Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-11-07
in It's frame Of pearls. The possession

for she sat doWn on the upturneu col-
fin. which had held my living body,
with absolute indifference. Still sing
ing softly to herself. she gaZed loving
ly at her own reflection, and fingered
the Jewels she wore, arranging and re-
arranging them in various patterns
with one hand, while in the other n
raised the looking-glass In the hare
of the candles which lit up Its quaint
setting. A strange and awful picture
she made there,-gazing with sucn
lingering tenderness On tn portrait or
her own beauty,-while surrounded by
the Wondering collins, that silently
announced how little such beauty was
worth,-playing with jewels, h fool
ish trinkets of life, in the abode or
skeletons, where the password Is
death! Thinking thus, / gazed at her,
as one might gaze at a dead body
not loathingly any more, but only
mournfully. My vengeance was sat
lated. / could not wage war against
this vacantly smiling mad creature,
out of whom the spirit Of a deyiilsh
intelligence and cunning had been
torn, and who therefore was no long
err the same Her loss of wit
should compensate for my loss of love
/ determined to try and at
tract her attention again L
opened my lips to speak,-but before
the words could form themselves, that
odd rumbling noise again broke on my
ears,-this time with a loud reyerba-
ton that rolled overhead like the thun-
der of artillery. Before l could i'm
agine the reason of it,-before | could
advance one step towards my wife,
who sat still on the upturned coffin
smiling at herself in the mirror.-be-
fore / could utter a word or move an
inch, a tremendous crash resounded
through the vault followed by a sting
ing shower of stones, dust, and pull
verified mortar! . l stepped
backward amazed, bewithered-
speeches. ,-instinctively shutting my
eyes. . . When l opened Them
again all was darkness-all was silent!
Only the wind howled outside more
frantically than ever,-a sweeping
gust whirled through the vault, blow
ing some dead leaves against my
face and I heard the boughs of the
trees creaking noisily in the fury of
the storm. Hush.-was that a faint
moan? Q%uivering, in every limb, and
sick with a nameless dread, / sought
in my pocket for matches,-I found
them. Then with an effort, mastering
the ~shuddering revulsion of my nerves
/ struck a light. The flame was so
dim that for m instant | could see
nothing. I called loudly-"Nina!"
There was no answer.
One of the extinguished candles was
near me; I lit it with the trembling
hands and held it aloft then
/ uttered n wild shrek of horror!
q God of ineXOrable Justice,
surely Thy vengeance was greater
than mine! An enormous block of
stone, dislodged by the violence Of
the storm, had fallen from the roof of
the vault. fallen sheer down owe the
very place where she had sat a min
ute or two before. Enthusiastically smil-
ing. Crushed under the huge mass,
crushed into the very splinters OF
my W empty coffin, she lay-and
yet . and yet l could @
nothing, save n white hand pro-
truding-the hand on which the mar
rage ring glittered mockingly! Even
as looked, that hand quivered violent
ly . beat the ground .
and then . . was still: 1t was hor-
rible g. In dreams | see that
q~uivering white hand now. the jewels
on it sparkling with derisive lustre.
1t appeals, it calls, it threatens,
1t prays! and when my time ONE
to die. it will beckOn me to my grave!
A portion Of her costly dress was visi-
ble-my eyes lighted on this,-and I
saw a slow stream of blood OOzing
thickly from beneath the One. .
the ponderous stone that no a
could have moved an inch-the stone
that sealed her awful sepulchre. Good
heavens! how fast the crimson stream
of life Notwithstanding the snowy
lace of her garment with a dark and
dreadful hue! Staggering feebly like a
drunken man. half-delirious with an
guish. / approached and touched that
small white hand that lay stiffly on
the ground l bent my head .
l almost kissed it, but some
strange revulsion ross in my soul and
forbade the act!
In a stupOr of dull agony l sought
and found the crucifix of the monk
Cipriano that had fallen to the floor.
l closed the Yet warm finger
tips around it and left it thus; an un-
natural terrible calmness froze the
excitement of my strained nerves.
'Tis all l can do for thee.' l NUT
tered incoherently. May Christ for
give thee, though l cannotv'
And covering my eyes to shut out
the sight before me l turned away. |
hurried In a sort Of frenzy towards
the stairway-on reaching the lowest
step | extinguished the torch ! carried.
Some impulse made me glance back
. and l saw what | see now
what / shall always see till |
die. An aperture had been made
through the roof of the vault by the
fall of the great stone, anr through
this the fitful moon poured down a
long ghostly ray. The green glimmer
like a special lamp, deepened the sur
rounding darkness, only showing I'D
with fell distinctness one obicct-thst
slender protruding wrist and hand.
whittier than Alpine snow! I gazed at IL.
wildly . the CLEAN of the Jewels
down there hurt my eyes the
shine of the silver crucifx clasped i'm
those little waxen fingers daZzled my
brain and with a frantic cry
of ~unreasoning terror, / rushed up the
steps with a maniac speed.-opened
the iron gate through which she would
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