Evening star., 1895-06-15

right and to left, as if he feared that
some on, were observing us. looked also,
but, although 1 have the keenest sight, 1t
was quite impossible to see anything ex-
cept the ragged patches of moonshine be-
tween the great black shadows OF the
trees. My ears are as quick as my eyes,
and once or twice 1 thought that heard a
twig crack, but you know now many
sounds there are in a forest at night, and
how difficult it is to even say what direc-
tiOn they come from.
We walked for rather more than mile,
and I knew exactly what our destination
was long before we got there. In the CEN
ter of one of the glades there Is the scat
tered stump of what must at some tlme
have been a most gigantic tree. 1t Is call
ed the Abbots Beech, and there are SO
many ghostly stories about it that know
many a brave soldier who would not care
about mounting sentinel over it. How
ever, cared as little for such folly as the
emperor did. SO we crossed the glade and
made straight for the old broken trunk
AS we approached 1 saw that two men
were waiting for us beneath it:
When I first caught sight or them tney
were standing rather behind it, as If they
were not anxious to be seen, but as we
came nearer they emerged from Its
shadow and walked forth to meet us. The
pace a little, SO that l came within arms
length of him. You may think that l had
my hilt well to the front, and that 1 had
a very good look at these two people who
remarkably so, and of very spare frame.
while the other was rather below the usual
height and had brisk determined way
Of walking. They wore black eloaks,
which were slung right across their figures
and hung down upon one side like the
mantles of Murat's dragons: They had
fiat black caps, like those which 1 have
since seen in Spain, which threw their
faces into darkness, though could see the
CLEAN of their eyes from beneath them.
With the moon behind them and their long,
black shadows walking in front, they were
such figures as one might expect to meet
at night near the Abbots Beech. 1 can re-
member that they had stealthy way of
moving, and that as they approached the
moonshine formed two white diamonds be-
tween their legs and the legs of their
shadows.
The emperor had paused and these two
strangers came to stand also within
my companions elbow, so that the four of
us were facing each other without a word
spoken. My eyes were particularly fixed
upon the taller one, because he was slight
ly the nearer to me, and l became certain
as 1 watched him that he was In the last
state of nervousness. His lean figure was
quivering all over, and I heard a quick
thin painting like that of tired dog. Sud-
denly one of them gave a short Kissing
signal The tall man bent his back and his
knees like diver about to spring, but be-
fore he could move I had jumped with
drawn saber in front of him. At the same
instant the smaller man bounded past me,
and buried long poinard in the emperor's
heart
My God, the horror of that moment! It
is a marvel that 1 did not drop dead my
self. AS In dream I saw the gray coat
whirl convulsively round and caught a
glimpse in tn, moonlight of three inches of
red point which jutted out from between
the shoulders. Then down he fell with
dead mans gasp upon the grass and the
assassin. leaving his weapon buried in his
victim, threw up both his hands and shriek-
ed with joy. But II drove my sword
through his midrif with such frantic force
that the mere blow of the hilt against the
end of his breastbone sent him six PAGES
before he fell, and left my reeking blade
ready for the other. I sprang upon him
with such lust for blood upon me as
had never felt, and never have felt in all
my days. As I turned a dagger flashed