Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-02-07

head, shoulders and body clearly
silhOuetted against the sky, almost
under the moon. Quickly l raised
my carbiDe to my shoulder. The
barrel Shone Ike a bar of silver as
| pointed 1t tor his head. Slowly
and steadily lowered the fore end
till the bar was diminished iuto a
single spark shining against the
lower part of the black figure. He
never moved, and all the while my
brain kept repeating those lines OF
Gorden's:
How strange chat a man should miss
When his life depends on his AIM
How strange that man should miss
When his life
At the right moment hand and
eve worked mechanically in unison.
and through the roar aud red
blaze that followed | had a mOmen'
tary VISION of two hands throw up
against the sky and then blank
darkness. My horse, startled by
the report, first claimed my at
tenhon, and then, as slipped in
one of my two remaining cart
ridges, l wondered what next
should be Gone.
Was the man dead or shamming!
Had lie friends near who wOnld be
attracted by the report Should L
stay where | was or make a Ooll1
finally decided to wait few
minutes and watch.
Not sound. Nothing moved,
SO carefully and quietly 1 crept up
the donga, and by detour made
my way to the back of the pile OF
rocks. A movement in their
shadow caused me to drop fiat
amOng the stones, till l saw that
1t was only the b IeI's horse quiet
Iy grazing out into the moonlight
SO the man was still there, but was
he alive and waiting, or was he
dead and safe? Cautiously l creptI
nearer and nearer, with my carblne
ready. Still no sign. AT last, /
see something. Is it a branch or a
creyice? 1t is a rifle. and Its shadow
lN ing across the rocks. Enough.
Even if alive he is in my power
now. walk boldly forward. There,
near the rife, down among the
stones. is a hnddled heap. 1t Isl
tie first man | have ever shot. |
don't quite know what to do. l
pushed him with my foot. No re-
sponse. lie is dead. How strange
it seems. \ few minutes ago this
dead bundle was as full of life as
|. Every muscle and nerver, every
sensation in fullest working order,
and now but one little act of mine
aid the whole is thus collapsed.
Only now the moon was looking
down on two human beings ap-
preaching each other the wide
veldt. A moment later she looks
sadly down on one standing beside
the crumpled remains of the other.
The two horses are still grazing
peacefully on opposite sides of the
rocks.
l reused myself from my mu-
sings and took up the dead mans
rifle. 1t was a Martini-Heury.
After apprOpTiatlng It's cartridge,
knocked out the block axis pin
aud threw the block away, so that
it might no longer be of use to an
enem3. Aud then thought to
replenish my own ammunition
from the enCml s store and turned
again to the corpse.
| felt a reluctance TO touch the
poor limp thing but his haversack
was partly underneath him and
had TO be got out. That done, l
drew the cold hands down to the
sides and Strengthened Outlhe legs,
but could not go tar as to turu the
body on its back feared to see
the face. In the haversack found
besides the cartridges a Bible and
some rusks and "biltong" (sun
dried meat. The cravings OF
hunger were reawakened by the
sight Of TODD and | was soon
munching away at my newly ac-
quired supply, while ] still stood
in a kind of fascination over the
body of my victim.
How strange to be eating the
food prepared for one who had no
need for IL! To he tasting the flavor,
winch somehow l did not altogether
like, that possibly he would have
been tasting now had not all
power of taste suddenly gone out
of him forever! Then his Bible
living there reminded me that we
we're both practically of the same
belief. Two Christians, whose re-
| f.-.-.. .oI1 than 10 iovo ona on