The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1895-04-24
LAMBERTvILLE N. j.. WEDNESDAY, APRIL a. 1895.


don't appeal to me like that, for if I
sing that song now, upon my word, I'll
escape.
1.-THE elder laughed Why should he
not? Six years had he passed in prison,
A hundred times had he scorned to fly,
and hero he said 1t aloud before the SOL
diers, and could he really mean itf 1t
was jest. Very we'll, they said, fly,
but sing first.
"And the other repeated his speech:
4 tell you frankly am not jesting. I'll
escape. 1t is this way. will sing, but
on condition that you lay me low with
a bullet Do not use the butt of your
guns, that may not turn into Grip
plep
"The elder continued to laugh. Very
we'll, said he "a bullet will serve us
better. 1t will reach you with the liv-
ing hand, not like the butt end'
while they were talking in this
way they were not far from the shaft
It is a sort of open passage that pene-
trates the earth where the gold is dug
The shaft was long and deep and extend
ed to the base of the mountain. If you
ascend it, the Tajga extends behind.
"And so Wasil Semionitsoh calls his
aooompanist to him, and what they
made out between them remains a Sc
cret. An agreement or a silent under
standing, know not. They sing, they
go singing, and everybody listens
Now they reach the shaft. They de-
scend, one after the other. The other
eonviets stand still or sit down at the
edge of the shaft. The soldiers form
chain all about them, the guns in their
hands, the butt at their feet-eyery-
thing proper. They peer into the OPEN
ing and listen.
"And the two walk slowly along the
shaft and sing their song. Wasil Semio-
nitsoh takes a high note, rising ever
higher, and his aocompanist holds his.
The one pauses, and the other takes the
note. And they so sing together that
one is often puzzled whether it is one or
the other-just like one voice. Now
they approach the end of the shaft, and
the drift again leads upward, and as
they ascend so rises their song, the ae
companist ON this side, Wasil Semio-
nitsch on the other. The one ascends
slowly, then sits down. The other, un-
deferred, climbs upward faster and
faster. The song dies out.
''Then suddenly before the eyes of all
he quickly chambers up the mountain
side. He is on the peak. Unobserved he
had rid himself of his chains. He holds
them in his hands. He swings them
above his head and casts them far from
him in wide curve and screams in a
shrill voice, Escaped
mot until then, when the chain
struck with olanking sound on the rock
below, when he screamed out-not UNI
til then was the charm broken which
his song had cast upon them all. Quick
the guns to the eye. They fire. All, seek
the wind in the field
That was the song of the Falcon. y
But then, / said, the soldiers
"Ah, that is the marvelousl" he
quietly interrupted me. II reached
dant was examining the elder. Did you
not all see it, you blookheads?'
1--WE did, your highness.
d" Well, and yet he escaped? And
you were all witnesses of his flight?'
We were, your highness.
"'Well, then, how did 1t happen?'
4" Don't know, your highness. He
misled us-oast darkness upon our
senses.
'Fie, dunderheadi
''The commandment was quito scarlet
with anger and perspired prodigiously.
Thereupon he detailed the occurrence to
me. Isn't that too remarkableP' he
said. All tell the same story. have
been vexing myself with the case for 81
hours, and the only thing can hear is,
''he misled us-cast darkness on our
senses" just think of it'll He sang song
to them, and they prick up their ears
and go daft. It's enough to drive man
crazyp
"The elder was good man; no block
head at all. knew him, and there he
stood actually like wooden image and
stared at the commandant. That worthy
purposely for my benefit called up all
the soldiers. All of them told the same
story. And he was gone-hed-the Fail
con.
'Do you see, little father, what sort
of voices we have In the Karat" So the
intendant concluded his story. From
the German.