The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-04-16

| me of my senses. True, opened my eyes
| once moro and fanoicd I saw indistinotly,
us If in a dream, ono of tho escaped crimi-
| nails bonding over mo; then darkness,
| shroudcd my mind.
at must have boon lato at night when
consciousness returned. opened my eyes
and SAW above mo i'll tho deep blue sky q
radiant full moon. A dull, heavy scnsn.
I ton in tho back of my head made mo try
to put my hand on tho aching spot, but l
discovered that l was bound hand and
foot. Gradually collected my thoughts
remembered tho attack by highwaymon
and a terrible foreboding, which made nv
heart stop beating. dartcd through my
brain. felt that was laid across two
sharp parallel projections, which pressed
against mo most painfully, and, listening
intentiy, L heard, far below mo, faint
FLASHING noise. There was no doubt. I
was lying across tho rails Of the Cayuga
bridge, bound, unable to move, with the
terribly certain prospect of being cut into
three pieces by the next train.
IL almost lost consciousness again. But
soon recovered my composure. Then
tugged desperately Mt my bonds till they
almost cut my muscles, shrioked and mt
last wcpt like u child. tried to roll my
self into different position and remem-
bered TINT an incautious movement would
hurl mo into the silent waves of tho Cayu-
ga-bound hand and foot, motionless as
u stone.
II shuddered and 10y still, but not
long. Tho light of the largo, to mo fear
fully brilliant moon, the splashing of the
water below, the wind blowing softly, then
the deathliko silence again, rarely inter
rupted even by the distant motto of a bird
all became uncomfortable and inspired me
with unspeakable terror. And the rails!
The rails! My senses tortured mo. 1 could
not escape them. Tho wooden beams of
tho bridge tremblcd almost imperceptibly
from the washing of the water 1 imag-
ined felt tho approach of the train, and
my hair bristlcd. Tho wind sighed n little
louder, fanccd heard tho dull painting
of tho engine, and my heart stood still,
only to throb tho next Instant with such
dreadful speed that tho pulsations wero al
most audible.
'Thcro arc some things. gcntlcmen,
which arc totally incomprchensiblc to me.
One of them is how l survived that night
Ono thought stood distinctly before my
mind. l must cndeavor to work myself
into another position-if possible, get into
the space between the rails-if l was not,
perhaps tho next moment to become the
victim of the most agonizng death.
And l succeeded l strained every
muscle, every sincw 10 the point of break
ing. l writhcd, l twisted, l painted, my
head seemed bursting and, after trcmcn-
dous excrtion, which appeared to me to
last an eternity, though perhaps it was
only moments, l found myself in tho hol-
low between the rails
WAS l safe? 1 had not time to consider
or rejoice in my new hope, for all my vital
powers were concentrated in tho single
sense of hearing. In the far distance l
distinguished, at first vaguely, then more
and more distinctly, the regular, monoto-
nous, dull noise which is produced by the
engine of moving locomotive. The aw-
full silence of the night merged minute by
minute into the still moro awful, confused
Earring sounds, the rafting and grooming,
rumbling and painting of the locomotive.
which was rushing forward ut the mad
speed of American trains. a thousand
feet more, 500-all the terrors of the in
formal regions assailed me, but not n mus
Gle moved. lay as if turned to stone.
tried TO shrek, but did not even hear my
own voice. How should it reach those on
the train!
Now, for an infinitely brief space of
time, fancied that l saw q bright light,
a blast of hot air famed me- then suddenly
darkness shroudcd me. 1 heard thun-
dering roar, us though tho very heavens
were falling.
"Closc, very close, barely an inch above,
the monster dashed over me. / was safe.
Still half unconscious, heard Il dcafening
rumbling and Gathering and saw shadowy
masses fit by. There was another moment
of mortal dread the hook of Il chain which
hung lower than the rest caught me, drag
ging mo along few feet, and finally tore
q large piece from the breast of my coat.
releasing me; then every object danced
around me, tho moon, the bridge and tho
high bank whirlcd in giddy maze above
and below me, and my senses failed.
when regainod my consciousness, l
found myself in my bed with familiar
faces around me. To mako the story
short, had been picked up the morning
after that terrible night by signalman,
recognized and taken to Auburn. y vio-
lent fever kept me for Il fortnight within
the shadow of death, but my strong CON
stitution conquered. When, after my re-
covery, l looked in the glass for the first
time, l saw what traces those moments
had left upon me"
The physician paused. His pallid face,
the expression of horror In his eyes, the
perspiration which stood in large drops
upon his brow, showed how vivid must be
his remembranccs of the scene and how
greatly the narration had exhausted him.
Gradually the brcathless anxiety with
which we had listened to the story related
with such graphic power passed away, and
cheerfulnesS returned.
Then we paced to and fro for n long
time in the moonlight, in tho garden be-
hind the tavern, listening to the doctors
tales of less narrowing experiences in the
young land OF liberty, wonders and adj
venture. TRANSLATED From tho French by
Max Nordau For New York Herald