Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-04-10

gerOuS tower:
suddenly a thought came to me- 1
remembered the snake part of him.
Judging from the ratio of diminution,
which | have mentioned before, that
part, if hanging down, must reach near
", if not quite, to the ground. BY TAX
ing advantage of this means of descent I
might be saved, but the feat would re-
quire great dexterity and an immense
amount of faith. This serpent-like
portion of the animal was invisible.
How could l know how long it was!
But there was no time for considera-
ton, the wind had again arisen and
was blowing with fury. The tower
shook beneath me; at any moment it
might fall. If l should again escape
from death. through the assistance of
my invisible friend, I must avail myself
of that assistance instantly.
Il stopped and felt the animal. He
still hung by the fore part of his body
and Dy his fore legs to the floor of the
dungeon, and by reaching out I could
feel that the rest of him extended down
ward. /, therefore, seized his body in
my arms. threw myself out of the aper-
turc and began to slide down.
In a very short time l found that |
had reached the snake portion of the
creature, and, throwing my arms and
legs around it, | endcavored with all
my strength to prevent too rapid de-
scent, but in spite of all my efforts my
downward progress was faster than |
would have wished it to be, but there
was no stopping, | must slip down.
''In these moments of rapid descent
my mind was filled with wild anxiety
concerning what was likely to be the
ratio of diminution of the serpent-like
form to which l was clinging. [ re-
membered in flash that there were
snakes whose caudal extremity dwin-
died away suddenly into point. This
one might do so, and at any instant l
might come to the end of the tail and
drop from great height upon the
Jagged stones below.
calculation after calculation of the
ratio of diminution flashed through n y
mind during that awful descent. My
whole soul was centered upon one point:
When shall this support end? When
shall | drop?
fortunately, / was on the leewarI
side of the tower, and l was not swung
about by the wind. Steadily descend
ed, and steadily the diameter of the
form | grasped diminished; soon | could
grasp i in my hand, then, with terri
fis d glance, looked below. | was still
at sickening distance from the ground.
~hut my eyes. l slipped down, down,
down. The tail became like thick
rope which I cncircled with each hand.
1t became thinner and thinner. 1t grew
SO small that | could not hold it, but as
felt it slip from my fingers my feet
rested on pile of stones.
"Bewildered and almost exhausted,
[ stumbled over the ruins, gained the
unencumbercd ground, and ran as far
from the tower as | could, sinking
down at last against the trunk of a tree
in neighboring field. Scarcely had l
reached this spot when the fury of the
wind-storm appeared to be redoubled,
and before the wild and shrieking blast
the tower bent, and then fell With a
great crash upon the other ruin.
The first thought that came into my
mind when I beheld the dreadful spec
tacle concerned the creature who had
twice saved my life. Had he escaped,
or was he crushed beneath that mass of
stones? l felt on either side to discover
if he was near me, but he was not. Had
he given his life for mine?
Had l been stronger / would have
searched for HIM; | would have clam
bered among the ruins to see if / could
discover his mangled form. If could but
reach his faithful head 1 would stroke
nd ivin Knit q
ment. fatigue and want of food had made
me so weak that 1 could do nothing but
sit .<pon the ground with my back
against the tree.
''While thus resting | perceived that
the whole of the tower had not been de-
molished by the storm. Some of the
rooms in which we had lived having
been built a t later date than the rest
Of the great ediiice, had resisted the
power of the wind and were still stand
ing.
From the direction of the uninjured
portion of the castle I now saw APP
preaching light-colored object, which
seemed to be floating in the air
about a foot from the ground. AS it
came nearer | saw that it was Il basket,
and Immediately understood the situa-
ton. My faithful friend was alive, and
he was bringing me some refreshments.
ION came the basket, rising and fall
ing with the bounds Of the dog. t was
truly an odd spectacle, but very well
come one. In few moments the bas-
let was deposited at my side, and | was
caressing the head of the faithful dog.
In the basket [ found bottle of wine
and some bread and meat, which tho
good creature had doubtless discovered
in tho kitchen Of the castle, and it was
not long before felt like myself again.
Tho storm had now almost passed away,