Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-10-21

CHAPTEP XXIII.-tContinued)
The day dawned upon the plateau; a
few struggling rays Of the sun illuminat-
ed the great glacier above and turned its
dead gray snow and ice into pure. warm
white, while the mists rolled away from
the high mountains keeping watch above:
end below on the smaller glacier. and at
the edge OF yawning crevnsse. lay the
body Of Philip Smerdon.
Two guides. proceeding over the pass
to meet n party of mountain climbers.
reached the plateau at dawn, and sitting
down upon the stone to eat q piece OF
bread and take a draught OF cold coffee
saw his knapsack lying beside II.
What does 1t mean" the one said Il
the other.
1T means death" his companion re-
piled, ''the railing y broken. Some one
has fallen"
Slowly and carefully, and each holding
to one Of the upright posts. they peeret
ever and down on the glacier, and there
they saw what was lying below.
A whispered word suficed, a direction
given by one to the other, and these
hardy mOuntaineers were descending the
moraine. digging their sticks deeply into
the stones, and gradually working their
way skillfully to the glacier.
'ls he dead, Carl?" the one asked Of
his friend. who stopped over the PROSTATE
for mand felt of his heart.
mo: he lives. How has he ever fallen
here without instant death? But he must
die! See. his bones are all broken" and
as he spoke he lifted Smerdon's arm and
touched one of his legs.
"What shall We do with him. the Other
asked.
pUh
he die on the road, it Is better than to
isave him here. Let us take him to the
house Of Father Neumann. 1t Is but to
the foot of the glacier"
Very gently these men lifted him II
their arms, though not SO gently but that
they wrung groan Of agony from him
as they did so, and bore him down the
glacier to where it entered the valley: and
then, having handed him to the priest,
who lived In what was little better than
\ hut. they left him.
Late that afternoon the dying man open.
ed bis eyes. and looked around the room in
which he lay.
At his bedside he saw a table with q
cross laid upon it, and at the window OF
the room an aged priest sat reading q
Breviary.
Where am l % he asked in English
The priest rose and came to the bed
aud then spoke to him in German
My son." be said. what want Of yours
can supplyf"
Tell me where l am," Smerjon an
swered in the same language. and how
long l have to live
''You are in my house, the house Of the
Cure Of Sastratx. For the span OF your
life hone can answer but God. But, my
son, l should do i'll If did not tell you
that your hours are numbered. The doe.
tor from ST. Christoph has seen you"
Give ME paper and ink"
My son. you cannot write, and--'
Il will write" Smerdon said family,
''sven though die In the attempt"
The Cure felt his right arm. which was
Got broken like the other, and then he
brought him paper and ink. and holding
the former up on his Breviary before the
And slowly and painfully. and with eyes
that occasionally closed, Smerdon wrote:
II am dying at the house Of the Cure Of
Sastrstz, near the Schwarzweiss Pass;
from a fall. Tell Gervase that L alone
murdered Walter Cundail II ts will
come to NE and l am still alive. l viii
tell him all PHILIP SMERDON."
Then he put the letter in an envelope
and addressed 1t to Ida Raughton. And
ere he once more lapsed into unconscious
ness, he asked the priest to write another
for him to his mother. and 10 address IT tc
en- hotel at Zurich.
They will be sent at 0Dee?" he asked
family.
Surely. my son"