The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1895-06-19

amount OF pleasure TO twist one o
those German necks with his great sin.
envy fingers.
The new arrival burst into the
drawing room. The four Prussian Of
ficers uttered cries of surprise.
They rose at once, in q body, and
saluted with grent respect the stranger
who had come to disturb their peace.
"Be seated and let us talk" said the
new arrival in German, and in q voice
of command.
'You will set out at once" he said,
''and take this sealed message to the
Prince of X, at 81" and he
drew out of the pocket of his long
military cloak, white with snow, q
large, white envelope, and handed it
to one of the officers.
"Go all four of you, and place your.
selves at the disposition of the Prince.
Further orders will be given to each
OF you later. You must get horses
and carria ge and start at oncel Is it
understood? Then hasteni"
Then, turning to the host, he said
in French:
"Please accommodate these gentle
men with q carriage and two fresh
horses. Generals orders !"
Lux, who had remained standing at
the door during this scene, anticipa.
ted his masters reply.
at is well, monsieur pofficier, you
shall be accommodated as you desire /"
He spoke in peculiar tone of voice.
Only his master, however, noticed it.
A mad thought had been born in his
brain, something superhuman, pre-.
posterous. Any one who could have
read it in his mind would have been
shocked, terror stricken
While a farm hand harnessed the
horses to the carriage Lux put sad.
die on Barka, an Arab horse, a faith
full animal which he loved and cared
for himself with his own hands.
He spoke to it rs he spoke to a
friend, and the noble creatrr re seemed
TO understand. When Lux mounted
into the saddle he was trembling with
Joy.
A mysterious dialogue seemed to
commence between the man and the
horse, which, suddenly sending the
sparks flying from beneath its four
feet, vanished into the darkness like
phantom.
Barka, like some great NEUROLOGICAL
creature with wings, devoured space.
Her fine, nervous legs hardly seemed
to touch the earth, and Lux kept her
going at her utmost speed.
At length they stopped. Barka was
white with foam and Lux covered her
with his cloak. He did not feel the
cold, for the awful thought in his mind
kept his whole body warm and tin
Cling.
''It is yonder," he said to himself
in deep-voiced growl, sit is there
that they are to perish.
AT this point the road made q sud
den turn, and apparently came to an
abrupt end. AS a matter of fact, how
ever, it did not terminate, but con-
tinued in a steep, terrible slope. On
the right was dark, mysterious wood,
and on the left deep and dizzy preci-
pice such as are often seen by noun
tain roads.
Children were afraid to pass it by.
The Gulf of Death, us it was called,
had its legend. The old folk snid
that it was within its gloomy depths
the monsters lived that ravaged the
country at night.
''If my calculations are correct"
said Lux in low voice, "they will be
here in ten minutes.
He tied Barka to tree stem on the
border of the wood, and q strange
smile passed over his lips.
An extraordinary scene might then
have been witnessed. Lux knelt down
in this solitary, accursed, haunted
spot in the night time and turned his
face to heaven. 1t looked like sin
ner asking forgiveness for his sins,
rather than one planning au awful
deed for the satisfaction of his rage
and hate.
Not q sound was to be heard in the
surrounding country. All seemed
dead or asleep. Only a murmur Of
the wind in the pines.
Lux placed his ear to the ground,
as the Indians do IN the wilderness,
and hearing a faint sound of hoofs in
the distance striking the harl road,
he raised his head. His face was
traushgured
cat last l shall have my ven
geance - he hissed.
Then he crouched down on his
hands and knees and waited.
A few seconds more AMI the car
riages with the four German Off ,ers
would be upon him.
He uttered terrible cry of give
la France !" to which Barka reLlied
with a joyful neigh.
The carriage, which had been ap-
preaching at tremendous speed, came
to a sudden stop, as if arrested by an ir-
resistible force, and remained there
standing.
Lux had not moved an inch. He
was not a man, but stone wall.
He made last and supreme effort
and raised himself upon his legs.
Then with q terrific heave he pushed
over the dizzy brink horses, carriage |
and men.
An awful noise rose on the still |
nj 1t ar a sound of crashing, cursing
aul horses screaming. Then there was
silence, heavy, complete, tragic
The man rose and peered over the
edge into the black gulf OF death. He |
saw nothing. Then he spraug into his
saddle aud disappeared like sha loY
into the night. From the French.