The Columbus journal., 1893-05-10

J with tho first pains Of thirst deaden.
ing the ache Of hunger he lay dowr
in the shadow Of the first rock he
reached.
As He lay theirs With his bsttered
old hat over his face the stiffness
came terribly on him ut times He
thought he heard distant voices call.
ing, and faneied some foe had crept
Up to the other side OF the stone and
was stealing round on him-then ii
seemed as If he was lying on English
sand and the sea "a foaming round
Plymouth breskwater hard by-then
he raised his hat for the ~fortieth
time to think for the fortieth time OF
this great thirst land, before his
lightheadedness began once more, to.
gether with the burning ache for
water in every fesh-atom.
The shadow heightened. the sand
in it cooled. the relief was grateful,
though small. Later on the sun
went down. q red globe in q purple
hase; the stars appeared. and he fol-
lowed one for q long time till he got
among rocks and bruised his body
against them in the dark. It was Of
no use going on till moonrise; he lay
there on the stony floor, and his
thirst kept him from feeling the hard
ness Of it-tor awhile:
At last he could bear it no longer.
but ROSE and q on. then presently
struck against one of the stones and
fell, stunned, as he had fallen before
out in the sand tracks Still tho
man was not beaten. When he had
recovered he wiped his hesvy Dyes
with the back of his hands and felt
his way along through that rocky
maze, tapping his sword on each side
and following tho passages, holding
on to his star with tho bulldog in
stinct of his race. At last the moon
came out and lit the plain, showing
it mounting up and up In . long slow
slope till the eye lost it In darkness,
but covered SO far with stones,
stones, stones. like the graveyard of
the whole human race. So he went
on, rafting his tongue about in his arid
mouth, wondering why he did not lie
down and die at once, why he did not
at once fall on his blade and end his
portion of life, yet persevering all the
time, no unworthy man of his coun-
tryside and yeoman name. He had
no visions now, in the night; they
we're reserved for the treacherous
day. when tho guiding star should be
hidden.
So through the long hours he
travelled, and at last shufied out into
places where the stones, that dread
full multitude all exactly alike, stood
in groups only. The moon sped on
her course, and the ground under foot
sent a ring from his steel staf-it
was rock.
Then the stones ceased altogether,
and a series of low ridges came; they
taxed his shaky legs and arms to
their full, low though they were. so
that he lay down to rest on each de
he got upon it. Then he came to the
long ridge. highest of all this hugo
inclined land, and saw its edge wind
ing away to right. to left. for miles
in the hard moonlight, and the rock
floor sloping downward far below
him, for miles and miles more.
Looking behind, the sight of the
fearful maze of wilderness he had
wonderfully come through filled him
with terror, and he fed away from it.,
down and on, only to fall again like
q child. Then for awhile his tor
tured frame could carry him no more;
there he lay. d~eliriously mumbling
about streams and lakes and foup-
tsins, till the sun came and struck
his bare head with its hot rays Still
he lay there, now awake and. strange
to say. not mad, though very weak.
sorely suffering. and hardly able to
think at all.
Indeed, he did not think. but mere
ly followed up his instinct when he
crawled upon his feet and staggered
along, swaying one way for many
PAGES, then the other, hanging his
hands and head. moaning in a dry,
broken way. like cut bellows. yet
still going on. And then his dim
eyes received q refreshing moment
airy coolness-a plant, growing green
at his feet!
Down he sunk upon it. seized it,
chewed the dusty leaves; there were
little drfblets of earth here and
there. Another bit of green caught
his eye; he raised his heavy head
and saw that 100 PAGES away the
plateau On which he stood broke off
sheer. He had crossed the desert,
for down there, 5000 feet below, we're
green plains, palms. and a river, and
beyond-the blue Pacific.
The poor, wasted creature raised
his bony. cracked claws and gurgled
with triumph. He had cheated the
Spaniards and the Thirst Lands; hur-
rah!
And there were more plants carer
the edge; to them he fastened, with
the blade still dragging from his
wrist, to fall prone on a little group
of them, and on q huge putting adder
lying almost invisible along on the
~earth-grove. Instantly the beast
drew back its head and struck him on
the bare leg and then fed.
A rage filed him; he seized the
sword in both shaking hands, brought
it down on the marked back. missed
it, fell forward, and the steel bent
and broke under him as the enemy
glided away. But after it he painted
with the strength of revenge; caught
it up as it twisted by q large stone.
pushed the stone over its neck by an
effort, and. kneeling, cut its writhing
body into long strips with the frag-
ment of his blade. Then he got back
somehow to the green tufts. and
while the poison worked its way to
his heart. sweetened his last moments
of life with those leaves, till a stupor
came over him and he slept with his
destroyer the sleep of death on the
border of the Sweet Palm Coast, as
the Indians called it in their tongue.