The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-04-03

looked toward 1t I was urprised to see
projecting above the bush, and fastened
apparently to the tree, a pair of fine
riding boots with the toes upward AT
first / thought that they were tied
there, but as l looked harder 1 saw
that they were secured by a great nail
which was hammered through the foot
of each. And then suddenly. with
thrill or horror, i understood that they
were not empty boots. and moving my
head a little to the right, / was able to.
see who 1t was that had been fastened
there and why a fire had been lit be-
meath the tree. 1t Is not pleasant to
speak or think of horrors my friends,
and / do not wish to give any of you
bad dreams tonight. but ! cannot take
you among the Spanish guerrillas with
out showing you what kind of men
they were and the sort Of warfare that
they waged. l will only say that l un-
derstood why Monsieur VidaPs horse
was waiting masterless in the grove
and that hoped that he had met this
terrible fate with sprightliness and
courage, as good Frenchman ought.
1t was not a very cheering sight for
me, as you can imagine. When l had
been with their chief in the grotto /
had been SO carried away by my rage
at the cruel death of young Soubiron.
who was one Of the brightest lads who
ever threw his thigh over a charger
tlNit had never given thought to my
own position. Perhaps it would have
been more polite had l spoken the
yiav fair hirt
The cork was drawn and / must drain
the wine. Besides, If the harmless
commissariat man was put to such
death. what hope was there for me,
who had snapped the spine Of their
lieutenant? No, was doomed in any
case, so it was as well, perhaps. that l
should have put the best face on the
matter. This beast could bear witness
that Etienne Gerard had died as he
had lived, and that one prisoner at
least had not quailed before him. I lay
there thinking of the various girls who
would mourn for me, and for my dear
old mother, and of the deplorable loss
that l should be both to my regiment
and to the emperor, and l am not
ashamed to confess to you that l shed
tears as thought Of the general con-
sternation which my premature end
would give rise to.
But all the time l was taking the
very keenest notice of everything
which might possibly help me. I am
not a man who would lie like sick
horse waiting for the farriar sergeant
and the pole AK. First ] would give a
little tug at my ankle cords, and then
another at those that were around my
wrists, and all the time was trying to
loosen them I was peering round to
see if could find something which was
in my favor. There was one thing
which was very evident. A hussar Is
but half formed without a horse. and
there was my other half quietly graz
ing within thirty yards of me. Then
observed yet another thing. The path
by which we had come over the noun
tains was so steep that a horse could
only be led across 1t slowly and with
difficulty, but in the other direction
the ground appeared to be more open,
and to lead straight down into gently
sloping valley. Had l but my feet in
yonder stirrups and my saber in my
hand, O single bold dash might take
me out Of the power of these vermin Of
the rocks.
was still thinking 1t over and strain
ing with my wrists and my ankles
when their chief came out from his
grotto and after some talk with his
who lay groaning near the
fire, they both nodded their heads and
looked across at me. He then said
some few words to the band, who
clapped their hands and laughed up
roariously. Things looked omnibus, and
/ was delighted to feel that my hands
were so far free that 1 could easily slip
them through the cords II / wished.
But with my ankles l feared that
could do nothing, for when / strained
1t brought such pain into my lance
wound that I had to gnaw my mustache
to keep from crying out. I could only
lie still. half free and half bound. and
see what turn things were likely to
take.
For little could not see what they
were after. One of the rascals climbed
up to the top of well-grown fir
tree UP on one side Of the glade, and
tied a rope around the top of the trunk.
He then fastened another rope in the
same fashion to similar tree on the
other side. The two loose ends were
now dangling down, and waited with
some curiosity and just little trepida-
tion to see what they would do next.
The whole band pulled upon one of the
ropes until they had bent the strong
young tree down into a semi-circle,
and they then fastened 1t to a stump,
SO as to hold 1t So. When they had
bent the other tree down in a similar
fashion. the two submits were within
a few feet Of each other, though, as