The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-05-10

! miserable p~ittancs Of $3.50 . year in
this benighted island.
well, one nnlucky night the crash
came. ] should be sorry to say how
many thousandsimelted like snow at one
fell swoop. He was Enthusiastically
ruined. He had to sell every stick he
possessed, and that done he wrote to his
girl and offered her her freedom.
~ suppose from a worldly point OF
view he was right. and she was right;
but, considering all the circumstances,
she need not have displayed such alac-
rity In throwing him over People say
1t was at the instigation of her family.
AT any rate, she married shortly after
ward a parvenu with heaps of coin, but
If report says true she has lived to regret
her folly and her wickedness-I can call
1t by no other name.
well, through the influence Of a
friend Flip got a billet out here, and
here ! met him on my arrival, to my
intense establishment. OF course ! had
heard the outline Of his story, but till
he told ma all / was really ignorant of
the details leading to his unhappy
smash. Until our meeting here we had
not seen each other since the old Oxford
days, when we had been fast friends,
though he was IN exquisite Of the house
while / was a member of the studious
Balliol. Ella, we have both Of ri
changed a deal since thenl"
The speaker ceased.
"The devil!" suddenly exclaimed
Jones, starting forward and peering
over the balcony.
No one noticed the noiseless approach
of Flip from the inner room.
What's up?" drawled Villiers.
"A woman in black just left the
doorway and is crossing the street"
Pooh, cit downi The heats been
too much for your " too strong work
ing BRAIN"
"Therel She's standing at the corner
and looking mp at us-vasilli!"
"Sair."
"Whe just left the house?"
"Me no savvy, sair."
A wave of hot air suddenly swept
with a hollow sound through the room,
like a breath from the angel of death,
then all was doubly still.
Good heavensl Lili" gasped Har-
vey. who had now glided to the front
and looked over the balcony.
Before any one could say a word he
was OF. down the stairs and out of the
house like a mailman.
The dark figure at the street corner
seemed to be reckoning.
"WhewT' whistled Villiers.
= Again that sitting blast of air swept
over Limassol. It was followed this time
by a rumble like the faroff roll Of heavy
artillery. The grumble swelled to q
roar; the balcony seemed to shiver; the
house swayed like a ship in a storm and
then became steady, just as a deafening
crash Of falling masonry reused the still
night into hideous wakefulness. Weird
figures fitted here and there In every
dishabilla, shrieks of terror mingled
with cries Of anguish, all was widest
confusion.
The FIRST shock of surprise over, VIII
liers and his companions rushed down
and ont into the street, the far corner OF
which was one vast debris.
Fallen houses blocked the roadway,
and here and there means issued from
under masses Of timber and masonry.
AS well as they could Villiers and his
friend allayed the panic and organized
. species of relief party to clear the
wreckage caused by the v shock Of
earthquake, for this 1t was, and free the
wounded and separate the dead.
Among the latter Just 10 the day was
breaking they lit ON the mangled re-
mains OF their late comrade, Flip Har-
vey. But hunt as they would they could
discover no sign Of the yelled stranger.
. .
Months afterward when we had all
gone our different ways and I vas ELL
ing another post in Madeira, / received
q letter from Jones inc1osing the follow
ing newspaper clipping:
About 2 a. m. on the morning of Aug Z, lS7-
the private yacht Marie, belonging TO Sir
/ Henry Winter, was driven by q squall of wind
onto q sunken rock while running among thu
Tonian islands. She Is supposed to have foun'
dered Immediately, and SO far no trace of hel
crew has been discovered. We regret TO add
that Lady Winter was on board.
1t was close On that hour when the
earthquake shock was so disastrously
felt at Limassol. and Lady Winter had
been Miss Lily Fanei
/ have altered the names in this
strange story, but for the rest-well,
there are more things in heaven and
earth than are dreamed OF In our phi
losophy. The remembrance of these re
markable incidents has caused me many
q sleepless hour, and 1 confess my In.
ability to explain them. Let those who
may chance To read the story explain Il
if they can.-Loudon World.