The Port Gibson reveille. [volume] (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1890-current, 1894-02-09

p
: again, when hs perceived OF turn
! ing around, The sudden light of a
fash. The sentinel shouted, "Mor-
, tar !" And one of the soldiers who
followed added, "It 10 coming
straight into the bastion." Mikhai-
loft looked. The luminous point Of
the bombshell seemed to stop di-
rectly over bis head, exactly The
moment 1t was impossible 10 tell
what direction IL would take. That
was for the space OF q second. Sud-
denly, redoubling its speed, The
projeclile came nearer and nearer.
The sparks Of the fuse could be seen
flying out, the dismal Kissing was
plainly audible. Ii was going to
drop right in the midst OF the bat
talon. "To earth I" shouted O.
voice. Mikhailoff and PTaskoukine
obeyed. The latter, with shut eyes,
heard the shell fall somewhere on
the hard earth very near him. A
second passed, which appeared to
him an hour, and the shell did not
burst. Praskoukine was frighten-
ed. Then he asked himself what
cause ne bad Tor fear. Perhaps IL
had fallen further away and he
wrongly imagined he heard the fuse
Kissing near him. Opening his
eyes he was satisfied to see Mikhai-
lod stretched molionless at his feet,
but at the same time he perceived,
a yard of, the lighted fuse of the
shell spinning around like a top.
A glacial terror, which stified every
thought, every sentiment, tooK pos
session Of his soul. He bid his
face in his hands.
Another second passed during
which a whole world of thoughts. Of
hopes, OF sensations and of memo-
ries passed through bis mind.
"Whom will IL kill ? Me or Mix
hailoff, or indeed both OF Us togelh-
err Ifit 10 I, where will ii biz me2
II in the head, il will be all over;
if on the foot, they will cut il off;
then shall insist that they give
me chloroform. And / may get
we'll. Perhaps Mikhailoff alone
will be killed, and later / will tell
how we were close together and
how | was covered with his blood.
No. no, II Is nearer melt will be
IT.
Then he remembered the twelve
he owed Mikhailoff, and
another debt at ST. Petersburg,
which ought to have been paid long
sgo. A Bohemian air that he sang
he evening before came 10 his
mind. He also saw in bis imagi-
nation the lady he was in love with
n her lilac-trimmed bonnet the
nan who had insulted him five
,ears before and whom he had new
'r taken vengeance on.
But in the midst of these memo
les. the present feeling, the expeo-
alton of death did not leave him.
Perhaps it is not going 10 ex-
,lode," be thought, and was on the
,oint of opening his eyes, with des-
,erate boldness. But at this in
tant q red fire struck his eyeballs
through the closed lids, and some
hing hit him in the middle Of the
hest with terrible crash. He ran
orward at random, entangled his
eet in his sword, stumbled and fell.
God be praised, / am only bruis-
d'-this was his first thought, and
% wanted to feel of his breast, but
is hands seemed as If they were
ed. A wise gripped his head
oldiers ran before his eyes and he
Mechanically counted them Zone.
wo, three soldiers, and, besides, an
Hicer who is losing his cloak" a
ew light flashed he wondered
hat had fired. Was IL a mortar or
cannon? Doubtless n cannon.
mother shot, more soldiers-fve,
x, seven. They passed in front OF
I'm and suddenly he became terri
ly afraid of being crushed by them.
Ia wanted 10 cry out, to say that
0 Ras bruised, but his lips were
~, his tongue was glued 10 the roof
bis mouth. He had a burning
lirst. He felt that his breast was
amp, and the sensation of lhis
olsture made him think of water.
q would have liked to drink that
hich drenched him. 81 must have
rocked the skin of in falling" he
i'd 10 himself, more and more
Izhtened ut The idea oil being
l. - a ~ a.