The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-06-27
KARL AND TARPUS.


an avalanche.
He had missed. Why? For this rea-
son; As he aimed between her eyes out
Of them flashed u strange, strange light
that quivcrcd the core of his being; il
light that unnerved his hand and with
cred his desire To kill.
And it smote Mn not with fear-for
Karl had slain many lions, and his
nerves We're us stcel-but it smote him
with sudden, overwhelming rcmorse.
Thus he the mighty hunter, was
shaken and made to send his bullet fly
ing wide.
And he lay in tho grip of death
Though he felt that his end had come
he had that clcarncss and poisc of mind
which come i'll supreme moments.
The noisone breath of the lioness
burned his face as he lay crushed into
the sand by her weight. He was wait
ing, with eyes closed, for the beginning
Of the end, that hideous beginning, but
Il calm was i'll his soul, strange calm.
He felt ut rest, at peace.
There was IL pause. Suddenly the lion
snarled, and Karl opened his eyes
All, again that weird, reproducing
light! 1t streamed from the glaring, vel
low eyes Into their depths he gazcd
and gazed till his mind partly left him.
No moro he thought of death.
And now the eyes became q piercing
blaze of light, which grew and grew till
Karl saw before him broad, shining
space.
In the distance flashed scene And
fl,1, sn,,1 .,f tbn
This was tho scene:
Humans filled Il vast amphitheater.
They shook it shouting Fearsomc was
this shouting, even us the howl of Il
myriad pick of wolves. On the faces
was the look of glcc-that glce indie
scribable-that comes when the passion
for blood splitting fills the soul.
This passion WAS upon all-all, from
emperor to slave. Man was transformed
to Il human wolf The wish to kill CO
see killed linked. bound ALL
| The impulse of Cain made all akin.
| 1t was feast day To the gods in
Rome, and mighty, yelling multitude
had gathered together to do them hom-
age by seeing man fight with and kill
| man, by seeing man wait for tho
oiSStHA Nii'te lliiSJt Dltt llllll tlTlNe Ills
| gladius into the heart of IL beloved com
raGc, by seeing "a man fight with ii beast
Their gods We're honorcd by the flowing
and flying of blood. Huge, huge sport to
watch it And yondcr Nero sat, swathed
i'll purple. His eyes CLEANED as he wit
messed the glorious sport
Prolonged was the shouting, because
| Tarpus, Il favorite gladiator, had Just
| killed, i'll single combat, with the gladi
us, his third man. He was now about
to fight yonder Numidian lioncss. She
was striving to burst the bars of her
cage, for she had been without food for
three days.
A fine fellow was Tarpus, with way
ing, yellow hair that hung afar down
his back. Frank was his face bold was
tho glance Of his blue eye, and he was
| great of stature.
And Karl was Tarpus
Course the Roman cowar(s!'' the
! gladiator muttered as he waited, heed
| less and resentful of the ovation he was
receiving, for the black lioness to be let
| forth into the arena. ''Oh, to think that
l obeyed their cruel mandate that bado
| mo Stay my comrade, Davoro-Davoro,
! who risked his life for mine in the cam
paignl But he smiled III my face, as |
bent over him, and said, Strike dcep,
| my Tarpus, if thou lowest mel! and |
drove the full of my blade through his
heart. Oh, |. of all men-I, who loved
him, thus to have slain him! Oh tho
| fiSht-tho fight-it Is with me yet Dn-
| voro, who was bound to mo by ties oft
| closer than the ties of blood, stands be-
| fore me, his gladius i'll hand We cross
blades, but our eyes meet not, and 10
before know aught, he is lying on the
sand beneath me, while | stand DER him
with upliftcd blade. Then | look ND to
| yondcr sea of coward faces, and see
thumbs which point downward. Aye,
around and around look, but from all
| sides the vile gestures come, crowding,
overwhelming my soul. They bid NC to
| Stay. And then Dayoros voice rings in
my car, as he lies PROSTATE, bidding me
to fnlter not, but kill him swiftly. Ohr'
| And the face of Tarpus was softenetl and
| sad as he looked across the blood rcd
| lencd sand Of the arena to the place
where his comradc lay III death
Grand was the face Of Tarpus--liko
TO the face Of Morse god.
And he thought Of his homo far, far
away-his home from which he was
torn, long years ago, from IL loved ono
and little ones, and carried to this great
city to be made Il slave to be made to
fight out his heart 5 blood for the amusc-
mcnt of the brutal Romans. Visions of
outstretched hands and loving, sorrow
| full faces came to him from across far,
wild seas The arena, with its blood
lust, its pitilcssnCsS, was forgotten in Il