The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-09-27

WEDDING.
over him; but when e cleared NicoIo
stirred in his long sleep and awoke
20 new hope and motion. After all.
/ pain is only pain, and when it is passed
seems bearable enough; and was it not
| for SimOnetta-she who. he hoped,
had written the sweet hieroglyph: IT
/ .ove you'-that he had suffered so?
And now at last-at last--he had tri-
lnphed, and had only to stretch out
/ his hand to take the notes He never
| Tor moment doubted the correctness
| Of his theory that they had been
thrown there attached TO some weight.
| and if SO, it was clear they could not
| have rolled off, for the inside edge Of
the ledge was at a lower level than the
outside.
He rose to his feet and walked back
ward and forward several times over
the narrow platform. But there
we're no notes therel With his head
fallen forward on his breast he sank
Down again on the rock, moaning pit
sously, for the first time giving way to
utter despair.
Presently it struck him that he was
at the point of death from thirst, and
ne decided to descend, intending to
swim round TO the other side if his
strength suficed-he hoped that it
would not. As he was about TO step
over the edge, tiny piece of shiny
meta! caught his eye. He wondered
vaguely what it was doing there. and
picked it up. 1t was strip of lead
To his surprise, two bits of thin white
thread were tied around it. The first
of these led up from the piece Of metal
along the side Of the rock above him;
be could not follow it far with his eve
In the clear air, but he concluded that
It was fastened to one of the shrubs at
she summit. He tugged ut il. and it
snapped midway. Then he looked at
the other thread. he was endlessly
u1ystifed to see it lead straight up, not
along the side of the rock this time,
but up into the air-straight up and up
till he lost sight of it In the azure, as
If. forsooth, this, and no other, were
the slight connecting link that binds
Heaven to earth. lie pulled at it. and
It yielded easily to his touch; he com
menced to draw il in, as he used TO
draw in his fishing-line when bite
was on, hand over hand. The length
seemed endless, but gradually dimin-
utive round object came into sight
above his head. At this object the
thread ended.
When the whole length had been
thus taken in, Nicolo held in his hand
a small balloon, a couple of feet in
length, made of double fold Of gold
beater's skin, and filled with hydrogen
gas. He tore it open; the notes were
within It. With these firmly grasped
in his right hand, with both his arms
stretched out 20 Heaven. he dropped
sobbing on his knees, uttering agonized
thanks TO God.
And at that moment his uplifted eyes
met face peering AZ him over the sum
init Of the rock; far OFF as il was, he
recognized it as the face OF Pippo lie
guessed At once that Pippo had missed
him from the mainland. and. his sus-
picions being aroused. had come 20 see
how the notes were faring. In the
next moment a pistol shot passed
through Nicolo's breast. and, turning
over and over IN one horrid. stupendoue
somersault. he fell into the abyss below
Before Nicolo struck the sea he WAS
suffocated, but he was not dead BY
the strange providence Of Heaven. the
eyes Of a bcwildered fisherman bcing
caught from afar by the quick motion
Of white form in human likeness .
tuub!inr down the face OF Eagles Z
rock, the man ro~ed up % him and
saved him. The wet notes were s.iIl in I
his hand. He was taken 70 the other 1
side and eoaxed back 10 life By the old
fsherwlves, who possess skill all their /
own both IN surgery and medicine.
One fine dav. after some weeks. he
stole out OF MS hut when his old nurses F
back was turned; Is was his FIRST new .
attempt at walking On missing him
she hurried after him IN alarm, and .
discovered him At the waters edge ,
eagerly looking toward the coast. /
Nicoio was hunUiEg gay fishers
tune.
Al the birds we're singing and shout
ing on the bright morning that ne re-
turned u tie uainland. and began 20 \
climb the mountains: rs for him, his
heart was \ whole nest of larlzs.
- . turn IN the path ne net a woman
coming Gown with a BASKET q orances
on her head She glanced curioozly a.
him, apd sid. - she passed him.