Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1891-07-25

still and was half finished by nightfall;
but how could she find out what length
it ought to be?
A thought struck her. Sitting on the
summit of the Pit tower, over piece of
embroidery which she had lately COM
menced, she contrived to let one of her
balls of silk roll as if by accident (for
keen eye was watching her from a
neighboring turret over the edge of the
battlement. Running out its whole
length as it fell, while she held the other
end, it reached to within two or three
feet of the ground, and thus she got the
exact measure.
BY noon the next day the work was
done, and in the afternoon Princess
Madeleine went for ride over the hills,
attended as usual by two of the jailers
who called themselves her servants.
She was three or four miles from the
castle, and had just pulled up her horse
after smart canter, when tattered
old white bearded beggar hobbled up to
her with whining petition for aims.
But as his eyes met hers they darted at
her a keen, warning glance, and he
whispered in the voice of Henri de Nor
tenart:
"Is the ladder finished?"
Repressing by a violent effort the
start that would have betrayed her
Madeleine answered eyes," while
throwing a small silver coin into his
outstretched hat.
"Be ready then at nightfall on the
third evening hence, when you shall
hear my guitar in the thickets," said
the seeming beggar, in a tone audible
only to her, and with clumsy gesture
of thanks he turned and limped away
down the path.
That night Madeleine, having listened
long and warily for any sound of move
ment in the silent case, made up her
rope ladder into bundle, in order to
carry it to the Pit tower. But to her
indescribable dismay she found it so
heavy that she could hardly raise it
from the ground, much less carry it up
the steep, high stair of the tower.
But the brave girl was not easily
checked with life and freedom before
her. She dragged the rope ladder after
her along the passage and up the wind
ing stair, reaching the top of the tower
SO utterly exhausted that she was forced
to sit down and gasp for breath. But
the moment her strength began to re-
turn she was at work again, knotting
the end of her ladder to broken iron
stanchion which had once served to Sc
cure flagstaff, and then she began to
let it down, coil after coil, between two
great masses of ivy, the deep shadow of
which would even in the day time make
it quite invisible from below
With all her care, it made rustling
among the leaves which sounded terri
bly, loud amid that tomb like silence.
Had any one heard it? She clinched her
teeth in desperation as she listened, firm
ly resolved that if detected now she would
fling herself headlong from the tower
rather than see her last hope of liberty
melt away. But all was still, and with
the slow, mechanical step of sleep walk
er she descended the perilous stair.
But now that all was done, and moth
ing left for her but to wait, the slow
torture became all but uncomfortable.
The nearer the time of her delivance
came the more impossible it appeared.
The rope ladder would be discovered;
Henri would be delayed by some acci-
dent; Keretsenyi would return be-
fore the time, or would perhaps sur
prise them in the very act of escaping,
and wreak upon them both the full fury
Of that hellish vengeance of which she
had already seen so many fearful proofs.
Wouid the third evening never come?
1t came ut last-chill, dreary, dark,
with coming storm, and as the red glare
Of the angry sunset faded amid the
gathering of clouds that hlackened over
head, Madeleine, watching it from the
summit of the fatal tower felt as if the
light OF her own life were going out
along with it. Over earth and sky
brooded grim, unnatural silence,
broken only bya hurrying hoof tramp
fey away G.aong the hills, as if some be-
lated traveller were il haste to reach his
home ere the storm burst.
Harxl w;Lj tn.Ss q faint sound of mu
sic from the black shadowy thiclsets be-
low?
she he!l her breath to listen, and sud-
denly it came again, and this time her
quick ear caught, too plainly to be mis-
taken, the notes of her fayorite song.
Her rescuer was there,
But just then, "A she bent down to Sc
cure as best she could the trap door that
opened from the stair on 70 the platform
of the Pit tower before hazarling the
fearful descent, the approaching hoof
tramp, which had been growing louder
and nearer with every moment, came
ringing and gathering into the court
yard below, and then Keretsenyi's terri
BILE voice was heard shouting to his serv-
ants in tones of thunder:
keep below, and whatever you may
see or hear do not stir foot, or you are
all dead men!'
Now or never! Spurred to new action
by the imminence of her peril Madeleine
sprang to the edgeof the battlement and
Y1rapara1 fO 1asnaO1 P1,t barclxy bad