. Presently a voice that
had not spoken before inquired:
''Where've you put emp
"Ole oman and gal in the loft; young youth
in the she'd"
The crowd, having got rid of their boots,
shutied over the earthen floor and drew stools
around the fireplace, where thew seated them
| n al Irh mr. har
as OF hiling pipes, and tIeu clouds of tobacco
smoke rose through the cracked floor in the
midst OF which the old cut-throat inquired:
Amy luck tonight, Jim?
"Jim!!?' My hair bristed up from my scalp!
My skin turned to goose flesh? Marrow curdled!
| Blood troze. ''Jim,!!" Then it was the terrible
outlaws band Of murderers among whom We
had fallen, helpless!
But the evil council was going on below.
low, muttered ebuliton of profanity escaped
The Flee in reply to the question
| Ialnt no use to curse and swar, Jim.
Cussln and swarm never clothed the back nor
nlied the belly as ever l heerd telll' said the
old bandit.
such internal luck! The most cussed luck
OF the whole winter!' growled the outlaw with
the hercene5s OF a wild beast baked Of its
prey.
Well, never mind, jim! This here windfall
VIII make up for it all! All! yes, they're awful
rich, reckonn' said the old wretch
And then they fell to smoking so assduously
as 10 suspend their conversation.
| PRESENTLY heard the men muttering again.
and the first distinct words / heard instantly
snarpened all my faculties to the keenest sense
OF terror IN the vision OF impending death! 1t
| Was the old head demon who was speaking.
| NO, JIM! No! You may be good enough
out doors. out for a cute job like this you re
too rough. FL go and do it myself soon as
ever feel sure they're fast asleep But it is
jist as well to be all ready for the Job Where's
that butcher knife? Go look for it under the
shelf, and that bit of grindstone. l must put
sharp edge onter itr'
Don't ask me how felt as heard the stealthv
! steps cross the floor. and hands rummage
| among the iron ware, and then the return of
! the messenger and the old mprderer's grunt of
| satisfaction as he took the stone and the knife
| and began to sharpen the blade. had thought
lhad suffered the last extremity of terror, bor-
ror! But when l heard the sharpening of that
blade meant for cutting our throats!! l learned
| that the passion of fear, the capacity of anguish
| mad Infinite poss .billtlesi
| On aud on it went, back and forth with a
| rasplng sound that seemed to feel upon nv
| fesh Sometimes he would submit the blade
to one OF his companions to feel ii it was sharp
| enough. and then recommence the sharpening
| All! how that sound grated through nerves and
heart and brain! l lay there no longer listen
! Ing. but, through extreme nervous tension
| bearing and almost seeing all that passed be-
low; but with sickening, sinking, expiring
| feeling like DEATH
"That'u do!' growled the old tiger, ceasing
| to rasp the knife.
Better let Tue or Jim go and do it, ole man."
| mut!ered one OF the outlaws.
| No. tell you. You'd raise too much noise
| DON want no sturbance; I'll go my own SELF"
| growied the wild beast, getting up and moving
towards the trapdoor.
was dying, felt sure Dying already! No
need to cut my throat! l heard, as if in a death
| dream, the cautious. shutting feet of the fiend
! as he came to the foot of the ladder and began
to climb up slowly, painting, and stopping and
! listening.
Strange brain Of the human! In that deadly
cataieptic horror that bound me some CLEANS
OF reason penetrated. The grim thought came
that 1t was best to lie still and die quietly since
| there was no earthly help for Us. Queer
even thought of the hangman's advice to his
patient" IF you'll be quiet, you'll not suffer.
| You'll not even know wnen you die!' All this
| passed through my expiring brain while
| the old demon was coming up the ladder. Ny
] eyes were wide open-stariDg. There came a
req glow Of light. The trap-door was lifted.
! One gaunt red arm, barred to the elbow, ap-
peared holding it up. Then the bald red head
with the evil lnhamed face, the mangy beard
| and the blood-shot eyes staring around as if
| nall frightened at the crime he was about to
commit Lastly appeared the other arm, with
/ It's oohy hahd graspIng in one clutch an iron
candlestick with lighted taIlow dip and the
| handle of huge butchers knife with its blade
flashing keenly in the flame. That picture will
never leave me while live. He carefully laid
back the trap-door, slowly came out, glared
around the loft, set his candlestick on the floor
shlf Led his butchers knife more conveniently
In MS hand and then crept, crouching and pant
! ing like some wild beast, on toward the bed on
which lay dying-yes, dying-beside my aunt.
That WAS the last saw. Human nature could
bear no more. died and the bitterness of
death" was past. 1t is said that mature has
her own an9sthetics." The timely swoon ia
| one OF them. In that deep syncope died, to
all intents and purposes, for the time being and
lay dead to all that passed around me.
When at length I woke to life it was scarcely
to consciousness. did not know where was.
how came there scarcely who or what
was. The past chaotic, the present was blank
the future vague. Streams of pale silvery
light glanced through the riffs in the rough
gable end opposite my bed Yes. was lying
on q bed, and some one was lying beside me- /
was as weak as a new born babe and almost as
ignorant OF my surroundings. 1 was in a rude
loft with rough plank roof rising from the
caves and meeting at a long beam overhead
that was decorated with punches OF dried roots
and herbs that filed the air with an aromatic
odor.
The chord Of association was there struck,
and memory awakened. was Dolly Phippard
and this was Aunt Sukey Drake who was Sleep
ing beside me. We were in that lonely hut in
the woods where we had sought shelter from
the snow storm only to fall into the lair of the
most murderous gang that ever terrorized a