Los Angeles herald., 1891-12-25

ana he Il Ills courage revive and hope
once more spring up within his breast.
Tie long roll of distant thunder and the
vivid bursts of lightning did not even
awe him. 1t seemed like great battle,
and he pictured himself in the thick of
tine fight. If Ee only had that chance!
happily he could await the bullet that
would send him into the great unknown,
and the news be flashed home by the
wires. Victor Elliott died heros death
at his post on the field of BATTLE"
The center of the storm approached
nearer. The gusts of wind blew more
frequently and the rain poured down
upon him until he was wet to the skin.
Without warning, there came a short,
quick fash-he saw blaze of light about
him and all was changed. He seemed
falling, falling into endless space, and
then. mounting upward, he rode on the
wings of light. mpatienrly he seemed
blinking his eyes, so that he might see
more plainly this wondrous, beautiful
scene. Sparks of fire seemed to obliter-
ate mis- sight and burn into his brain.
He tried to speak, to cry aloud. His
heart seemed bursting with an ecstatic
Joy, but he could not make a sound.
Then all was blank.
After long. long time he seemed to
feel the chill that comes over one when
the bed clothing is not warm enough in
the night. He thought that was what
allied him. and started to reach down his
hand and put it up over him. The move
ment brought consciousness. How was
this? Where was he? His mind recalled
the events of the day and the evening
storm. How could this be? Here he
was sitting upright on the wet ground,
his hands tied behind him, aching in
every limb. Assuredly still in the land
of the living. He looked up over his
head.
1t was not delusion; it was reality.
The rope was still about his neck, and
there by his side on the ground, with
the other end tied to it, was the limb of
tree. The blaze of light that had
seemed so near him few minutes be-
fore was in reality flash of lightning
occurring hours ago, for it was now
broad daylight. 1t had struck that
identical tree and freed him. There it
stood splintered and broken.
He heard familiar sound near at
hand. Could he believe his eyes? There
was his mare contentedly grazing near
by. He whistled to her and she came
t1otting to him, dragging at the end of
a lariat the iron picket to which her cap
tors had tied her the night before. 1t
was too much for his feelings, and he
broke down and cried like child when
he felt her soft nose on his face expect
ing the caress he usually gave her
Heaven had not only vindicated his in
nocence, but had returned his useful pet
to him in his great need of her.
Benumbed and sore, it took him near
ly an hour to free himself from the cruel
ropes, but at last succeeding, he found
his oil skin bag over near the adobe house
and ate heartily. The spring quenched
his thirst, and he felt like man born
anew.
1t was with heart full of happiness
and gratitude to Almighty God for his
escape that he mounted the
horse and continued the journey which
had proved so full OF incident to him
"Ill be a better husband to Mollie than
before, bless her heart, for coming ont
here to be with me- expecting TO give up
the comforts of city life," said he, as
he rode along the way that was rapidly
bringing him to her. "Those drafts that
I sent to the bank in Denver last week
will come in handy now. We will go
over the range to Frisco, and start life
over again. Some day I'll come back
here and find out who did kill Hank
Green. His wife has that dust. She is
welcome to the use of it. Maybe it's
just as well to get away from that life
after ALL" and he rode on content.
A wagon train sent over to the railroad
town from Bluffville tho next week
brought back the news of Elliott's es-
cape, of his meeting with his wife and
their departure to place unknown. The
rough mining camp had too much else
to attend to to think long over the
strange events of the week gone by.
Some years afterward it was recalled to
them in an unexpected manner. Victor
Elliott had come back. His means and
position acquired in his new homo pro-
tected him from rough treatment, es-
pecially SO when the townspeople learned
that he was going over incident after in
cident, questioning man after man
about the shooting of Hank Green, and
that he had made the widow present
Of the money taken from him by force.
His search was in vain. Nothing could
be found out about who fired the shot.
At his own request he was tried by
jury, all the evidence weighed, and he
was acquitted Of the charge Of murder.
In beautiful home in San Francisco
there is curious memento hanging in
the owners library. 1t is part of
branch of tree, holding saddle, bride
and lariat. Its history is seldom told
you know it and SO do I.-Warren Chase
in st. Paul Pioneer Press.