The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1889-02-23
A Tale Of Two Continents.
BY MRS. NINA LAWSON.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Or

maid was dong al she could Tor he
mistress.
Ray had received slight shock, ant
thoughtful Thomas had led him to hi:
room, and was doing all he could fol
his master, until the doctor came. The
servants were all so excited over the
strange and sudden appearance of then
master that it was some time before
they had succeeded in entirely ex
tinguishing the fire.
Everybody had Thought Raymond
Bristol dead, and it was no wonder
that his strange temperance excited
great wonder. Where had he been al
this time?
This was the first time he had been
seen by any one since the night he start
ed to the city and was stopped in the
woods.
The shot that rang through the forest
had sent bullet through Rays body,
but the party that shot him seemed to
understand where to send the ball and
yet not kill
1t had passed through the right lung
and came out of the back Just below
the shoulder blade. He was immed-
lately carried to Jack Wiler's log
house and placed upon bundle OF
straw. 1t was quite a distance from
the road to the log house, and Ray was
so weak from loss of blood that he
could scarcely breathe.
A part of the old log house had re-
Gently been partitioned off by iron
bars and now it had the appearance OF
an underground prison.
1t. 1ar
where he was kept for those six long
months, and during all that time he
had not caught a glimpse of the blue
sky above. For weeks and weeks Ray
lay on that hard bed of straw in that
dark, damp underground prison,
scarcely able to move hand or foot.
Jack Wiler was his only nurse and
physician, and whenever Ray would
ask any questions he would only re-
ceiye evasive answers from Jack.
Jeanette provided all the medicine
for the poor prisoner, and until Ray
grew much better old Jack remained
in the house much of the time Finally
the wound began to heal, but the pa
TENTS continual worry irritated it CON
siderably; he would often grow angry
at Jack for not telling him why he was
prisoner there in that horrible place,
but Jack would only say:
Il am not your jailer; others ale
keeping you here; don't worry so, for
it does mote harm than good; perhaps
the day will soon come when [ can set
you free"
That was al Ray ever succeeded in
getting from old Jack.
Time rolled on, and Ray became a
perfect skeleton; he scarcely got
enough to eat now to keep him alive.
Jack never came to the old house e1-
cept late at night to fill the old grease
lamp, and give the poor prisoner some
thing to eat and a little fresh water
Four, five, and six months of awful
agony We're past, and Ray no longer
looked like himself but like maniac.
The middle of April came at last,
and that terrible storm came with it.
The night before the storm Jack did
not come, and all the next day poor
Ray had nothing to eat but old dry
bread and little water to drink; the
old grease lamp had burned entirely
ont, and now he was in total darkness.
The long hours slowly passed by, and
yet Jack came not.
My God Is he going to leave me
here to starye to daath? | feel like
cursing the day | was born, and every
think upon earth, for God has forget
ten me, indeed. What Will my poor
little wife think of my absence, and
what is she doing now?"
He would pace up and down that
IL 10 OF,
thoughts would fill his mind. He was
ever alert for the slightest sound, in
the hope that someone was coming to
release him. Perhaps it was his Lima
that had found out where he was; but
his hopes were all in vain. On the
night of the storm his hear5 sank
lower and lower, as there now seemed
nothing but death before him.
"Hark What did | hear"
He pressed his hand to his heart, as
if to check its wild throbbing The
noise was nothing but the distant roal
OF the tempest, and now it became
louder and nearer every moment. Ray
could now plainly hear the roar and
splash OF the waves of the angry lake
palmer, still palmer could be heard
the roar of the fast approaching storm
the ground under his feet was shaker
by the heavy thunder.
All There is cracking and swapping
in the forest, now, as if the earth wer,
being rent to pieces; it becomes loude,
and fiercer, and suddenly he hears .
terrible crashing noise by the side O
his dark, gloomy prison; he knows it i
a terrible storm, and can plainly hea
the trees falling all around him, yet h.
IS unable to escape and flee from tina
dangerous place.
The terrible crashing noise near tn,
old log house deafened the poor lon
prisoner, and for few moments hi
senses We're so stunned that he coult
not realize what had happened he sanl
down upon the floor of the cell, anC
buried his face in his slim, bon,
hands
BY and 10y he felt the fresh, damn
air blowing on him, and looking up h,
saw that he was a free man; the light
ming played about him as he sa
there, and the rain beat down upon hi
face
\ large tree that stood near the cor
ner OF the old house had been torn up
roots and all, by the tempest, and haC
fallen across that end of the house tina
old Jack had used, and Ray was I'm
hurt; the roof of the cell had beer
torn off, and the poor prisoner now sa
under heavens dome, free man
breathing the pure, rain-washed air.
As he raised his face from his hand
he plainly saw by the flashes of ligh
Just what had happened, and sprans
to his feet, clasping his long bony arm
over his breast
oh, God, Thou has not forgotte,
me, and l glory IN Thy proof, Thou ar
my deliverer, and this tempest has un
locked the door of my prison cell;
shall praise Thee all the days of m,
life. GLORY to Thy holy name"
As he stood there his pale thin fac
raised toward heaven, the thunde
roared, while the lightning flashed an,
the purple blazes played about hi
fee.. He was free now and cared no