Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1893-03-28
sOMETHING OF A NIGHT.

a.its best, hunting in a savage country
1, M calm pursuit; bnt when human
marry is sought, ones nerves are not like
,r.o know much repose and most especial
10 this true when the object of the chase
H. uronped so many of the hunters dear
NO. ,bot vengeance seems the sole thing
laft worth living for
such. one July afternoon, fifteen years
,ao was the condition of affairs had to
face.
was in Eastern Turkestan, riding
coward the west like mad. itch was thir-
~ miles ahead of me. BY my side ran the
Tarim its chill waters rushing swiftly on
toward its confluence with the Kashgar,
6fty miles behind me.
Ibad ridden my horse since daybreak,
determined to overtake the man l was
limiting 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 land where western
conyeutionalities could neither prevent my
vengeance nor punish me for it, though
cave thought to neither of these considera-
tons then.
He was maxine rer Itch, where he in
tended pasSlnS l.ie Ii!=.lt. IL was my pur-
poseto 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-
enng 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 a
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 a baffied man can feel,
finally shouldered my saddle bags, continu-
Ing my way to Thokan on foot.
This miserable apology for town-less
than dozen mean shanties-faied 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, IA 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 stold 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 thought Of food, stretched mysel
out upona 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 oil
the sunset colors and the end of the after
glow, until all was AS dismally black as
the sensations of baffied wretchedness
which so nearly stihed me.
linen 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 knocking
hoods of night light angered me.
What right had sun or moon to shine sc
warmly on land which had robbed me Of
vengeance so long delayed, just as it wa.
lnmy grasp?
l clenched my hands in silent rage
nahds which would have been red will
human blood if my horse had not failet
me and had had my way.
With snail-like pace the seconds crept or
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 iirst these did not attract my atten
uon, but at last, almost uncousciously,
oegan gazing about.
here was bunch of dried herbs, there
"1 uI garment, yonder-
why, what was that? Something oh
scufea the window, shutting out tn
moonlight.
"hen my eyes were accustomed to tn
'esseued light made the obstruction out.
was human figure-a man.
nc nad clambered up there from tn
slouhd-to rob me at any hazard, to muir
let me II need be; for in his mouth was
nuile whose shining blade glstened in tn
moonlight.
lefhaps it was only minute, but i
s sseuieu an age before the sound of my un
nsV0roed breathing satisfied him that
was asleep, enabling him to enter the room
unperceived.
nj tesentiy he swung his feet over tn
m;;u'uowoench and dropped upon the floor
without a sound
S1o,v1v H. .
side me- ""''' Ne ''oo" ~
oo,i y eyes were closed, but for all that
M M Enthusiastically feel his sharp eye
peerlhg down at me.
,o IHsnC sound as it made, heard hin
fne 1ne Knife from his teeth and run hi
myers along its edge.
., ueh all was silence again; could no
sven hear him breathe.
'"oiy he was wondering whether b
. .au o . kill me before robbing me. What
mall. .pe cause of his elaboration it wa
Tuenihg, uncomfortable.
beart ny Tore open the garment over m
neart and said:
and "ny don't you kill me, if you wish tt
MA nave done with itr'
mar. .'n half suppressed yell of amaze
snras 'ne man dropped his knife an
tbrons from my bedside straight GU
through the window.
frie1a desperation had terrified my Tarta
th i,sn l,i INTO the belief that he had attempte
'u Ti llle of some demon.
with au nailed the first sight of the weapo
ayenn !" SORT OF fierce joy; it was a probabl
'e of escape from the miseries Of unr'