Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-09-07


"and take this sealed message to the
Prince Of x, at ST" And he
drew out of the pocket Of his long milf
tary cloak, white with snow, 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 aud car
riage and start at oncei Is it understood
Then hastenl'
Then, turning to the host, he said in
French:
please accommodate these gentlemen
with carriage and two fresh horses.
Generals ordersi"
Lux, who had remained standing at
the door during this scene, anticipated
his masters reply.
ut is well, monsieur l'oficier, 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, prepos-
ferrous. Any one who could have read it
i'll his mind would have been shocked, 4
terror stricken.
While farmland harnessed the
horses to the carriage Lux put a saddle
on Barla, an Arab horse, faithful ami
nal, which he loved and cared for with
his own hands.
He spoke to it as he spoke to friend,
a,,d fha noble erea tura eaaped 10 npdar
stand. When Lax mounted into the sad
die, lie was trembling with JOY.
A mysterious dialogue seemed to com
mence between the man and the horse,
which suddenly. sending the sparks fly
ing from beneath its four feet, vanished
into the darkness like a 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 tingling
1T is yonder," he said to himself in
a deep voiced growl. at is there that
they are to perish. T"
AT this point the road made sudden
turn, and apparently came to an abrupt
end. As a matter of fact, however, it
did not terminate, but continued in a
steep, terrible slope. On the right was a
dark, mysterious wood, and on the left
a deep and dizzy precipice, such as are
often seen by mountain roads.
Children were afraid to pass it by.
The gulf of death, as it was called, had
its legend. The old folk said 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
i'll ten minutes. !"
He tied Barka to tree stem on the
border of the wood, and a 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 nighttime and turned his face to
heaven. 1t looked like sinner asking
forgiveness for his sins rather than one
planning an awful deed for the satisfac-
ton of his rage and hate.
Not 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 faint sound of hoofs in the
distance striking the hard road, he raised
his head. His face was TRANSPORTED
AT last shall have my vengeanceP '
he Missed.
Then he crouched down on his hands
and knees and waited.
A few seconds more and the carriage
with the four German officers would be
upon him.
He uttered terrible cry of "Vive la
Francel" to which Barka replied with
joyful neigh.
The carriage, which had been ap-
preaching at tremendous speed, came to
a sudden stop, as if arrested by AN ire
sistible force, and remained there stand
ing.
Lux had not moved an inch He was
not man, but a stone wall.
He made a last and supreme effort
and raised himself upon his legs. Then
with terrific heave he pushed over the
dizzy brink horses, carriage and men.
An awful noise rose on the still night
air, sound of crashing, cursing and
horses screaming. Then there was a 81
lence, heavy, complete, tragic!
The man rose and peered over the
edge into the black gulf of death. He
saw nothing. Then he sprang into his
saddle and disappeared like a shadow
into the night.-From the French
Lightning and Sarcasm.
An evening paper, writes Walter
Besant in the London Queen, the other
day published a letter from correspond
ent giving advice what to do in case OF
lightning. / read the advice eagerly, be-
cause am horribly afraid Of lightning.
The greatest safety, he told us--I hope
/ am giving the information correctly
is to swing hammocks in different rooms.
They must be suspended from the wall
by silken ropes. Very good indeed. 1t is
Gil pAootASuA plOIC VI iQNlCC.
My own family contains nine persons,
as rule. There are, happily, more than
nine rooms. / shall have all the furni-
ture stored in the garnet and rig up
hammock in every room instead. You
cannot well put more than one hammock
in each room. Think of the beauty and
convenience of the arrangement, as well
as its safety! When there is no light
ming about, we shall sit in the hall,
where we shall also take our food. We
shall receive our friends on the stairs.
When thunderclouds gather, we shall
retire each to his own hammock and
await the storm in calmness. Houses in
the future will be built no doubt ON
purpose for the accommodation of the
antilightning hammock
Observation-Disclosures.