The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-05-09
SOMETHING OF A NIGHT.

At its best, hunting in savage country
is no calm pursuit; but when a human
quarry is sought, ones nerves are not like
" to know much repoSe, and most especial
" is this true when the object of the chase
has wronged so many of the hunters deal
ones that vengeance seems the sole thing
left worth living for.
Such, one July afternoon, fifteen years
ago, was the condition of affairs | had tic
face.
/ was in Eastern Turkestan, riding
toward the west like mad. Itch was thir-
ty miles ahead of me- BY my side ran the
Tarim, its chill waters rushing swiftly on
toward its confluence with the kashgar,
fifty miles behind me.
l had ridden my horse since daybreak,
determined to overtake the man | was
hunting down before another nightfall.
For three years / had been pursuing him,
never able to get within striking distance.
Now he was less than four hours ahead of
me, and we were i'll a land where western
conventionalities could neither prevent my
vengeance nor punish me for it, though
gave thought to neither of these conSidera-
tions then.
He was making for Itch, where he in
tended passing the night. 1t was my pur-
pose to overtake him little beyond Thokan,
where the Tarim ran through such dreary,
deserted wastes that human sounds seldom
competed with it in the business of awak
ening the echoes.
On and on | sped, urging my jaded horse
far beyond its utmost powers of endurance
for vengeance, like all other purely hui
man things, takes no heed of what it shall
destroy in prevailing.
But my hot haste thwarted itself, and
when Thokan was less than a mile away
the poor beast fell under me and expired.
Grown vulture like by reason of my aw-
full pursuit, now that was cheated of my
prey [ shrieked out my wild rage in
fierce exuberance of inarticulate sounds;
but the noise of the river prevented every
syllable of it from offending even the dead
ears of my horse.
Bitter as only baffled man can feel, 1
finally shouldered my saddle bags, continu-
ing my way to Thokan on foot.
This miserable apology FOR a town-less
than dozen mean shanties-failed to fur
nish me another horse at any price. Worse
yet, found myself compelled to spend the
night there, as it was now nearly sunset,
and Itch, the next town before me, was
still more than twenty-five miles away.
Far off in the west, black and jagged
mass against the sunset sky, lowered the
mighty SUBMITS of the Tian Shan range,
the otherwise dazzling wilderness of their
great snow domes all obscured by the twi-
light.
Nature alone was sublime here. Such
miserable human creatures as / found at
Thokan were too stolid and insensate to
even feel curiosity at the advent of a
stranger-a rare circumstance in Turk
estan.
Wretched and desperate, unable to en-
dure a thought of food, l stretched myself
out upon shelf against the side of mean,
little loft, which was to serve as my quar-
tiers for the night.
Through an open window, straight be-
fore me, could look out at the sky above
the western mountains.
Shade by shade witnessed the fading of
the sunset colors and the end of the after
glow, until all was as dismally black as
the sensations of baffled Indebtedness
which so nearly sti1ed me.
Then the moon rose, full and splendid,
making night more like day than it is any
where out of the east.
Instead of cheering me, these mocking
floods of night light angered me.
What right had syn or moon 70 shine so
warmly on a land which had robbed me of
vengeance so long delayed, just as it was
in my grasp9
| clenched my hands in silent rage
hands which would have been red with
human blood if my horse had not failed
me and had had my way.
With snail-like pace the seconds crept on
into minutes and the minutes into hours.
Not long after midnight the moon, hav-
ing passed the zenith, shone into my room,
Illuminating all its varied stores OF rub
bish.
At first these did not attract my atten-
ton; but at last, almost unconsclously, l
began gazing about.
Here was bunch of dried herbs, there a
wornout garment, yonder-
Why, what was that? Something OBJ
scured the window, shutting out the
moonlight.
When my eyes were accustomed to the
lessened light made the obstruction out.
1t was a human figure-a man.
He had clambered up there from the
ground-to rob me at any hazard, 10 muir
der me if need be; for in his mouth was a
knife whose shining blade glistened in the
moonlight.
Perhaps it was only a minute, but it
seemed an age before the sound of my IN
disturbed breathing satisfied him that l
was asleep, enabling him TO enter the room
unperceived.
Presently be swung his feet over the
windowbench and dropped upon the floor,
without a sound
Slowly he advanced until he stood be
side me.
Ny eyes were closed, but for all that l
could Enthusiastically feel his sharp eyes
peering down at me-
Slight sound as it made, / heard him
take the knife from his teeth and run his
fingers along its edge
Then all was silence again; l could not
even hear him breathe.
Probably he Was wandering whether he