Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1895-08-01

last! One more struggle-victory. l
woke. Merciful God! Where was 1?
In what horrible atmosphere; in what
dense darkness? Slowly, as my senses
returned to me, remembered my re-
cent illness. The monk. the man Pie.
tro-where We're they? What had they
done to me? By degrees l realized
that l was lying straight down upon
my back; the couch was surely very
hard. Why had they taken the pill
lows from under my head? A p:i, king
sensation darted through my veins;
l felt my own hands curiously; they
were warm and my pulse beat strong
ly, though fitfully. But what was this
that hindered my breathing. Air. air!
l must have air! put up my hand =
horror! They struck against Il h:d
opposing substance close above ne.
Quick as lightning then the truth
flashed upon my mind. l had been
buried-buried alive; this wooden pris-
on that inclosed me was coffin! 4
frenzy SURPRISING That Of an fnfurI-
ated tiger took possession of me. With
hands and mills l tore and scratched
at the accursed boards; with all the
force of my shoulders and arms I
toiled to wrench open the closed lid.
My efforts We're fruitless. l grew
more ferociously mad with rage and
terror. How easy were all deaths COM
pared to one like this! was suffo-
eating; felt my eyes start from their
sockets; blood sprang from my mouth
and nostrils and icy drops of sweat
trickled from my forehead. paused,
gasping for breath. The, suddenly
nerying myself for one more wild eff
fort, 1 hurled my limbs with all the
force of agony and desperation against
one side of my narrow prison. 1t
cracked, it split asunder, and then a
new and horrid fear beset me. and l
crouched back, painting heavily. If
if were buried in the ground-so ran
my ghostly thoughts-what use to
break open the coffin and let In the
mould, the damp worny mould, rich
with the bones Of the dead; the pen
etrating mould that would choke up
my mouth and eyes and seal me into
silence for ever! My mind quailed at
this idea; my brain tottered on the
verge Of madness. I laughed think
of it!-and my laugh sounded in my,
own ears like the last rattle in the
throat of dying man. But l could
breathe more easily, even in the stu
pefaction of my fears; was conscious
of air. Yes, the blessed air had rush.
ed in somehow. Revived and encour-
aged I recognized this fact, that !
felt with both hands till found the
crevice had made, and then with
fr0v OF I
and dragged at the wood till suddenly
the whole side of the coffin gave way,
and was able to force up the lid. I
stretched out my arms; no weight Of
earth impeded their movements; felt
nothing but air-empty air. Yielding
to my first strong impulse, leaped
out of the hateful box and fell, fell
some distance, bruising my hands and
knees on what seemed to he q stone
pavement. Something weighty fell
also, with dull crashing thud close to
me. The darkness was impenetrable.
But there was breathing room. and
the atmosphere was cool and refresh
ing. With some pain and difficulty
raised myself to sitting position
where had fallen. My limbs were
stiff and cramped as well as wounded,
and shivered as with strong ague.
But my senses were clear. the tangled
chain of my disordered thoughts be-
came even and connected; my previous
mad excitement gradually Gained, and
l began to consider my condition. I
had certainly been buried alive; there
was no doubt of that. Intense pain
had, supposed, resolved itself into a
long trance of unconsciousness; the
people of the inn where had been
taken ill had at once believed me to be
dead Of cholera, and with the panic
III;